Chapter 21: City of Slaves

It took Ziggy and his crew three days to reach Nar Shaddaa in the Washington sector from Sligain in the Ragnos sector. On the way over, Ziggy trained the whole time with Jake. Jake was a good teacher. He taught the basics of magic and how to make spells with magic circles. The hand signs and how to perform magic circles were the easiest thing to accomplish for Ziggy since he used to do them for Jutsu.

Even though he couldn't get the hang of their magic, Zakee had excelled in expanding his own Jutsu inventory. Instead of only knowing water and wind Jutsu, Ziggy sparked a slight affinity for earth Jutsu as well. He only has the simple jutsu down like: Lightweight Rock Technique, Double Suicide Decapitation, Stone Spear, and Rock Thorn Launch. Since being able to use Earth style Jutsu, he had also been trying to perform Wood style Jutsu since it combined earth and water chakra.

Ziggy walked back into the main hold and met his whole crew there. "It's about time," said Clayton nudging Jake.

Sarah giggled to herself putting her hand over her mouth. "Okay, let's dive into it then."

Zakee sat down at the table and began the mission details. "First, we land on dock number, 89412 as ship, 'Rear Guard.' From there, we have a safe passage to the underworld of Nar Shaddaa where we should be able to move around freely. That's when we will split up. Our first objective is to find the whereabouts of a ninja named, Colby. He's a human. They said that he will find us. The secret greeting code question is, 'How's your day been?' The answer code is, 'Well, I'm young and ugly, so it can only go up.' He knows where they will be taking the military weapons and will show them to us. They are to help a mining company that gives Nar Shaddaa a lot of money. If he only shows them to one of us, we com the others then meet back at the ship to make a plan to get or destroy them. Preferably get. If one of us somehow gets captured, we stop the mission and save them. Any questions?"

Sarah's hand went up into the air and said, "Do we know what this 'Colby' guy looks like?"

"No," Ziggy responded. "All we know is that he is Devaronian, and he will find us."

Jackson raised his hand next. "What's up with the answer code?"

"He made it up," Zakee said a little agitated. "Look, all I know is that this guy is reliable and there is a small window for execution. So, we need to get a move on."

Sarah was the first to stand up as she muttered, "Mr. grumpy head." She left to collect her supplies for the mission.

"All my stuff is right here," said Jackson pointing to his muscles.

"He's got a point," said Jake as he felt his smaller biscepts.

"We're going in for the landing pad!" yelled Clayton from the cockpit.

"Landing clearance code 89412 for the ship: Rear Guard," he said into the communication transceiver.

A few seconds went by as no reply came out the speakers. Static came in that lead to, "Rear Guard, access granted. Please land and be safe. Thank you and please support Emperor Delshad for re-election."

Clayton looked over his shoulder at Ziggy and said, "Well, at least we're in."

Clayton landed the Ebon Hawk on a pad that was a little bit larger than the Hawk. The crew walked down the ramp and gathered at the bottom.

Zakee got in the middle, pulled his hood over his head and said, "Try not to let them know that we're here, so conceal your presence. Nar Shaddaa is split into three sectors. There are the Business, Resident, and Refugee sectors. Sarah and Jake take the Resident sector. Jackson take on the Refugee sector. That leaves the Business sector to me and Clayton. Remember, ask around using the greeting code and look for ways to bring down ISIS's influence here." Zakee looked at his fellow crew in the eyes and said, "Good luck and find Colby," he emphasized. "Now, scatter." Everyone went in their designated directions and left.

Clayton noticed how far he had come when they were training one day, and Ziggy randomly pulled him down into the ground as a prank. But, since that day, Clayton saw just how fast he was excelling too. One day he could barely hit a tree with a kunai, and now he's summoning them from his wrists and can bend them around sharp corners. He had the upmost respect for Ziggy. He would follow him into just about anything.

