Emancipation - Part 2
Warning: Death, abuse, mentions of torture
There wasn't much for her to do of course, and she had to wonder if she would even be allowed off the ship. That would bode ill if Tesar tried to keep her there. She still hadn't had a chance to snatch the remote from his coat pocket yet, he wasn't close enough before and if she had approached him while the guards were there they would have been suspicious. She would have to be careful.
Eventually, she felt the ship shudder as they entered the atmosphere, she didn't have a security belt so she had to cling to one of the railings while they readied to land, lest she be flung about the cargo hold like a loth-cat that climbed atop a rancor. The Nightsister grit her teeth, who in the hell was flying this thing? She'd had better landings with Hondo. It was no wonder the bastard had wanted her to learn to fly sooner rather than later, he was bloody terrible at it.
Eventually the ride smoothed out and the craft touched down. Zaiya wanted to be sick, the turbulence had her utterly nauseous. She leant against the cold metal wall, took a deep breath and closed her eyes. They would be here any minute, she had to get herself under control. After a moment she managed to stand upright again, positioning herself exactly where she had been before.
The door slid open again, guards entered the room, and spoke quietly to each other, in order to prepare to disembark and bring the goods down onto the platform. Tesar appeared a few moments later, looking pleased that his operation was going well. Zaiya wanted to shove him and take the remote, but she wouldn't make it without being caught by the guards.
"Well, let us go and meet this trader, hm?" He mused snidey, glancing at her with barely hidden contempt. "Come along Angel." If ever there was a word she despised more than anything it was that name they had given her. Still, she followed down the ramp. The platform was a small one, just a piece of metal on flat ground, ahead, she could see trees, they were in some kind of clearing in a forest, blue leaves and teal grass gave a peaceful feeling to the area, the sun filtering through the leaves, dappled on the ground, as thought they were not about to trade lives for guns she wondered who is was that might be so foul that they would deal with Zygerrians.
"Well well, it's about time you showed up!" Spoke an all too familiar voice. Zaiya's step faltered and she stumbled into the Zygerrian. With a snarl he shoved her aside where she dropped to the ground with a tiny grunt.
"Ohnaka…" Tesar growled, turning to face the Weequay. The man in the red coat and helmet stepped out of the trees, flanked by several of his men, looking impatient as always. Zaiya looked up slowly, her eye wide and mouth dropped open in shock. She didn't know what to think. He was here?! But… he was trading slaves?! Quickly she masked her expression again, determined to see what was happening, she had been quick enough to grasp the remote, thank the stars, but now she had to know, was she safe? Would Hondo betray her? Capture her for a payday? Would he even recognise her?
"I trust you have the goods we bargained for, for this trade?" Tesar growled quietly, seeming to have little patience. Zaiya picked herself up from the ground and dusted herself off, grass stains on the knees of the white leggings.
"Of course, of course, what do you take me for? They are on my ship!" He assured in his usual sing song voice.
"Then bring them out!" Tesar huffed, impatiently. It was then that the Weequay stopped dead in his tracks and his face dropped.
"Siren…?" He half-whispered, meeting her gaze. The look of shock was etched into every pore of his expression. Zaiya looked at him silently, then flicked a gaze between Tesar and the guards. His mouth closed. Did he understand? Well… he couldn't miss the collar.
"Ah, I see you have noticed the… additional security from my benefactor. Are you going to say hello, Angel?" He laughed cruelly. "I am told she doesn't speak but is quite capable in other matters, though between you and I, I think she is just defective."
"Defective?" Hondo snarled, an edge to his voice suddenly. She hadn't heard him so angry before. He cleared his throat, straightening up and bristling slightly, meeting her gaze again, pointedly. "This way then." He turned, and she barely had time to notice the slight hand movement. A signal. She hit the ground once more, instinctively as blaster bolts exploded from the treeline. She saw Tesar scrabble backwards, apparently the fool managed to avoid being struck, but the guards weren't so lucky. Had they deliberately only aimed for security? A second later, Hondo was at her side, bent over to help pick her up by the crook of her arm. She guided her to standing and looked her over, worry all over his features.
