A Scholar and a Vagabond

[Kori Buor]

Toydaria
​

The thick humid air of the forest clung to Ahzek Shahi as he walked through the small city nestled between the towering trees. His skin, robed, hair all felt sticky from the moisture of the environment, and the Jedi Knight could have sworn he had already sweated out half of his body wait in the last two hours. Mental notes were made about never returning to such a planet, and if he did it was going to be wearing something entirely different; something environmentally sealed preferably. Like a space suit. The Jedi Knight smirked at the notion and rolled his eyes. Back to business.

Today, Ahzek had chosen to come to this somewhat backwater Outer Rim world in search of artifacts that he or the Jedi might find interesting or illuminating. The fact that he had to come to this cesspit where the only law it seemed was don't cause a fuss and pay up, and even then only if you had to. With a little sigh he maneuvered between the crowds of traders and the hovering Toydarians who tried to peddle some services or goods. Most of the stuff was worthless. He had to be careful about what he said or did on Toydaria; there were many things which Ahzek did not agree with, and the wrong word at the wrong time would see him facing down or running from a mob of mercenaries, Toydarians, and slavers.

Entering a large market where the center of which was filled with a large runway or stage, Ahzek knew this was the place his contact was supposed to meet him. Stepping up to an unoccupied sign post at one end of the market, he scratched three white rally marks into its side and then he watched and waited, scanning the area with the Force until he sensed something special or different. He had no idea when his contact would get there, and until it did he just had to stay casual.

@Undine

 

[Undine]

Ocean sat on her knees, listening to the Toydarian shouting prices as another wound woman stood on a raised platform to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The Rattataki woman had never been much of a gambler, but this time she'd really let herself go overboard. Oddly enough while restraint was something she'd developed her entire life, she just never really saw the purpose behind it, at least not till she found herself in these types of situations. Ocean had had the bright idea of offering herself in a wager for a starship, laughing it off at the time though now she regretted it dearly.

The stress of being enslaved had put enough pressure on her lungs that she'd had another coughing fit, blood as usual. It had been one of the other girls that had requested some medicine for her, which had resulted in a severe whipping. Her new master, a human by the name of Dracer Zero sat watching his new girls being sold, more content with the quick credits then the harsh reality of slavery. At least he had had the kindness to buy her some medicine, some sort of local herbs that smelled and tasted of mint, though the texture was a little off. Ocean knelt over the green skinned Twi'lek, rubbing the chewed up bits of the herbs into the slashes on her back from where the whip had bitten to deep.

Neither her or Ocean cried, perhaps that was what they were suppose to have done, but it wasn't in either of their character's. Ocean could she her strength, could even feel it. The Twi'lek's blood stained itself into Ocean's pure white fingers as she worked, her hands moved fast as they remembered fixing similar wounds before. Traveling with wanderers and street performers taught a person about many aspects of life and not even Naboo was free of slavery, at least not deep down where only the scum of the galaxy could reach. As a street dancer, not all were content to play nice, some people simply enjoyed hurting others and Ocean was no tenderfoot.

It would have been better if she had a needle and thread to stitch up some of the worse cuts, but scared property was all Dracer would see it as. No skin off his back, as it were. Ocean washed her hands with some of the water they'd been given, before helping the woman sit up. It was just then that the Toydarian seemed to call out her name, or at least the new name she'd been given. Ocean had no doubt that whoever her next master would be, they'd most likely give her a new name as well. She made her way to the auction platform, keeping her eyes to the ground as she did so, no need to have anyone else beaten on her account.