Jackson was flying through the air when he saw a large, enclosed area that had a lot of people dressed very poorly. 'That must be the Refugee sector,' thought Jackson.

He found an area that didn't have anyone in it, so no one could question him about flying. He began lowering down to the ground, but he didn't notice a little girl with an old teddy bear that was staring at him the whole time.

As he made his dissension, his hair was being pushed upward. His shirt expanded and waved as air filled and left it almost instantly. The cut off sweatpants that had an elastic band so they wrapped around his legs just beneath the knee stayed still and only made his Nike tennis shoes look that much cooler. "Wow," mumbled the little girl.

Jackson landed and swiped his hair to the side. He noticed the girl gazing at him while fixing his clothes which astounded him because he hadn't even sensed her. So, he thought he'd be nice and go talk to her. Jackson walked up to her, bent down and said with a big smile, "Hey there! Is this the Refugee sector?"

"I'm… I'm…" she stuttered. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers."

"Well, my name is Jackson," he said reaching out his hand to shake hers. "What's yours?"

She blushed a little and held out her hand, "My name's, Octavia."

Jackson grabbed her small hand and responded, "How old are you?"

Octavia looked down at her fingers and began pushing on each one. She held up all fingers on one hand and then one other on her next hand. "I'm this many!"

"Well it's great meeting you, Octavia. Now, we aren't strangers," said Jackson with a big smile.

Before Jackson could ask his next question, Octavia blurted out her own first, "Are you my guardian angel?"

Jackson laughed and held out his hand with his palm faced up. He looked her in the eyes and then she diverted her attention back to his hand. Doing one of the simplest techniques he knew, Jackson gathered some of his own chi into a ball that was the same color as a clear blue ocean. Octavia's eye grew about triple the size due to the wonder and beauty of Jackson's chi. "Wow, Mr. Jackson," she began, but Jackson stopped her.

"You can just me, Jackson. Is that fine?" She nodded her head and smiled as he rubbed her head.

"Did you come to save me and mommy?" she asked.

Jackson's facial expression turned serious as he asked, "Why? What's wrong?"

"The ruler here won't let us leave," she whined.

"Don't worry, not for long," Jackson promised her. "Do you mind showing me around here?"

"Sure!" she said full of excitement. Octavia let the teddy bear loose from her chest and skipped in front of Jackson as he walked behind her. They past dozens of shipping containers that had been accommodated with bunk beds to make them seem livable. Mumbles of anger and misfortune could be heard all around them. Some of them gambled their lives away here, but others had a much more tragic backstory.

Octavia led Jackson to a ramp that split to the left and right. "This is the entrance to Heaven," she said pointing at the ramp.

"What do you mean?" Jackson asked.

"That's where you go when you do enough good things here," Octavia said. "Mommy says that we all will have to go there eventually. A group of kids that are even younger than me got really lucky earlier this week."

Jackson got serious, grabbed Octavia's shoulders and said, "What?!"

"Yeah. Mommy said that they were really good, so they got to go to Heaven extra early," Octavia finished.

Jackson left the rest to his thoughts. 'This girl doesn't even realize that she is in a slave trade business,' he thought. 'There's got to be some way to end this with or without the help of Colby.'

"Hey! Let go of my daughter!" yelled a woman running towards them. She dressed in tattered rags just like Octavia. This must be Octavia's mother, he thought. Jackson let go of her and stood up straight. The lady reached the two and immediately grabbed and hugged Octavia tightly.

"I'm sorry, Miss. I was just talking to her about this sector. I'm new here," said Jackson. He scratched the back of his head and smiled at the mother.

Octavia interrupted and announced, "Mommy! He's my guardian angel!"

Octavia's mother looked startled yet happy. She let out a soft laugh, put her hand up to one side of her face and said, "Dear me. I thought you were here to take my girl from me."

Jackson waved his hands out in front of him and replied, "No. No. I'm just trying to help out as many people that I can here."

