Killian of Earth Chapter 1, a star wars fanfic

Killian of Earth

DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all the characters (aside from my creations) are the property of Disney. I claim no ownership over any species, planets, etc.

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CHAPTER ONE

Killian grimaced as he shifted his backpack from his shoulder, feeling the bruises on his back. Bruises were nothing new to him; he had new ones nearly every week, some worse than others, depending on his foster mother's mood. Since he was a baby, Killian had been in the system when his parents had died in a car accident, hit by a drunk driver. He'd had no other family to take him in, so he'd been sent into foster care and bounced from one home to another for the next seven years. Some homes were better than others; some were worse, but by far, the worst was the one he'd been at for the last two years.

At first, Mrs. Murray had been sweet, had even insisted he call her mom. But the façade had only lasted a few weeks. All it took was him accidentally breaking a plate as he was cleaning after dinner; for her to turn from the sweet lady, she pretended to be into a different person altogether. The abuse had become a daily part of his life after that. and it seemed like the slightest offense caused her to snap.

He didn't know why she only beat him or why the other kids always ignored his cries for help when it happened; he suspected that they were just glad it wasn't them being hit and were afraid that if they spoke up, they'd become her new target.

He had tried to run away once; when he was seven, he'd made it as far as the bus station before the cops picked him up. He'd told them what was happening to him, but when they investigated, Mrs. Murray had put on her mask as the sweet old lady and told the investigators how Killian was always getting into trouble and telling lies. She'd even had the other kids back her up.

When asked about his bruises, she'd had an answer for that too. Saying it was from roughhousing with some of the other kids, and again, they had backed her up. He had dared to hope for a little while, but it hadn't taken long for him to realize that her lies were working, and he was going to be sent back. As soon as he had, Mrs. Murray had given him the worst beating yet, and then moved his room to the basement, only allowing him out for school with the understanding that if he said a single word about what was going on, he would be made to pay.

His teachers suspected what was happening. They had even tried to make him open up, but after what happened the first time, he had learned his lesson about trusting others to help him. No one would. The only thing that made him feel safe made him happy was Star Wars. He loved reading the comics and books, loved every bit of that wonderful galaxy. His teacher Mrs. Kuwalski had found out about his love of it and, in an attempt to help him open up more, had kept him after school occasionally, where they would watch the movies and cartoons together while they shared popcorn and forgot for a little while how much his life sucked.

Now and then, his teacher would ask a question about his scars or his new bruises. He would always say in the same monotone voice that he had perfected for such questions, that he had been playing too rough with the other kids and got hurt. He liked Mrs. Kuwalski, but he had learned what happens when you put trust in people. They always let you down in the end, and even though he wanted to tell her the truth, he couldn't bring himself to trust her. He knew that she knew he was lying, but without proof, she could do nothing more than let him have a few wonderful hours in a galaxy far away from the suffering and pain of his everyday life.

Sometimes he dreamed that he lived in that wonderful world of adventure and epic space travels. That he was a Mandalorian or a Jedi, fighting in epic battles across the stars, but when he awoke, it was always on the same dirty mattress in the same cold basement, with Mrs. Murray screaming at the basement door to get up or she'd come down and wake him up herself.

That usually meant a beating with her current favorite object, a bamboo rod. His only comfort was that he only had a few more years until he was out of the system and would be free from Mrs. Murray for good if he lasted that long.

Killian stopped for a moment to look at his reflection in the window of a parked car, sighing with annoyance at the pain he felt flare up, but the skinny kid that looked back at him just seemed to annoy him more.

Mrs. Murray only fed him enough to keep him alive, it seemed, which explained why his clothes seemed to be two sizes too big for him. His black hair looked as though he had just gotten out of bed, as it always did, despite his best efforts to tame it, and across his face was a sea of freckles.

Probably the only thing he liked about his appearance was his eyes, shockingly blue to the point of being supernatural, made more so by the dark circles under his eyes.