"Siren what has happened? How are you here?!" He gasped.
"You can't take her!" Tesar screeched, trying to stand, but the guns of Hondo's men were trained on him. "She belongs to D'Sarr!" Hondo let out a quiet growl of displeasure, but took Zaiya's free hand as she held it out to him. In it was the remote, she needed this thing off. Now. The Weequay fiddled with the side of it, but managed to directly connect the remote to it like a key, the locking mechanism disengaging. The skin under the collar was red and raw, and slightly infected, unable to be properly cleaned often, it smelled of rot.
In a wave, all the power she once knew as naturally as breathing came back in a powerful rush. She took in a deep gasping breath, as though her magick were in the air itself. The sound was hollow and ragged, the sound unnatural to her ears. She felt again. She felt whole, full of force and magic and all the power she was cut off from for so many years. She felt the warmth of the sun and the breeze on her skin. She felt the sting of healing cuts. She felt… alive. She touched her neck gently, allowing herself to flinch at the feeling. She was… free. She looked up at Hondo with a soft laugh that could have been a gasp. He still looked worried, but the edge of his lips curved up slightly.
"You will regret this, Ohnaka!" Tesar hissed behind her. Her expression dropped again, into nothing. But she could feel the hatred in her now. The vicious anger and rage she had pushed down for so long.
"I will take care of this-" Hondo began to say, but Zaiya held up her hand and slowly turned. Tesar's eyes widened on seeing her, she looked like a demon, blue eye blazing with rage and sinister intent.
"You-you don't-" He began, but Zaiya opened her mouth.
She screamed.
The sound was unlike any organic sound any of the men present had heard. It was a screeching roar, the sound of a storm, of a whirlwind, the sound one might think of if the world were ending. It was pain. It was torment. It was cruel vengeance. It was eight years of rage and sorrow in one sound. The men clamped their hands over their ears and backed up. But Tesar. Oh Tesar had no chance. He took the full brunt of the sound. Mixed with something else. The Zygerrian tried to block it out, but to no avail, he shook, his eyes rolling back and head lolling to the side. She screamed at him in one long, loud breath, the force of it tore her vocal chords, blood splattering from her lips and staining the lower as well as her chin. Blood too oozed from the slaver's nose, eyes and ears, visible through his fur. He dropped like a stone.
The sound stopped.
The pirates stared at the woman clad in white. The one called Siren, known for a melodic voice, a song and a smile as bright as her white hair. This Siren… that had literally screamed a man to death. She turned back to Hondo, her mentor, the one she called uncle, the rage in her expression spent. She just looked tired… and afraid. He caught her before she hit the ground.
"Pile the bodies and burn them, someone hide their ship and take everything of value -hurry!" Hondo snapped, shifting to pick up the now unconscious Nightsister. Despite the immense power she had displayed, she was not looking good. She was skinny, far too skinny. She'd always had a decent figure, well-fed and muscled, plumper than the other Nightsister he had seen, but now she looked like skin and bone, her cheeks gaunt and horrifyingly, her left eye was a dark chasm. What the hell had happened to her?!
He carried her onto the ship immediately, he didn't want to leave a trace here, and he didn't want to waste any time. Heavy boots thudded on the metal walkways as he took her to what classed as a medical wing on his ship. It wasn't much… and not enough for what she needed. Where could he take her? She needed a proper medical facility! He didn't know what to do, he was not equipped to deal with this! Shouting at his men to hurry up, he laid her in the medical cot.
"And get me Treshan on the comms!" He cried as one of his men bolted from the room. They were terrified. If he said he wasn't as well, Hondo would be lying. What had he just seen? What was that power? Had she always been able to do that? Why did the Zygerrian scum say she didn't talk?
It had been nearly ten years since he had laid eyes on her, she looked like she had been captive for nearly that long. By the stars… The comm on his wrist beeped, the signal boosted by the ship.
"Hey… what's the urgent communication about…?" Treshan's voice cracked through the speaker.