Keeping her smile, she said to Jackson, "Well, if that's the case, will you come over for dinner?"

For the past hour, Jackson's stomach had been rumbling non-stop. If he saw something stacked, he thought of a burger. If saw something long and thin, he thought of spaghetti. "You know, I'd love that," he finally responded.

Sarah and Jake finally stopped running when they found themselves under a sign that read, "Welcome to the Resident sector!" This sector was nothing but shops, bars, and casinos lining the perimeter of a square walkway that lined a square abyss. Jake and Sarah walked up next to it and peered down to see what was at the bottom.

"They say that you'll land on the core of this planet if you jump down, missy," giggled a stranger that passed by.

"I can't imagine it leading to anything fun or exciting," said Sarah as she backed away.

Next to them was a strange alien that had an old model astromech droid next to him at what seemed to be a parts store. 'I wonder if he has anything of use there,' she thought.

"Maybe we should try out that store," Sarah said pointing to the alien and his astromech droid.

Jake was looking at the other corner and said, "I don't know. That side seems like it holds a lot more answers."

Sarah already had Jake's arm in hand, and she was leading them to the parts dealer.

They got to the front table and she asked, "So, how's your day been," while browsing some parts.

The salesman snapped back and said, "Hey now! No touching unless you buy!"

Sarah quickly snatched her arm back before it was forcefully taken from her.

She picked up that this alien wasn't Colby, but she wanted to see if they could get information from him.

'This is perfect,' she thought.

Sarah ran her finger across a pile of lens, adapters, spliced IDs, and spikes. The alien was quick to respond, "Hey, what'd I say!"

Sarah quickly straightened her leg and placed her heel on the table exposing her leg from the end of her shirt khakis to her boots. She walked her fingers down her leg while she asked in her soft and sweetest voice, "Do you know where a girl like me can go and make a lot of money?" As she said money, she slid her finger from her ankle, up her leg, and ended with twirling a little piece of her hair that usually hung down right in front of her ear.

The alien, who's eyes were wide open and gazing at Sarah's leg, lifted his right arm and pointed at the corner that intrigued Jake earlier. "That's the place you're looking for, sweetheart. Hopefully, I see you there," finished the alien salesman. He reached down to caress her leg, but she slapped him instead.

She had used that move so many times to get some information that she knew to touch the leg was most likely the response, so she always had that slap loaded.

Sarah turned and walked away with Jake close on her heel. She whispered behind him and asked, "Did you get them all?"

"Sure did," said Jake shoving multiple spliced IDs and spikes farther into his pack.

She saw how hard he was shoving and quickly said, "They're fragile. Make sure you don't break any."

"I got it, Mom," Jake said back sarcastically. He finished and slung the pack back on his back and caught up next to Sarah. They rounded the corner that takes them straight to the busy corner. "The Devil's Corner," read Sarah. "I wonder what it is?"

The entrance to the corner had a red carpet with red ropes guiding in whoever wanted to try out the corner. The name flash bright yellow and blue right above the inviting carpet. Jake looked at Sarah and said, "Can I escort my fine lady to the best corner." He paused for suspense. "That is… The Devil's Corner."

Sarah took Jakes arm around her own and followed him through the walkway. They were immediately met with a decision to go to the right or left room. The left had a bouncer out front checking names, so that narrowed down the two choices to basically one.

Jake led Sarah to the right room. It had two swinging doors at the entrance with the name, "The Devil's Horns" flashing up above. They walked into the room and quickly realized that it was a bar.

One side of the room had a bar that sold liquor, beer, and anything that would make you feel something other than normal.

A man in a black trench coat walked by everyone whispering, "Death sticks. I've got the death sticks," so that the law enforcement couldn't hear him. Everyone seemed so strange here. Species were dancing in the wildest ways, either a liquid or ooze was all over the floor, and the lights were flashing in a sequence that should've given everyone epileptic seizures.