He brushed his black hair out of his eyes as it began to sprinkle, the rain coming down cool against his face, as he sighed in frustration, resuming his pace down the sidewalk. He still had more than a mile to go before he got back to his foster home, and by the looks of the sky, he would be soaked before he got halfway. "Maybe if I hurry, I might stand a chance," He thought with a grimace.

He had been hoping to slip quietly in the house without letting anyone know he was there, then head to his basement room and read the new Star Wars comic that Mrs. Kuwalski had given him. It was about his favorite period in the Star Wars mythos, the old republic.

Everyone seemed to like the clone wars and new hope era, and he could understand it, but he preferred the old republic where adventure was around every corner, and Sith and Jedi fought each other in the name of the force.

Sometimes, during recess, a few of the kids would invite him to play with them whenever they played Star Wars. Of course, the other kids would always play as Sith or Jedi, sometimes jumping back and forth between the two, but his choice was always the same, a Mandalorian. He'd suffered enough cruelty at home to have no wish to inflict it on others, so that ruled out being a Sith. And the Jedi had too many rules that needed to be followed for him to want to be one of those either.

But Mandalorians followed their path. No one pushed them around or hurt them; they could be whatever they wanted. As far as he was concerned, they were the equivalent of space knights, and so they became his heroes. Sometimes he would dream of one finding him and saving him from Mrs. Murray, of taking him far away from where he would never have to be afraid again, but he would soon wake and realize it was only a dream, a wonderful dream, but a dream all the same.

So absorbed was he in his thoughts that he didn't hear the squeal of tires, it was the sudden honking that drew his attention, and he looked up in horror just in time to see the car that had spun out of control straight toward him, with a loud crack, the vehicle connected with him, and he knew no more.

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Several moments later (or so it felt to him), Killian came to with a sudden jerk, he was lying on his back in a grassy field, and he looked around in confusion at the hills and grasslands that surrounded him. "Where am I?" He thought as he struggled to his feet, "Where's the car? Heck, where's anything?"
The clear blue sky stretched forever over him as he spun in a circle taking in his surroundings. In the distance, he could see mountains with snow-covered peaks.

"Okay, Killian. Let's think about this," He thought as he sat back down, with his legs crossed, resting his chin in his hands. "Like Mrs. Kuwalski always says, 'the best way to find a solution is to analyze the problem, instead of panicking' I was just in a neighborhood, walking back home. Then I got hit by a car, I think. And now I'm in a field in the middle of nowhere"

Lifting his head off his hands, he looked around again as if something might make sense before a terrifying thought began to creep into his skull. "The car hit me. I remember that" He thought as he looked down at himself, and yet he saw no injuries, aside from the ones he had already had.

He was still wearing the same dirty pair of jeans and the same white t-shirt, but he saw no injuries, making him frown in confusion, "Maybe I died," He thought quickly. "Then this must be heaven" He looked around again as if any minute he would see angels descending on him. "If this is heaven, then where are those pearly gates that everyone always talks about?" He glanced around but saw only grassy plains, stretching in every direction.

"Someone should be here," He thought. "If this is heaven, my family should be here waiting for me. So why am I alone? Did I do something wrong?" Tears began to spring to his eyes at the thought, and he angrily wiped them away as another thought crept into his head. "I should be more afraid" He laughed at that, falling onto his back and staring at the sky as he began to laugh uncontrollably. "Any other nine-year-old would be terrified at the prospect that they died and suddenly found themselves alone in a field, and yet here I am laughing like an idiot."

Killian couldn't understand why he felt so calm. He was sure at this point that he was dead, and yet he could not stop smiling as the warm sun rained down on him and the cool breeze gently kissed his face. "No more beatings," He thought suddenly, the words bringing tears to his eyes again. The idea that he would never again have to feel Mrs. Murray hurting him was almost too much to bear, and suddenly he felt his mental defenses crack, making him choke back a sob before he regained control.

"I should get up and go look for someone to explain what's happening," He thought, rising to his feet and dusting himself off. He looked around as he realized that he was missing his backpack and frowned, "Aw man, I didn't even get to read the new comic Mrs. Kuwalski gave me."