With a final look at the woman still pinned in that cage, she faced the crowd, her eyes cold as she refused to allow herself to flinch at the prices people shouted out for. Each voice wounding her, each rage at being outbid eating at her heart. She would not allow herself to break, there would be no tears today. Ocean knew she would just have to escape, no matter where she ended up she would find her way back to the serene skies and oceans of Naboo, she would dance along the light of day one last time, kicking up her feet on the fountains of Theed again before she allowed herself to give up hope.​

 

[Kori Buor]

Nearby, Ahzek could hear a Toydarian shouting prices in harsh basic, it's nasally-sounding voice trying to bellow numbers at the crowd that passed by. A few people walking by stopped and stepped closer to see what the Toydarian was selling. Some kept going, others became even more interested. Feeling something odd coming from that direction, the Jedi Knight stepped closer, and it only took a few more moments for him to realize that this ugly winged alien was, in fact, selling slaves. The practice was depraved in Ahzek's eyes, and there were many times as a child he had hidden from slavers trying to capture him. Such early memories did not endear him to slavers or slavery, nor did the stories he had heard from the other kids and escaped slaves, nor did his time since joining the Jedi.

Still, Ahzek couldn't be expected to free every slave on every planet, and as much as he wished to help, trying to stage a mass slave breakout in this market of Toydaria would see him killed and the slaves also dead or back in captivity. Even so, the Knight would keep his eyes open to see if he could do something to make the slave's lives any easier, or if he could help them escape in a manner which didn't end with them all captured or dead.

Reaching into the Force, Ahzek began to focus in on the strange sensation he had detected earlier while passing on by. There was something or someone nearby who was fairly strong in the Force. Perhaps even multiple somethings or someones. Curiosity got the better of the young Jedi Knight as he moved closer to the source of the presence. His eyes were drawn to a pair of humanoids, a pale skinned near-human female with no hair, and a green-skinned Twi'lek female. The Twi'lek had some cuts over her back, likely from some slave-driver's whip, and the other woman seemed to be trying to help her by rubbing something in the open wounds. Odd. Ahzek thought to himself. To see such acts of kindness and compassion even when one is a slave speaks to that woman's willingness to help, or her naivety.

Watching coldly as the bald woman was led to the auction stage, Ahzek felt a chill run down his spine. It was her. She is the one he had managed to sense. If he felt her she was either unusually strong in the Force, or the mystic energy field was drawing them together for a reason. Unfortunately, there was no way he would be able to outbid some of the disgusting excuses for sentient beings in this square bidding on her. That didn't mean he wouldn't be able to rescue her.

Glancing around, Ahzek didn't see his contact, and figured that this woman needed his help more than the Jedi needed to recover an artifact. After another minute, a patrician-looking Arkanian had won the bid. Stepping off to the side to complete the paperwork and pay for his new slave, the Arkanian seemed rather smug with himself. Splitting his attention on the woman and her new "owner" as they both were pushed off to the side. Making a promise to himself, Ahzek became determined to see this woman free. Following the Arkanian, the Jedi kept out of the way, waiting for the man to claim his prize and begin walking off where the Jedi might be able to persuade him one way or another to leave his new toy.

@Undine

 

[Undine]

As her escort came to a close, her new master standing ready to claim her, Ocean felt a gut wrenching sensation that told her to run. She'd expected a typical slaver or some high end business man tired of paying for his private dancers. There was something off about this man. He had an aura of sterilized professionalism and a cold star. Ocean had never met someone without pupils before, but it became instantly clear to her the man wasn't blind. She didn't dare speak, he carried no weapon that she could see, but somehow she knew much worse than a whipping waited for her should she step out of line.

With a quick glance in her direction, the Arkanian pulled up a holopad from his side, occasionally looking towards Ocean, but never meeting her gaze. She stood there, still cuffed and waiting instructions. There were two other beings that seemed to be from the same species behind him, as well as other slaves, men, women, even children, and all from species Ocean had for the most part never seen before. Of the ones she could recognize, a Duros woman, a Nautolan boy, two Togruta, a Wookiee, and a Jawa. Her new owners made no indication she should join the others on the caged transport, nor did she move to. She wasn't going to find out just what these weird aliens could do to her just yet, she still needed to gage their sensory awareness.

