Stuck With Me: A Cad Bane Novel

Chapter 3

A/N: MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU (also Todo finally arrived)

Warnings: reader was a sex slave, trauma, swearing probably, death,

Word count: 1264

'Okay,' Bane says as his ship breaks the atmosphere of Coruscant. 'I know ya don't want to be a slave any more. I'm headed to Coruscant to hand in Gavinc Russ' body, and I figured it's a pretty good starting point fer ya to get a job or somethin'.'
You nod. 'Y - yeah, that would be good.'

You don't voice your thoughts, how scared you are. You hardly remember what it feels like to be in a spaceship, and as far as you know, you've never been to Coruscant either. Plus, what's going to stop someone from seeing that you're terrified and inexperienced and enslaving you again once the blue Duros leaves you? Wrapping your arms around your torso, you huddle into the chair. You hope Cad will give you clothes; although you washed off your makeup, your exposing outfit shows exactly who you are. Besides, you doubt anyone will have trouble recognising you, not with Gavinc Russ' brand on the skin of the inside of your wrist and the fact that he brought you around with him everywhere.

'Um,' you stammer. 'Are - are you going to just drop me off, or - or - '
'I'll be handing in yer old master's body and collecting my payment so ya can stick with me fer then until ya get a feel fer Coruscant.'
'B - but, the brand, if I don't have ev - evidence you let me go, they'll just assume I'm free for the taking.' Your cheeks burn as you speak, wondering if you're overstepping, but you can't find any other way to point it out.
Bane hums thoughtfully. 'I'll write something down fer ya and sign it so ya can jus' wave it at them and show yer free.'
You nod. 'Thank you. That's - that's perfect.'
'Mm,' he mumbles. 'Todo!'

You jump as the hunter raises his voice. Mere seconds later, a little techno service droid pops up in the doorway, greeting your new master - or your soon to be not - master, since he's planning on setting you free, or at least saying he plans to anyway.

'And who's this?' Todo asks, waving at you.
'Found her on a hunt,' Cad Bane replies curtly. 'Make me a document to show I've set her free or somethin' and add my signature too.' He chuckles under his breath, and his red eyes, faintly glowing, rest on you. 'Would ya look at that. Yer going to be free soon.'

A rush of elation flows through you, and you nod. However, you don't let your hopes get too high; you've had masters before who pretended to set you free just to test your loyalty. You're not sure if Cad Bane is the type, but you're still not quite ready to believe he fully means well, not with the rumours you've heard about him.

The engines on the ship dim down to a hum, and you glance up to see that all this time that you've been lost in thought, you've landed. Above, you can see the air roads, teeming with thousands and thousands of ships, and your jaw drops open. Everywhere, there are glowing posters, advertising a multitude of things, and you lean forward in your chair, peering through the dirty glass of the cockpit to stare up at the sky, which is a deep orange.

'Ya can gawk later,' Cad says. 'C'mon.'

You follow the Duros through the doorway, and Todo reappears out of nowhere and hands you the document, complete with his owner's signature on it. Clutching it to your chest, you smile down at Todo and thank him. Suddenly, your master pauses in front of you, and you almost crash into his back, stumbling and throwing out a hand against the metal wall of the corridor to catch yourself.

'Here,' Cad Bane says, throwing you a shirt and some trousers.

It takes you a moment to realise that he wants you to wear them. Dumfounded, you stare at the items of clothing in your hands, obviously his. Casting your gaze around the room you're in, you realise that you're in his bedroom, standing right next to his bed. It's narrow and appears mildly lumpy, but it looks like heaven to you - you're used to sleeping chained up, on threadbare mats on the floor with the others. Sometimes you were thrown a pillow if you were lucky. You blink and gawp at the place where the bounty hunter lays his head to get some rest. Shit, you forgot Cad Bane needed sleep. Quickly, snapping back to the present, you tug your skimpy top over your head, and he turns his head away. You almost drop the shirt with surprise. Did he...?

Did he just look away?

To give you privacy?

You almost cry, because yes, yes he did just look away to give you privacy, and for the first time in years, no one's staring at you as you change, no one's expecting a show. Maker, you forgot that normal people gave a shit about that sort of stuff. Fingers trembling, you yank on the shirt, and then the trousers, both of which swamp your frame. Bending down, you roll up the hem of the trousers and quickly scrub at your eyes - which are giving you away and watering like there's no tomorrow.

Straightening, you flip your hair out of your face and stand there for a moment, enjoying the way that no one's looking at you, no one's raking their eyes over your body like you're dessert. You revel in the fact that if someone saw you now, all they'd see is a dishevelled girl in clothes too big for her, tears shining in her eyes.

Sniffling, you raise the sleeve to your wet cheeks, and then remember this isn't your shirt, so lower it again and swipe at your tears with your fingertips instead. Cad Bane's clothes smell good; they smell clean, they smell... Not bounty hunter - ish. You were expecting a harsher odour, like the metallic smell of a blaster, or the salty smell of blood or sweat, but all you can detect is a pleasant sort of musk that caresses your senses with its gentle scent.

'I - I'm done now,' you tell him, and if he notices the way your voice wobbles, he doesn't mention it. Instead, he turns and nods his head at you.
'Let's go then.'

The hunter only pauses to scoop up the body of your old master, and you hate the fact that you don't feel anything as you stare into Gavinc Russ' limp face. Well, anything apart from a sickening, overwhelming wave of relief every time you remember that there's one less man in the galaxy who's going to lay his groping hands on you. Biting your lip, you throw back your shoulders - a determined, self assured movement, a movement that you don't really believe belongs to you, but a movement you own anyway.

Honestly, you're terrified. You only have vague memories of being on any planet other than Uveth, and Coruscant seems bustling and full of people - people whose intentions towards you or your blue skinned saviour aren't exactly what they seem. You see them peering at you out of the corners of their eyes, and it unnerves you, puts you on edge.

But Cad Bane seems to know what he's doing as he lowers the ramp of the ship. So, reeling back from the sights and smells, you follow him, hoping he'll protect you if harm happens to fall upon you.