With another sigh of frustration, he turned towards the mountains in the distance and began to walk, hoping that he wasn't going in the wrong direction.

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Several hours later, Killian was exhausted beyond anything he had experienced before. He'd been walking in the same direction for what seemed like forever, and yet he still hadn't found anyone to help him. As the sun sank, so did the temperature, and he'd quickly found that his t-shirt and jeans were insufficient for wherever he was. Before long, he'd been a shivering mess, putting one foot in front of the other by instinct rather than any real thought.

"I'm so tired," he thought pathetically, as he wrapped his arms around him and rubbed hard, "Where is anyone? I should have met someone by now. And why am I so cold if I'm dead? You would think that would be a problem for the living" he chuckled at that, the laugh sounding lonely in the dark of the field. "I can't keep going," he thought, coming to a stop and staring into the black ahead of him,

"Maybe I'll find someone tomorrow," he said to himself, as he fell onto his back, creating a sudden blanket of dust around him, his stomach burned with hunger. His feet were killing him, but so complete was his exhaustion that he curled into a tight ball and fell asleep almost immediately.

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"Who is he, I wonder?" A woman's voice said, slowly waking Killian, "Who knows, the better question is how he got out here, though" A second voice said, this one more profound, a man's, he realized as he slowly opened his eyes, and raised himself to a sitting position.

As he rubbed the sleep away and focused on them, his mouth dropped open in surprise. Standing in front of him were three Twi'leks, a man, a woman, and a young girl who looked about his age, all dressed in traveling clothes and wearing simple leather headdresses.

All three were carrying packs, both adults had blasters on their hips, and both held rifles in their hands. The male's skin was bright orange; the two females were pink. All three looked at him in bewilderment as he quickly began to shuffle back, confused about what was happening. "What the heck?!" He thought, "Are they cosplayers?"

"We mean you no harm, little boy," The woman said, lowering her rifle to the ground and raising her hands in peace. Killian slowly climbed to his feet, eyeing them warily before saying in a shaky voice, "Cool costumes, are you larpers?"

The two adults exchanged a look of puzzlement before the female replied,

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

"Well, you're dressed as characters from Star Wars and carrying fake weapons, so I can only assume that you are cosplayers or something," Killian said, looking them up and down; their costumes did look good. He almost believed they were real.

"These aren't fake weapons. I can assure you," The male said seriously, resting his rifle on the ground. "And what is Star Wars?" He added, confused.

As if on cue, a giant spaceship barreled out of the clouds above them, making Killian's mouth drop open in astonishment. It flew past them towards the mountains and was gone a moment later.

"That's not possible," He thought, his voice unable to utter anything other than a squeak at what he had seen. Slowly, he turned to look back at the three Twi'leks who were still eyeing him warily. The female still held up her hands while the male had lowered his to the blaster on his hip. "They can't be wearing costumes," He thought, his mind unable to accept what his eyes were showing him.

"They're too good unless this is a Hollywood set, and even then, there is no way that ship I just saw could be faked" Slowly, he began to shake as the impossible reality set in. He had somehow been transported into the world of Star Wars. The dream he had had all his life had come true. He was far away from Mrs. Murray and every horrible thing about his old life. And yet even as he felt happiness begin to well up in him, he could not stop the tears that started to fall from his eyes at the thought that his dearest wish had come true.

Slowly he fell to his knees as his mental walls, the things he had made so strong, came crashing down around him. Seeing him start to cry, the female Twi'lek dropped her pack, rushed forward, and took him in a tight embrace, rocking him back and forth as she tried to calm him.

At the same time, the male watched in confusion as to why he was suddenly crying for no reason, the little girl looked equally confused and began playing with her lekku as she looked at the man hoping for some answer, but he shook his head at her. The female Twi'lek rocked him back and forth slowly, but that seemed only to make things worse. All the emotions that he had kept locked up so tightly for so long seemed to rush out as he felt someone hold him the way his mother used to, so long ago.

"It's okay, little one," The female said softly, maternal instincts taking over. The male twi'lek stared at the two of them while the child edged closer, warily, to get a better look at him.