Instead, the man who had actually bought her finally spoke up. "You have no need to worry, you not a slave, so long as you cooperate. I need your name and your species to start. I take it your female-" The white skinned mane finally made eye contact though Ocean just looked at him blankly. "-though I will need to know your age and planet of birth as well." Ocean looked away, thoughts of Naboo called to her like the warmth of a soft bed after a long day, and she was far more exhausted then she'd like to admit. The man looked around back towards one of his companions, a woman, who stood watching the two of them. The woman nodded, reaching for a small bottle before tossing it to the man.

Ocean was in no rush to find out what was inside that bottle though and quickly answered the questions. "Ocean, Ocean is my name. I'm 19 and from Naboo, Theed specifically." The man was quick to point out she hadn't mentioned her species, though he typed in the information he'd been given thus far. "Rattataki." She replied quickly, watching the woman who'd tossed the bottle. Unlike the man in front of her, the woman behind him seemed more then willing to star her down. Ocean looked to her feet so as to avoid offending the woman. The man might have said she wasn't a slave, but no one had reached to unfasten her cuffs and the caged transport holding the two dozen or so aliens seemed to indicate she wasn't going to be getting asked for her consent anytime soon.

The man continued eyeing her over, typing into his holopad the more information he got out of her. Ocean spent the time doing much the same, noting the distance between the bars on the transport, if she could get free of her cuffs she'd be able to squeeze through those bars easily. It was obvious to her that whatever it was meant to hold, it was a lot larger than the average humanoid. Finally the woman spoke. "Rattataki huh? I don't see any body tattoos or modifications." It was meant as an insult, and Ocean did take offence by it, but she hid it behind a mask of compliance as she took the opportunity to look at the woman directly.

The transport had six sets of wheels, each a pair of two instead of one. "I lost my parents before I reached adulthood, never earned my markings." The front end of the vehicle was well armored, though should no sign of having any sort of counter defense systems. Ocean guessed it would be a lot faster then it looked, given it's size. Ocean was willing to risk asking a question of her own, though mostly of the man, rather than the woman or the third of their species who had gotten inside the transport, the front end at least. "If I'm not a slave, what am I then?" The man stopped to put the holopad away and the woman simply gave her a cruel grin.

Without missing a beat the man said. "Your a test subject, and this is a sample of what you'll be testing." He held the small bottle from earlier up, Ocean instantly became far more hesitant than she had been, immediately regretting asking in the first place. Walking towards her, Ocean instinctively took a step back, but the man was to fast for her. Grabbing her left arm, he held her arm out and dropped a few drops of the brownish liquid onto her skin. A burning sensation instantly lt up across her arm, Ocean screaming out and falling to her knees unable to wipe the stuff off or shake her arm free, though she nevertheless tried. The liquid burned through her skin till it seemed to disappear, leaving behind deep chemical burns.

Looking up at the man, tears still coming from her eyes, Ocean didn't miss the flash of joy on his face. The twisted scientists enjoyed doing whatever it was they were doing. Ocean cursed her luck, if only she'd been sold to someone looking for a personal dancer. "We're creating a chemical weapon meant for crowd control, the recent batches seem to be a little to lethal though you shouldn't worry, your arm will heal and in the meantime there are other areas of her body we can test with." A pure flash of horror crossed Ocean's face as she attempted to scramble free of the man's grip. The woman seemingly on top of her out of nowhere with a stun baton, causing Ocean to scream out in pain all over again.

By the time she had ended up inside the transport alongside the other test subjects, Ocean sat in a tight ball, clutching her wounded arm to her chest and watching the Duros woman as she attempted to comfort the small Nautolan child. It seemed she was doomed to sit here and wait to be tortured to death at the hands of sadistic scientists. The man had gone on to continue buying slaves, continuing the process of asking questions then horribly scarring his new found property. Ocean had no idea how many more they were planning on buying, but they had the credits that was for sure. If she did manage to escape, perhaps she could swipe them to help her get off this horrible planet.​

 

[Kori Buor]

With his hood up and robes shrouding him, Ahzek hid in the shadows and watched with sympathy as the Arkanian tested its new compound out on its new purchases. It appeared that the Arkanian was a scientist, typical, and lacked any empathy or moral compass, also typical. The Jedi knew he would have to act, but only when the time was right; justice must be served to the, Force-only-knew, countless victims he had slaughtered in pursuit of research. Somethings just weren't acceptable, some costs were just too high.