The first place the two looked around was at the tables that lined the window to the outside. They walked slowly trying to notice or pick up on any subtle actions that would indicate that they are high up officials. The tables were gambling tables that had five to six people betting on cards with a robot dealer.

Jake nudged Sarah and asked, "Have you ever seen that guy on the other side of the room?" He nodded towards a blue man wearing long pants, boots, a white button shirt, brown leather vest, and a holster with a gun.

"Never in my life," she responded.

"Well, he's been eyeing us since we walked in," pointed out Jake. "Should we just go talk to him?"

"Seems like our only choice," she said moving past Jake and to the unknown man.

Reaching his table, Sarah put her hands on it and said, "Is there something that we can do for ya?"

A few of the others surrounding the table took a step towards Jake and Sarah with their hand on their holster. The man at the table held up his hand to hold them off. He laughed a little, leaned forward and said, "Now, is that any way to talk to the man that just saved your life?"

"Like hell you did. I could've stopped these chumps with my right hand and leg tied behind my back," Sarah said tossing her head from side to side.

The stranger's face went from annoyed to a smile when a few seconds passed. "You know what," he asked? "I like you. You've got some spunk to you. Why don't you sit down?" He nudged a grunt from the chair next to him and welcomed Sarah to sit down.

"No, thanks," she simply responded.

He sucked on his front teeth and let go making a loud noise. "I saw y'all snooping around here. What're y'all looking for? I'm not going to have my man put his gun on you, but you should probably answer this time."

Jake stepped up to the table. "We were just looking for good time," he said grabbing Sarah's arm then leaning in whispering something to her.

"I'm assuming that this is your sister because there is no way that you'd be able to score her, but I might be able to get her into somewhere a lot more interesting. However, it'd be without you short stuff," the man finished looking at Jake.

"What is it? Where is it?" Jake asked.

Leaning back and putting his arm around a girl Twi'lek on his right, he said, "I can take you to The Devil's Heart right next door. But," he said with his finger up. "You have to dance for the gentlemen there."

Sarah took a step back and whispered to Jake, who gave a quick response when she finished. She reached out her hand with a smirk and said, "I accept your proposition."

"Good," he said. "I'm Kryp by the way." He gave a small wave with his fingers. "This gentleman will take you to your room that you will get prepared in." A man around 6'3" and red hair took Sarah by the arm and led her to a room in the back.

Jake was still looking in Sarah's direction when Kryp said, "Bummer that she won't do that to you isn't it?"

Jake laughed, took a cup from the table, drank it dry then said, "I just hope your boys are ready." He left the table and headed for the bar.

Within a ten minutes Sarah was being led back to the table by the same red-haired man. She was getting multiple whistles and hollers on her way back and ended up seeing Jake by the bar talking to the bartender.

"Are you ready, sweetheart?" Kryp asked.

"Yep!" she said excited.

"Then allow me," he said. Kryp stood up, exited the table, and grabbed Sarah's arm ready to escort her to the Devil's Heart. She grabbed it and began the walk there. On the way out they passed the bar where Jake was talking.

"Good luck, my friend!" yelled Kryp to Jake. In response, he lifted his cup up as if he was giving Kryp and Sarah a toast.

They left the bar a headed down the hall to the next room. Kryp but his free hand on Sarah's arm and said, "Now, you two are either very desperate for money or on a mission for something." Kryp paused for a few seconds to reiterate what he said. Then, he broke out laughing right as they walked up to the door. He stopped laughing and stopped walking right when they got to the door.

He turned to look at her in the eyes and said, "If you decide to fuck me over in there. I will kill your boyfriend and any other of your friends that you have here, in front of you. Then, I will feed you and your friends to my pet ranchar." His eyes were serious and attracted Sarah with the bottomlessness of them.

"Got it," she said with a crack in her voice.