"It's all going to be okay," the female said softly, holding him tighter, sensing he needed it.

After what seemed an age, Killian slowly took hold of himself and began to pull away from her,

"I'm sorry," He said as he wiped his eyes, watching as she rose to her feet and smiled warmly at him.

"You need not apologize, little one. I suspect you've been holding that in for a long while" Killian said nothing as he rose to his feet, slowly, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"Who are you?" He asked, trying for a friendly manner, and what he hoped was a smile, despite his tear-stained face.

"My name is Terra Farr," The woman said, "This is my husband Argyle and our daughter, Aola," She indicated each in turn before returning her gaze to him. "And what is your name?"

"My name is Killian," He said shyly, still in awe of meeting actual characters from his dreams.

"Killian, what?" Argyle asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

Killian thought about it for a moment before coming to a decision, "Just Killian," he said, lowering his head. In truth, his last name was Murray, and while he and the older woman were not related, the thought of sharing her name in this new world disgusted him.

"Where are your parents, Killian?" Terra asked warmly.

"They're gone," He said simply.

"What are you doing out here?" Argyle asked, still suspicious of the boy. "Seems an odd place for a nap, especially dressed as you are" Terra shot him a look at that before returning her gaze to him.

Thinking quickly, Killian decided to tell a half-truth. It would be easier to remember that way if it came back up.

"I was in foster care but ran away," He said slowly.

"Why?" Argyle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'd rather not talk about it if it's alright," Killian said, raising his eyes defiantly. Argyle looked at him for a second before nodding his head as if noticing something. "As you wish."

"May I ask, what planet this is?" Killian asked, trying in part to gather more information but also to try and keep his emotions from inundating him again as they had a moment ago. His question caused all three to stare at him for a moment before Terra spoke in a confused tone, "How do you not know what planet you are on, child?"

"The ship I was on stopped here for supplies, and I got off and ran as soon as we touched down." Killian lied, hoping it was believable.

Terra stared a moment longer, making him sweat before she replied, "Well, the answer to your question is that you are on Alderaan."

"Alderaan," Killian thought in wonder, a smile beginning to stretch across his face. "I've always wanted to come here," He said as he turned to look at his surroundings with new eyes.

"Well, you picked a bad time to do so," Argyle said gruffly

"Why is that?" Killian asked, turning to him in genuine confusion.

"Because of the war?" Argyle said, as though talking to a slow-witted person, which to him, Killian was, he thought with some irony.

"War? What war?" Killian asked, making them all stare at him as though he had lost his senses,

"Just where are you from, boy?" Argyle asked in amazement, shaking his head,

"The Sith have been tearing worlds apart for close to two years now, and you ask what war?" Argyle shook his head again, making his lekku shake, making Killian stare in genuine pleasure before realizing what was said and growing pale.

"The Sith?" He thought, suddenly afraid, "Which era did I land in?" He thought with a tremor, all could see. If it was the era of the empire and he was on Alderaan, he was in serious trouble. He looked at the sky in sudden fear, half expecting to see the Death Star, but saw only the clear blue sky, to which he breathed a sigh of relief.

"After my parents died, I was put into foster care on Coruscant," Killian said, turning his attention back to them and lowering his head in apparent embarrassment,

"I don't know very much about the outside galaxy. The woman in charge never let any of us outside. So once I was old enough, I ran away and stowed away on the first ship I could find."

Terra nodded in understanding and replied, "Well, now it all makes sense as to why you don't know about what is going on."

"I suppose," Argyle added, still suspicious, "Though it still seems strange that you managed to get out here with no supplies that I can see…."

"The Sith empire returned from unknown space two years ago and since then have been attacking planet after planet. Conquering everything in their path." Terra said, her anger palpable, cutting him off, "Thankfully, they haven't managed to reach the inner rim yet. Hopefully, it'll stay that way."

Killian's mouth dropped open as he realized where he was. His emotions were a mixture of terror and excitement in equal measure, "I've been dropped into the middle of the Great Galactic War." He thought, "Of all the eras I could have been dropped into, I'm sent to my absolute favorite, The Old Republic!"