"Get over here. Now." Hondo insisted, with no preamble for once. "Meet me at the coordinates I am sending you, immediately."
"This had better not be another job gone wrong, Ohnaka." He heard Bane's voice join the comm. They must have been working a joint contract.
"It's Siren." The comm went silent for a moment.
"You found her?" Treshan gasped, the urgency evident in his voice.
"I will explain later, just get here."
Zaiya heard sounds as she began to wake. They were unfamiliar. Not the footsteps that usually stirred her from sleep at the D'Sarr manor. It was voices. Voices? In her room?! DANGER. She bolted upright in a second, eye wide and taking in the surroundings. She froze, She didn't know this place. Was this the medical wing of D'Sarr's house again?!
"Hey-hey she's awake-!" Gasped a voice that took a moment to place. She jerked her head slightly toward the sound and looked up wide eyed at a face she had not seen in a long while. He had more grey in his dark curly hair and beard. More wrinkles on his brown face than before... but she knew this face. Friendly face. Adaji. Her shoulders sagged as she let out a breath she was not aware she had been holding. Still, she eyed the Mandalorian hesitantly, looking like an animal too long caged. Another figure joined him, leathers, the smell of musky cologne, blue skin, red eyes… very big hat. Yes, she knew this one too. Bane. Beyond them was Hondo looking almost ashen-faced.
"Do you… remember what happened?" Hondo asked in a voice too quiet to suit him. She stared at him. Should she speak? Did she remember how? Her throat was so sore and she could taste blood. Oh she remembered alright. Instead of speaking, she decided to nod. It felt a little foreign to her. "The slaver is dead, they are all gone now…" He added, she looked down and nodded once more. Suddenly her hand scrabbled to her chest, she was bandaged, her wounds treated apparently but where was-?!
"Here." Adaji held out the pendant that had been beside her on the side table. She snatched it up and held it tight, closing her eyes. This time the tears came, sobs overflowed from her and through the pain in her throat she wailed.
Adaji swept her up in his strong arms at once and held her tight, he looked between the other two hunters with an expression of utter panic. What the hell was happening? She never was this vulnerable before. He didn't know what to do but he sure as hell wasn't going to abandon her. He didn't know when it happened, but she stuck in his mind. She became important. Beyond the joking and the missions… he wanted her to be safe. Be happy. He regretted that the last time he'd seen her he was hung over. He should have gone to Coruscant with Hondo… stayed with her for a while to make sure she was safe! She was so capable that he sometimes forgot how young she was. She had still been a child then! He'd let her go… and now look at what happened. He knew he wasn't her father… and he had no claim to her. But when she'd called him ba'vodu the first time… he was done for. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for this kid, and it burned him to see her like this. Starved, weak, vulnerable and sobbing against him. It broke his heart and he just held her tighter, as if that might make it better.
"You... said the Zygerrians had her?" The Mandalorian whispered after a long while of just holding her and listening. Her cries had become softer, now hiccups and soft breaths, his shirt soaked from so many tears. But never did he let the girl go. She might be grown now, but she was always going to be that little girl he met in the cantina to him.
"Yes… we had planned to trick one of them, take their supplies and run, you know I don't deal in people smuggling…" Hondo replied with distaste in his voice. "But then I saw her all collared… he said she didn't speak, but she screamed at him once I got the collar off and…"
"He died from a scream?" Bane mused, brows risen slightly. He looked back at the girl, shaking in the arms of his friend. Just what was she capable of? Adaji could read the question in his red eyes, he was thinking the same thing.
"It's gonna be okay…" He whispered to her, stroking her hair gently. He felt helpless. How did he fix this? Make her go back to who she was, take all the pain away and make her smile again. How was he supposed to do that?
"I last saw her with a zabrak, they killed a Jedi and he took off with her back to Coruscant." Bane muttered with a growl.
"Was he the one that did this?" Adaji asked, leaning back to see her face, offering her a cloth to wipe her face. "Did that zabrak give you-" She was already shaking her head no vigorously. "Alright, alright, it wasn't him… was that the time when you were taken?" He asked and she paused, then nodded. Adaji looked up, "When was the job?"