Waiting until the Arkanian returned with his last batch of new purchases, Ahzek watched as the "test subjects" were placed inside the holding cage, which getting quite full by now, and they left. The Jedi continued to shadow the transport on foot, using the Force to keep up with the transport. Thankfully, the transport didn't go far; it seemed that they had an operation set up in the city for the wheeled vehicle pulled into the loading dock of an abandoned-looking warehouse. Standing outside just across the street from the warehouse, Ahzek watched. Something about this place didn't feel right to Ahzek; he could sense it through the Force, something off.

Still, he stuck to the shadows as the Arkanians began to unload their test subjects from the transport and into the warehouse. Reaching out into the Force, Ahzek could not feel much in the way of life beyond the docking bay. Now was the time to act; the streets were empty in this part of the city, and there was no one around besides the prisoners and the sadistic scientists. Taking a deep breath, Ahzek gripped one of the hilts of his lightsabers in his hand.

Moving into the warehouse with lightsaber in hand, Ahzek looked at the pale-skinned woman whom he noticed had a connection to the Force, eyes lingering on her for a few moments and hoping she would not hate him for what he was going to do. The Arkanians looked at him startled, eyes wide, and immediately moved to confront him.

"Who are you?!" Demanded a woman. Ahzek turned his hooded head to look at her.

"You will release the people you purchased." The knight replied solemnly, his voice level, and what could be seen of his face not betraying an ounce of emotion.

"Like hell we are. Who do you think you are?" The woman said growled back at him, her hands twitching at her side as though she were debating going for a weapon. A part of Ahzek wished she would.

"I am a servant of the light and of justice, and in the name of justice I demand you release the sentients you just purchased for your amoral experiments." Ahzek answer, his voice not raising an inch. Raising his hands up to his hood, he pulled the shroud down and revealed his face, his electric blue eyes, and red hair awash with gold. In his hand the cylindrical form of a lightsaber could be seen.

"He's a Jedi! Get him!" The male who seemed to be in charge shouted as he reached into his robes to grab something. "Don't kill him if you don't have to, he will prove to be an excellent subject for our tests!"

"So be it." Ahzek immediately drew on the Force, gripping the lead scientist as a golden blade sprung from the hilt of his saber with a satisfying snap-hiss. With a simple thought, he prayed, Force guide my hand. And with that he set off, throwing the scientist into the third companion who had been inching along his side, trying to remain unseen. Leaping forward, Ahzek deflected a blaster bolt from the female Arkanian who had managed to draw a holdout blaster and get a quick shot off. With a slash, the Jedi Knight destroyed the snub-nosed blaster and drew his lightsaber through her abdomen. With a silent scream, she fell to the floor, a gaping, sizzling wound in her midsection. Turning to face the other two, Ahzek moved like the wind, and removed their heads with a single swing of his sword.

And just like that the encounter was over, three dead scientists lie on the floor. Turning back to face the cage of "test subjects" in the center of the room, Ahzek approached and use the lightsaber to cut the lock. Looking at the myriad of people before him he spoke, "You are free to go, all of you. If you need transportation, my ship can get you out of here, and if you require healing I will do what I can."

Deactivating his lightsaber, he found the bald woman and approached her, "May I see your wound? My name is Ahzek, what's yours?"