Killian knew he should be terrified. After all, this era held some of the most powerful Sith and Jedi, as well some of the most significant battles, and would continue for more than two decades, and yet he had to fight to stop the grin that was trying to take over his face.

"We're here on business, ourselves," Terra continued, walking over to her rifle and picking it up.

"Business?" Killian asked as he watched, still fascinated by the three of them. "What kind?"

"The none of your concern, kind," Argyle said quickly, making Terra glower at him for a moment before turning back to him.

"We're looking for someone. Rumor is that he is on this planet, holed up in the town of Anzati."

"Where's your ship?" Killian asked excitedly, looking around but seeing nothing.

"In Anzati," Terra said, with sudden emotion, "The gentleman we are after took it while we were busy on another matter. So we had to take a refugee shuttle here. But, hopefully, it won't have been a waste of time."

"Better not have been, or I'll wring that Wookie's neck when next we see him," Argyle said with a grimace.

"Is it far?" Killian asked, "To the town, I mean."

"Another two days, at least," Argyle said slowly, looking away from him.

"You're welcome to join us if you wish," Terra said, making Argyle glare behind her,

"That's very kind of you," Killian quickly replied as he backed away. "But I don't want to be a problem for you. I'm sure I can find my way well enough."

Terra laughed at that, placing her hand on her hips as she stared at him.

"Do you have any food?" She asked quickly.

"No," Killian replied, feeling his stomach growl at the mention,

"Any water?" She went on with a grin.

"No," He said again. Then, behind her, Aola began to laugh, and even Argyle began to grin, making Killian go red in embarrassment.

"Do you know how to build a fire or how to stay warm during the night?"

"No, I don't know any of those things," Killian said, tears beginning to form in his eyes as he realized just how much danger he was in, his previous excitement fading into a panic.

"Well then, I must insist that you come with us," Terra said, moving closer and placing a calming hand on his shoulder. "If we left you out here alone, you would probably starve to death before you found some help. But, of course, that's if you don't freeze, first." The memory of last night's misery came back to him, and he shivered involuntarily.

"And besides, it would not do to leave a child alone in the middle of nowhere. No, I think not."

He thought about it for a moment, weighing the options before him. On the one hand, if he refused to go with them, he would probably end up lost and die of exposure or starvation before he found his way to safety.

On the other, if these were kidnappers or, worse, Sith spies, he might find himself sold as a slave. Finally, realizing he had no choice, he nodded his head slowly, making Terra smile in satisfaction.

"Good choice, now let's be on our way. We've still a long way to go before we reach Anzati, and if our quarry is there, I want to catch him before he can escape with my ship again."

With another dazzling smile, she bent and picked up her pack, pulling out a loaf of bread and handing it to him before strapping the bag on. She quickly made sure it was in a comfortable position for the long trek ahead and strode past him, followed quickly by Aola, who gave him a mischievous grin.

Argyle strode up to him, then and looked down at him for a moment as if weighing him up before motioning his head after the two, "Come along then kid," He said quickly. "We've got a lot of ground to cover."

Without another word, he strode past him. Killian stared at their backs for a moment before nodding in resignation and hurrying to catch up, biting into the bread in satisfaction.

They walked in silence for most of the day. Occasionally Argyle or Terra would ask a question about him or how he had managed to get so far into the wilderness, but Killian managed to evade the questions; for the most part, Aola had been quiet the whole day. The sun slowly lowered behind the hills in a glorious sunset when they finally stopped, making Killian unbearable happy, despite his aching feet.

"Killian," Terra called, pulling his attention away from the sunset

"I saw a river down the hill. Why don't you & Aola go get us some water while Argyle and I set up camp." She threw a waterskin at him with a smile.

"Okay, Mrs. Farr," he said happily, taking the skin from her

"Terra," she corrected, quickly with a smile, "I'm not that old."

Killian grinned at that as he followed Aola toward the river. After several moments of silence, Killian realized that if there were to be a conversation, he would have to be the one to start it.