"About…" Bane added it up in his head. "Six… seven…. No, eight years ago now…"
"Eight years?!" Adaji cried. Zaiya jerked back at the loud sound and he immediately held up his hands, the fast movement causing her flinch. He swore softly and began to move slowly. "It's okay, you are safe now." He spoke in a soft tone again, trying to calm her. Her breathing sharp and eye wildly looking for danger. His heart just about jumped out of his chest when he saw her flinch like that. He'd seen it before in the women serving in cantinas, or in Jabba's palace. He never thought he would see her like this.
"I can tell you one thing, her face wasn't like that when I saw her last time either." Bane muttered, but he sounded angry. Zaiya curled into herself, still so vulnerable and afraid. The Mandalorian shifted, bringing her back to lean on his chest again, hoping it was helping. He wondered if Ohnaka and Bane were in as much pain as he was, seeing her like this. From the pensive looks on their faces, they certainly didn't like it.
The three bounty hunters had never seen her like this. They were at a loss. Adaji had some medical knowledge so he had been able to apply bacta to her wounds, wrap her up and give her a drip of essential fluids. They would have to get her to eat to regain her strength, she looked like she could pass away any minute.
"What do we do? Hondo muttered, "This is… not exactly my area of expertise." He shrugged.
"We could… take her back to her people?" Bane murmured with a hesitant tone, lost in thought.
"The Nightsisters? Is that a good idea?" Adaji looked apprehensive, he didn't like the stories she'd told about them, things she'd said in passing that she seemed to think were normal until one of the three had had a strange reaction to it. He'd watched her, she'd clamp down if ever she thought she was getting too much attention because of what she'd said. He didn't want to take her back. "I don't know. I could take her to Concordia, they have better facilities."
"She isn't one of you." Bane replied with a frown. "Would they accept her?"
"Maybe.. But even though the other one said she had a Mandalorian father, I haven't been able to find any trace of who it might be. The only ones I wasn't able to ask was-" He cut himself off shaking his head, Vizsla and his crew were wary of outsiders. She had proven herself well enough, but they had gotten far more radical since then.
"She grew up with the Nightsisters, if anyone will know how to fix her, it will be them." Bane replied logically, it did make the most sense. Though… as Zaiya sat listening, her head down, face hidden, she was weighing her options. She was free, she could heal up a little and go back to wo- but what was the point? She'd failed. She had been discovered, captured… and… and she'd failed to save him. He was gone. She had to tell Talzin.
"...mmm…" She tried to say, lifting her head slightly. She could still taste blood in her mouth. Who knew talking would be so difficult?
"What is it ad'ika?" Adaji asked, fretting like he was… like he was her parent. Zaiya felt the tears well up again and struggled to keep them at bay. This is not how she was taught! She had to be strong! She had to be powerful! She was not supposed to show weakness like this!
But weren't they family now too? Why call them bavodu'e if they were not family? Slowly, her gaze lifted, her remaining good eye glanced between the three hesitantly. She had never remembered being so afraid. She was not even this fearful when she was under the control of D'Sarr. Was the fear coming up now from that time? Was she afraid of these men before her? She looked at each of them in turn. Worried eyes looked back at her. Even Bane had a sliver of emotion in his large red eyes and it was a little startling. Her shoulders relaxed a little, physically lowering as she raised her head from behind her knees where she was curled up on the cot. She shifted, hesitantly, trying to force herself to move even though she ached all over and her joints complained as she scooted toward the edge of the bed. She looked up at Hondo for a moment of silence, then, even though her mind was telling her to hide, she reached out. Confused, the Weequay stepped forward, and crouched to be at her level when she beckoned. In a swift movement, she hugged him, small and trembling, she hugged him tight. The Pirate blinked, this was new for both of them. She wasn't openly affectionate before, was she? Serious at first, then more playful in her attitude over the years, sure- but… she could not remember before her capture very well right now. Still, she hugged him tighter than she had ever held anyone before. She would always be grateful to him, no matter what happened.