 

[Undine]

~ Theme Song ~

Ocean heard shouting, figuring someone had decided they wanted to take the slaves for themselves. At least that's what she thought until she heard one of the scientists shout out Jedi. Could it be? After all the searching she'd done looking for a Jedi had one actually managed to stumble upon her here on Toydaria of all places? It didn't take long for the fighting to die down, not that Ocean could see pass the wookiee in front of her. It didn't matter however, as whoever had taken out the scientists had also started to let everyone out.

Ocean watched as the various, now former, slaves walked around. Some ran away as fast as they could, a couple grabbing the weapons from the bodies of their former owners. Others sat around and licked their wounds. Ocean had seen the same look on the homeless or abandoned children that wound up in the vagabond camps on Naboo. These were her people, so far from home as she might be, these were still the same people she'd spent her entire life with. Like children thrown out, spending their first night alone, some cried while others just looked around with empty eyes. It was obvious that many if not most of these beings had been slaves for most or all of their lives. Without a master to guide them, they were lost with nothing. She would not abandoned them.

Ocean watched as the Duros woman held onto the Nautolan child, he was so young. The wookiee seemed to be moving toward the Jedi, attempting to pick up the man and hug him. The Jawa already rummaging through what little the scientists had brought with them. Ocean paused as the Jedi approached her, he was human and had an air about him she had come to know well. She offered him her arm as he had asked, but she kept looking around, at the various other beings. "Freedom is a burden unfamiliar to these people. They need guidance Jedi, least they end up slaves again before sunrise." Ocean knew that these people were survivors, but they only knew how to survive as slaves.

Some of them would be fine, the Jawa would be able to find his own way, as a matter of fact Ocean couldn't seem to find him. Others like the Togruta or the Wookiee would most likely seek to return to their homeworlds. Ocean's gaze once again fell on the Dorus woman and the child with her. Something pulled at her, the same gut feeling she'd had when she met the Zabrak on Naboo, the gypsy woman on Mannan, the very some feeling she got every time the Jedi touched her arm or looked at her. "Jedi, look. What do you see?" Ocean pointed towards the woman and child, there was something between the two of them, a connection that went deeper than species.

If Ocean had known what being Force sensitive meant, she would have guessed that both the Duros woman and the Nautolan child were. The woman wasn't much older than Ocean, and the child had to be around eight or nine years old, as it wasn't to uncommon to see members of his species on Naboo as many aquatic species came to visit the oceans of the planet and gungans that inhabited them. Despite the pain in her arm, Ocean had plenty of strength left to move on her own, she had every intention of helping this Jedi help these people. She looked at the Jedi and smiled. "I'm Ocean." She would not abandoned her fellow vagabonds, such was an unspoken creed of her kind.​

 

[Kori Buor]

Looking at the woman's arm, Ahzek channeled his Force powers into it so that the pain would ease and the healing process would accelerate. Glancing at the bald-headed woman as she spoke, he smirked. "I have already offered help to these people. If they wish guidance, I will give it to them. I am not a tyrant or a slaver; if these people wish to flee on their own and not accept my aid that is their choice. But for anyone who stays they will find safe travel from here and a refuge waiting for them."

Ahzek continued to focus on the woman's arm and channeling the Force into it until she motioned to a Duros woman and a small Nautolan boy. Turning to look at them fully, the Jedi Knight reached out in the Force, and then smiled at what he felt. Looking back at the pale woman, he grinned brightly. "The Force moves brightly around two individuals who share a love or compassion for each other. Though I am by no means certain, the woman's actions liken her to a mother to the boy, and their connection in the Force is strong. Just like how the Force is strong in you, it's strong in them. So, I see two people joined together by compassion and their strong connection in the Force."

Pulling a small bandage out of the little first aid pouch on his belt, Ahzek applied the bacta bandage to her wound, smoothing it over, then offering her his hand. "Well, Ocean, it's nice to meet you. How are you feeling? I can sense your concern for your fellow captives, if they wish they can join me on my ship. Though, I will admit, I'm curious about you... I'd like to talk to you and get to know you some more, if that's alright... what will you do?"

@Undine