"You don't talk very much, do you?" he said sheepishly.

"I do when there's something to say," she countered with a grin.

"A wise policy, I suppose," he said with a smile, which she returned, the air becoming noticeably warmer between the two.

"So, I think your dad hates me," Killian said, making her grin again.

"He doesn't hate you," she countered, "He just doesn't know you. None of us do."

"Yeah, that makes sense, I suppose," he replied, nodding.

"And you are a bit suspicious," she added.

"What do you mean?" he said warily as they began to climb the hill.

"You were out in the middle of nowhere, with no food, no water, and no supplies. Who does that?"

"I told you I stowed on a ship here," he argued, making her turn to him.

"Yes, you said," her tone relaying her disbelief.

They reached the top of the hill and began to walk down to the river when Killian slipped and began to roll down; with a curse, he rolled into the river and came up sputtering, while Aola leaned over laughing, her lekku shaking, along with her body.

"How's the water, klutz?" she said as she strolled down to him, still laughing.

"Cold!" Killian said, climbing out and shaking, making her laugh more, as she moved away from him to avoid getting wet.

They quickly filled the waterskin and made their way back, Aola making jokes the whole way, and Killian found himself enjoying it, despite being soaked. Night had fallen as they approached the camp, and they began to hear voices; Killian stopped when he heard his name, Aola stopping next to him, as they listened.

"Terra, he's hiding something. How can you not see it?" Argyle said gruffly

"So you're a Jedi now? Seeing what others can't?" Terra countered

"I don't need to be a Jedi to know that he's not telling us the whole story. He says he stowed away on a ship and ran as soon as it landed, but the nearest city is more than a week's walk, so how did he get out here without food? Without water? Heck, without even decent clothing? It doesn't add up, Terra."

"I'll admit it is suspicious, but he's just a boy, Argyle. It's not like he's some Sith spy or something."

"How do you know?" Argyle asked suddenly. "He could be a spy or some criminal. We know nothing about him."

"A criminal?" Terra laughed. "He's so skinny that if a strong wind blew, he'd be carried away, and you think he's a criminal?"

"You don't need to be big or strong to be one," Argyle said sourly.

"After all the years we have spent chasing bad people, I know criminals when I see them, and he's not one. He's just a scared kid who needs help," Terra said softly, making Killian feel suddenly guilty about his lies. Whatever else they might have said was lost, as Aola suddenly strode past him into the camp, making Killian lurch forward to catch up. Both Twi'lek looked up as they appeared, Terra's face lighting up as she saw them.

"What happened to you?" she said with a smile as they approached.

"Killian decided to take a swim in the river," Aola said with a laugh, causing Killian to shoot her a look.

"I lost my balance and fell in," he said quickly. "But I got the water," he added, lifting the swollen water skin and handing it to her.

"Well, that's a relief, but it doesn't change the fact that you're still soaked. So let's get you out of those wet clothes. Argyle has a set of clothes you can wear while yours dry, it might be a bit big on you, but it's just for tonight."

Killian grew white as a sheet at the words, backing slowly away as he began to babble.

"No! It's fine, I'm fine! I don't need to change."

Terra raised her eyebrows in alarm at his sudden apparent terror at the prospect of changing.

"Killian, what's wrong?" Terra said, moving toward him quickly

"Please, don't make me," he said, tears beginning to form in his eyes. The three Twi'lek looked on in confusion and alarm, not understanding why he was so afraid of removing his shirt.

"Killian," a soft voice said, making him slowly turn toward Aola, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"She's right, we're not going to hurt you, but you can't stay in wet clothes. You'll get sick," Terra added, placing calming hands on his shoulders.

"You won't look at me the same, once you see," he said, so softly they almost missed it.

"See what?" Argyle said quickly, not understanding.

"No one looks at me the same once they see," Killian said in the same tone as before, as though he had not heard Argyle speak. Then, before anyone could say anything else, Killian looked at them with sad eyes and backed away slowly, turning away from them and pulling his shirt over his head. When he had, all three twi'lek gasped in shock and horror at what they saw, which made him feel even worse and thankful that they couldn't see his face.