The doors immediately swung open to six chairs circled around a single golden pole. "Ahhhh, Kryp. You finally lured a fine dancer to us. Come, sit down," said a man with an elegant accent and a white fedora. Kryp walked Sarah up to the pole and instructed her to start dancing.

Sarah, wearing a fluffy robe, grabbed the pole and locked her legs poking out her butt. The men around her began conversing as if she wasn't there. This is perfect, she thought. She began swinging around and sliding up and down the pole while listening in on the others.

"Doctor. This meat medley is to die for! How did you make it?" asked a strange man that was no taller than four feet, but had many medals on his shirt.

"Very carefully. Only choosing the finest of the stock. The number of them have been decreasing, so that the food storage can increase," said a man that was wearing a white and black suit with a Mining Company tie pin on.

"Is there a way to get more food into here," asked one that was sitting next to Kryp.

"Now, now miss," said the man in the fedora. Sarah stopped dancing. "What's your name?" he asked.

Sarah stood up next to the pole and said, "Liz Deursmith." That was the best name that she could come up with on the fly.

"Lovely," he replied. "German, I suppose. Fascinating place." He sat up then leaned towards her. "They practiced perfection in whatever they did. If they laid bricks for road, they were perfect. If they built a cathedral, it was perfect in structure and beauty. The angles and symmetry complimented the colors and the art while pointing towards the Heavens. If they did art, it was perfect in every aspect." The man folded his hands in front of his face. "With you, I'm guessing full German with that last name. You should practice what your ancestors taught everyone. Perfection," he finished kissing the tip of all his fingers then bursting his hand outwards like Italian cooks.

"Yes, sir," Sarah said. She got closer to the pole and worked her hands down to her waist. She untied the knot that kept her robe on, then let it slowly fall to ground. As it wrapped and fell off every curve, the gentlemen in the room all set down their drinks and watched her.

"Yes, good. That is more like it," said the man in the fedora.

Her legs glistened as they wrapped around the golden pole. The purple background complimented her body emphasizing her tone and curves. All the gentlemen were now leaning forward in their seats paying attention to the masterpiece in front of them. With her butt to the men, Sarah leaned towards the pole and locked her legs. She looked over her shoulder at the man in the suit, then dropped her hips and let them fall to the floor.

After seeing that move, the man in the suit said, "Come on over here to Mr. Hunt." He gestured towards a different man in one of the seats

"Whatever you say," Sarah replied as she lightly bit the tip of her index finger. She climbed down off the short stage that the pole was on with the help of the Doctor.

Mr. Hunt was sitting comfortably in his padded, leather chair with one-thousand dollars in his hand. Sarah walked to Mr. Hunt and faced him face to face.

"Now, Mr. Hunt," said Sarah as she pushed her elbows together and leaned in closer to his face. "I hate to tell you, but that's just my lap dance fee." She shimmied, then stood back up straight. She turned around and began twerking on Mr. Hunts lap.

"Mr. Hunt, today must surely be your lucky day," Kryp pointed out.

Sarah ran her hands up her thighs and butt, up her waist, and through her hair at the top. Then, she brought her hands by down the front by moving them over her busty breasts and flat stomach. Whipping her hair around, she performed a seductive dance for another few minutes by bouncing her ass and full breasts in front of Mr. Hunt's face. She finished her dance and climbed up to the pole with the help from Mr. Kryp. He kissed her hand as she reached the pole.

The doctor spoke out and said, "Mr. Hunt. Doesn't this fine lady deserve the money you hold in your hand?"

"Without a doubt," replied Mr. Hunt placing the stack of money at Sarah's feet who was still dancing on the pole. All the men sat back in their chairs smoking their cigars when a waiter walked in, gave Sarah a nod, then whispered in the doctor's ear.

"Ah, who's the guest," he asked?

The waiter slid a piece of paper to the Doctor. Sarah was swinging around the pole trying to get a look at the name on the paper, but after a few twirls and getting dizzy all she could read was, 'Gamb.'