"...thank… you…" She rasped, her voice like dry grass, a whisper of its former self. "...saved me…" was all she managed. When she finally pulled away, the pirate captain's goggles were fogged up.
"Uh… just… something in my eye…" He muttered, turning his back quickly and wiping his face. She was sure she heard him sniff. She then shuffled to the foot of the bed and Bane tensed, but she leaned out to embrace him as well. He was stiff and awkward, she felt him move his head, likely looking around, but eventually he let out a sigh and some of the tension released from his skinny frame. She felt a hand at her back as he petted her awkwardly.
"It's alright, little lady, you're gonna be just fine." He spoke in that quiet, deep and slightly buzzy tone that she found rather calming. Some of the chaos in her mind seemed to ebb. The embraces of the ones she trusted was one of the most healing things she had ever experienced. The only ones she had really hugged before were the brothers… and Saxon… once. She had a slight twinge of regret of not hugging people more. Eventually she pulled away and shuffled back, glancing up at Bane with a nod. He smiled at her. A real one. She felt the edges of her mouth be tugged slightly upward. The Duros reached up and grasped his hat, then popped it on her head. This had only happened once before, and he had threatened her last time. This time she felt her hearts full to bursting at the tiny gesture. Her eyes welled up and she nodded when he chuckled slightly. The mood in the room felt a little lighter.
Adaji reached out slowly, he remembered not to make sudden movements as he took her pale hand in both of his large brown ones, pulling her closer to almost sit in his lap like one might to a child. She'd never appreciated that protective streak more than right then. "You're safe now, ad'ika. You don't ever have to go back there." She nodded again, tears streaming down her face silently. It was a while before she eventually sniffed and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.
"... athom.." she tried, her voice hoarse and throat aching painfully. Adaji leaned a little closer so she could whisper. "To… Dathomir…" She managed. It was slowly becoming easier to talk again.
"Are you sure?" He asked, grimacing, he didn't seem to like the idea. She nodded again, shifting over enough to lean on his shoulder. Thankfully he wasn't in his armour else it would not have been comfortable at all. "Alright… we'll set a course for Dathomir." He nodded, and looked up at Hondo who seemed to have recovered.
"Right…" He nodded, running a hand over his chin. "Perhaps it would be better if you two take her." He frowned, "I don't like it but, my men would not agree to dealing with witches…"
"My ship is smaller, won't attract too much attention I think." Adaji replied, scratching at his beard. It wasn't quite salt and pepper yet but the grey hairs were a little more noticeable now. Zaiya understood what Hondo meant, his men had already seen a glimpse of her power, and they likely didn't want to see more of it.
"Let's get you to the ship, little lady, then you can rest." Bane spoke, pushing himself slowly from his chair. Zaiya moved to get up, but was lifted by Adaji, he gave no indication he was going to put her down any time soon and just walked out of the infirmary with the too-skinny Sister in his arms. She wasn't that short anymore, but she felt dwarfed in comparison to these two warriors.
"You will be just fine, little one. I am so sorry this is such a short meeting this time..." Hondo assured, having escorted them to the small hangar where Adaji's ship was docked. "I want updates! Don't you forget to contact your Uncle Hondo, hm?" He petted her arm with a ring-covered hand. Zaiya nodded under the big hat still on her head.
The three moved to the smaller ship, telling her she could rest while they flew. The little bunk was cosy, and more comfortable than the bed she'd had for so many years. Adaji promised he would keep checking on her, and she would not have to worry, they were just a few feet away from her.
After some coaxing, she was able to close her eyes, the sounds of the ship more of a comfort than she had realised. Eventually, the Nightsister managed to drift off, exhaustion taking her once more as the ship left the hangar of Hondo's larger one.
She was going home again.
Notes:
Despite the warning there was some fluff in there! The boys to the rescue! Yay! We have some nice chapters for a while so that should balance the utter evil that was the previous few chapters.
Next chapter is titled: Return - Part 1!