His back was covered in scars and bruises, from his shoulders to his waist. When he turned to face them, he saw that Terra had her hands to her mouth in horror, Aola looked like she was about to cry, and Argyle looked shocked and furious.

Their looks became worse when they saw he turned to face them. His front was also covered in scars, burns, and bruises. In truth, Killian hated changing in front of people for this exact reason. The moment they saw what Mrs. Murray had done to him, they suddenly saw him as some defenseless victim, and he hated it.

"Who did this to you?" Argyle said in a whisper as he approached, the campfire rising behind him eerily.

Killian was going to make something up, but the intensity of his stare seemed to draw the truth out of him as if he had no control.

"The woman in charge of the foster home I was at," he said softly, looking at the ground, fighting as hard as he could against the tears that threatened to come out. Then, to his sudden surprise, Terra pulled him into a warm embrace, holding him tight as she stroked his hair.

"Why?" Argyle said stony-faced, staring at him from between his wife's arms.

"I don't know," Killian said sadly. "She hated me from the moment I came to her, and even the smallest thing would set her off" the tears were coming now, and he hated it, hated how weak they made him feel. "I tried to run away once, but the police brought me back. When I told them what she was doing to me, they didn't believe me and sent me back anyway" Argyle's expression grew more serious at that, his lekku twitching with suppressed rage.

"She punished me for snitching on her, hung me by my wrists, and beat me with a whip. I learned not to ask for help after that."

Terra held him tighter at that, refusing to let him continue reliving the memories.

"There's no need to continue, Killian. It's over, now" She released him from her hug and bent down to face him with a sad smile, her hands on his shoulders. "Let's get you out of those wet clothes and into some warm ones. Then we'll have dinner, okay?"

Killian nodded sadly, following her to the packs. Behind them, Aola and Argyle stared in sadness and anger at what they had heard and seen.

After eating, they sent the kids to bed, laying out sleeping bags by the campfire. Aola passed out quickly, but Killian was awake for a long time, unable to sleep. After a while, he heard Argyle and Terra talking in hushed tones. Keeping his eyes closed, he listened as they spoke of what they had seen and heard.

"Argyle, what are we going to do once we reach Anzati?"

"I don't know, Terra. I knew he was hiding something, but I didn't think it was something as bad as this. I'd like to throttle that old woman with my bare hands for what she did to him."

"Agreed," Terra growled. "No child should have to suffer what Killian has."

There was silence for a few moments before Argyle sighed and continued in a calm voice.

"We'll have to alert the authorities when we reach Anzati. They'll know what to do."

"Like they did last time? When they sent him back?!"

"What else can we do, Terra? If Dex is there and we do manage to get our ship back, it's not like we can take him with us."

"Why not? He has no one, and the most likely outcome if we alert the authorities is that he goes back to Coruscant, back to her. We cannot allow that!"

Argyle sighed and was quiet for a moment before he said in a calm voice, "We won't reach Anzati until the day after tomorrow. We can decide after getting our ship back if Dex is even there. Aola seems to like him. It's nice to see her with someone her age."

"It's been a long time since she had a friend, Killian as well, I suspect."

"How do you know that?"

"Call it a mother's intuition."

Even with his eyes closed, Killian could tell that Terra smiled at the last comment.

"We should get to bed ourselves. We've got a lot of ground to cover tomorrow," Argyle said stiffly, Terra grunting her agreement…

The night was quiet after that, no sound but the occasional crackle of flame, and though he tried to resist, Killian quickly fell asleep.

AUTHORS NOTE:

I wrote this story in memory of a friend who loved Star Wars more than anything and was the recipient of constant abuse. Unfortunately, like Killian, no one came to his aid, and I hope that he was transported to the place he loved most. This first chapter was hard to write, but I promise the following chapters will be more straightforward and not as brutal. All reviews are welcome as this is my first story, and if you see something confusing or need to fix it in future chapters, I'd be happy to hear it.