"Thank you, waiter," responded the doctor. "Oh, and let me have a look your selection of the young meat. I heard it tastes best."

The waiter bowed his head and exited the room in the same fashion.

"What a good waiter," acknowledged the doctor. "Now, Ms. Sarah. Will you excuse us. We are having an old friend over for dinner."

"Of course," Sarah said. She picked up her robe and tied it around her waist. She looked over her shoulder for as many details that she could pick up to tell the others, but she only saw one thing. In the back behind a black curtain, she saw a little girl standing next to the same waiter that had just walked out into the lounge room. Next her was a Twi'lek that was a few years older that had tears running down her face. Right when she saw the kids, the bouncer grabbed her arm and led her out of the Devil's Heart.

"I'm sorry Miss," he said. "But, what goes on next isn't fit for a lady's eyes or ears." Shock took over Sarah's face as she wanted back in to help the people in the back. A single tear ran down her face, and she wiped it away.

Sarah walked back into the Devil's Horns and saw Jake sitting down at a table with two girls and another guy. She went straight to her changing room and shut the door behind herself. She took off her robe revealing her stellar body. Reaching down between her busty tits, she pulled out a white and clear plastic card and put it in her backpack. Exchanging the bra and panties that she received with her own, Sarah put all of her normal clothes back on and left her hair up in a ponytail leaving that one strain of hair in front of her ear free.

Jake was conversing with people at the table about everything that has to do with Nar Shaddaa. He had learned about the multiple bars that have strippers, bars without strippers, casinos, business suites, and even a little about the Refugee sector.

"Well my new friends, my old friend over there is leaving the bar, so this is my queue to head out. Thank y'all," Jake said his farewell and hustled to get next to Sarah.

She was walking out faster than normal. Her strides were longer and stronger. They exited the Devil's Horns and left the Devil's Corner. They made some space between them and the corner before they started talking.

"So, did you get anything," asked Jake.

Sarah reached inside her backpack and pulled out a plastic card that read, "Shelvin Hunt" at the top. "I think it's a card key for a lot of doors here."

Jake grabbed it and looked at it closer. "I'm not gonna ask what you had to do to get this, but good job, Sarah. You outdid yourself this time." He gave her a high five then put the card back in her pack.

Zakee had been wondering the Business sector for all day now. He and Clayton split up at the beginning to search the Business sector more easily. It seemed like Colby wasn't anywhere there because no one knew the answer code.

He walked into the business suite and asked for the bosses or managers, but no one was there. On his way out, a group of four ambassadors that bore the ISIS flag walked into the same suite and asked for, "Mr. Hunt."

'So, Mr. Hunt is who to look for,' he thought. Zakee crouched and snuck out of there before anyone noticed him.

It was busy on the walk-ways at this time. People just got off their jobs, and they were on their way to shop or go home. Out in the middle of the square abyss stood three communication poles that towered over the entire city station. There was a man with an orange jacket and black pants working on the nearest one. Cleaning a nearby window, stood a women wearing a neon stripped safety vest cleaning a business's front window.

'I better go see how everyone else's day went,' Ziggy thought. He walked through the crowd and headed to the ship docks between the Business and Residential sector when he saw a familiar face in the crowd, Clayton.

"Did you find anything," yelled Zakee!

Clayton reached Zakee and said, "No, I didn't find a single thing."

The two started walking towards the ship docks and Ziggy said, "I did see four ISIS ambassadors asking around for Mr. Hunt." The two vanished in the crowd.

Jackson was standing outside of Octavia's storage home thinking about the dinner he just had while Octavia was running around outside with her teddy bear. Her mom, Tera, had three weeks to get three months of pay for rent. Mr. Hunt, the President of Nar Shaddaa, charged a large first rent to make sure that the new renter is capable enough to pay him back.

Tera and Octavia were slaves on Dantooine that were given a chance to be smuggled off Dantooine, so they took the chance. While making a stop at Nar Shaddaa, police found crates of smuggled aether on the ship, which would've been worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to the right bidder. They were thrown into the Refugee sector and forced to rent out a bunkbed in a storage home.

Tera had pulled Jackson over to the side and told him that the President kidnaps adults and little kids. It had been adults for slavery, but for the past week it has been little kids. She had been told that the adults that were taken will never come back, and she assumed the same thing with would happen to the kids. Jackson told her about Zakee, Jake, Sarah, and Clayton and how they were looking for a man named, Colby.

They had never heard of him before then.

Down the way, Jackson heard loud voices saying that officers are in town. He said a quick goodbye and left to check out the commotion. In the middle of the sector was a large pathway that started at the entrance to the Residential sector and lead to a base at the outer edge of the station and the sector. Two officers were making their rounds up and down the path checking storage homes for the young children. The officers had been taking a child with the best qualities until they found one with better qualities. A young boy with dark eyes and bags beneath them was put in-between the two. He was the chosen one at the moment.

Suddenly, Jackson was grabbed by the collar and thrown on his back in a storage home. Someone jumped on top of him and covered his mount and repeatedly said, "Shhhhh," telling him to be quiet.

The figure slowly got off Jackson and turned on the light. Jackson was surprised to see the only male six-foot, rookie recruit from the academy that had pink hair was standing in front of him. "Danny Granger? Is that you?" asked Jackson.

"You have to be quiet," responded Danny. He was wearing orange pants and a tattered plain-white tee. He looked just like one of the other refugees.

"Fine. Fine." Jackson took a look around the storage home and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a lower voice.

"I was captured by ISIS when the ships got attacked, then I was left on Nar Shaddaa by a refugee frigate of theirs," explained Danny in a whisper. "If the officer out there recognizes that you aren't a refugee then you're completely screwed."

"Well, thanks then," Jackson said. "Do you hear them?" he asked.

"Let's see," Danny responded. He walked up to the door and knocked on it three times. A few seconds later, they heard knocks in return.

*knock *knock *knock.

After hearing those three knocks, Danny opened the door to two other guys standing at the entrance. "These are some people that don't like the President either. We created a code system to let us know if guards are close." He knocked on the door another three times.

"Impressive," Jackson said. "I like what you've done to some of these guys. We'd love to have you on the crew. We've got space."

Danny stood still and was on the edge of crying. He hit Jackson on the shoulder and said, "That means a lot, man. I'd love to."

Jackson grinned and said, "No problem. Having someone that heighten all their senses will be really helpful." He moved past Danny and said, "Thanks again for what you did. I'll come and find you once I go talk to this family."

"No problem," Danny said. "I'll make sure I have everything together and will wait on you."

Jackson left Danny's storage home and headed for Octavia's. Passing the main circle at the center of the sector, he noticed a women sitting on the ground weeping.

He walked up to her and noticed that it was Tera crouched over crying. Her hair was messed up, her cloak was dusty and torn, and she was holding a ragged teddy bear close to her heart. She looked up and saw Jackson.

"This is your fault!" she yelled wiping tears from her face. "She would have never volunteered herself for another child until she met you!" She paused and took a deep breath. "You could have stopped them, and now I'll never see her again." Tera began crying again in her hands and into the teddy bear.

Jackson walked up slowly. He wrapped his arms around Tera and slowly pulled her close to his chest. "It's okay, Tera. I swear I will get Octavia back. I swear it." Jackson was hugging her tightly as she was sobbing into his shoulder.

How could he let an innocent girl be taken while he was concerned with his own safety. Before they leave, he will get Octavia back to her mother. Jackson slowly let go of Tera. She had calmed down a little bit but still had a few tears rolling down her cheeks. "I have to go so that I can save, Octavia," Jackson whispered into her ear. She slowly let go of him, stood up, and walked home.

It was time to get Octavia back.