Ashes

3: Intervention

*Necessary Togruti translations in bold italics

AHSOKA TANO

When Ahsoka woke up, she was overwhelmed by the overwhelming odors of sweat and blood. She winced as she sat up, her whole body sore from the incident that morning. She could feel the gashes on her back and lekku, and she was sure she had several bruises.

The torture device had been for show, of course. She had a high pain tolerance, and her master knew it. Her actual punishment for being so clumsy came after the meeting concluded in the form of a lightwhip. 

She looked around. The dark room was unfamiliar to her. If she had to guess, she was in one of the prison cells. She swore under her breath. 

The beating she could understand, but locking her up? "That's a little harsh," she muttered.

"I thought so, too." 

Her head whipped around. Alema was sitting on the other side of the room, hugging her legs to her chest. 

"Oh, Alema, you startled me." It wasn't often that people could startle her like that. She must be really losing it. 

"Sorry, sa'mahr,"  she said. Ahsoka smiled, in spite of herself. It always made her feel better when Alema called her a sister. "I thought you saw me."

Though she couldn't see outside, Ahsoka sensed movement at the door. Alema must've sensed it, too, because she stood up and walked over to Ahsoka. 

The door opened, and a human male wearing Zygerrian armor walked inside. He was tall and had a fair amount of muscle, giving him an intimidating presence. 

His voice was more of a low grunt when he spoke. "Up, Togruta!" 

Ahsoka brought herself to her feet and walked over to him. Before she had time to react, the man formed a fist and punched her in the gut, causing her to hunch forward and stagger backwards. 

"Hey! Stop it!" Alema exclaimed as the man took another punch, this time to her side. 

Ahsoka tried to fight back, but the the little food she'd eaten in the last week combined with her lack of exercise meant that she wasn't near as capable as she used to be, especially if she couldn't use the force to help her without risking exposing herself and Alema. 

So she let the man take his anger out on her, only fighting back to avoid blows to her face. Several minutes and fresh bruises later, the man stopped and gave her a once-over. She could read his thoughts clearly and didn't like where his mind was going, so she didn't bother to resist when she threw up the contents of her empty stomach. 

The man looked at her in disgust and left the cell. Though it was a less than ideal way to avoid a particular fate, vomiting worked like a charm every time. 

She collapsed on the floor, and Alema took a few steps closer. "Are you okay?"

Ahsoka nodded with gritted teeth and wiped her mouth. She definitely had a broken rib or two, and she wouldn't be surprised if she had a mild concussion. Alema didn't need to know that, though. She didn't want to worry her. 

"I'll be fine. Nothing that won't heal."

"What did that ba e'dai think he was doing?"

"Watch your language, Alema!" Ahsoka made a mental note to cut back on the swearing around her. In the little time they'd known each other, Ahsoka made it a priority to teach Alema Togruti in their spare time. Alema was half Togruta, which was evident by the light markings on her lavender face and skin and subtle stripes on her lekku. Speaking in their native tongue allowed them to talk to each other without everyone else understanding what they said, as most of the other slaves were Twi'leks or humans. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure that she'd seen another Togruta slave since the Clone Wars. She was fairly certain that the Emperor, or at least someone close to him, had made it illegal for reasons she didn't understand. It was a shame that almost no one followed that law. 

She crossed her arms. "Fine. Just because we're slaves doesn't mean you can punch someone for no reason!"

No, it wasn't for no reason. A similar thing had happened when she was given to her second master. Her first master lost her betting on a podrace, so he had someone harm her as much as possible to make her more expensive than she was worth by the time whoever won her paid her medical expenses. She suspected a similar thing was going on here and now. 

"I'm going to be fine. Don't worry. Nothing a little bacta won't fix, right?"

Both Ahsoka and Alema knew that was a lie, but Alema's argument was cut short by muffled talking outside the door. 

Alema helped Ahsoka into a sitting position as a human female around Ahsoka's age entered. She had olive skin and long dark hair braided down her back. Her clothes were simple, but she carried herself with a sense of dignity and importance that was common among the upper class. Regardless of her perceived entitlement, Ahsoka could sense that the woman wasn't a threat to their safety. 

Alema stood up, and Ahsoka didn't need her Jedi reflexes to tell that Alema was on edge. 

"Aht, tazi sa'mahr (Relax, little sister)," Ahsoka said softly."Na mah. Meh'a nah e' n'rrro." (Don't worry. She's not a threat.)

"Yeh och algo naght?" (You don't sense anything?)

Ahsoka shook her head. "Not this time, anyway." 

The woman crossed her arms. "I'm Koyi Ortega. You've been freed, and I'm here to take you with me."

"I'm sorry, what?" Ahsoka blurted. 

"Oh, don't act so surprised. You didn't really think that Lux Bonteri was going to let you stay here enslaved, did you?"

"Lux did this?" That couldn't have been a cheap endeavor. Slaves were expensive, especially those with her particular disposition. 

"Of course he did. Don't you two go way back?"

Alema stood up and took a step in front of Ahsoka, ready to protect her if necessary. "What are you really here for?" Alema asked. 

Ahsoka could tell that Koyi was annoyed, but she didn't particularly care. "Lux and I haven't spoken in years. I'm supposed to be dead."

"Yeah, well, he remembers you enough to pay a small fortune to get you out of here, and he'd very much like to see you." 

She must be his girlfriend, she thought. That would explain her attitude. She would have to have a talk with her later and clear up whatever misunderstanding this was. Whatever she felt for Lux was in the past, before everything changed. She'd never be enough for him now. 

"I'm not going anywhere without Alema," she said defensively. It would be selfish of her to leave the child here alone, and Ahsoka had been selfish enough recently. 

Koyi rolled her eyes. "Kriffdammit, I hate it when he's right. Lux figured you two were close, so he freed both of you."

"I'm... free?" Alema said softly. "Really?"

"Yes, now come on before he changes his mind." Koyi walked out into the hallway and waited for them to follow. 

Alema braced Ahsoka as she stood up and hobbled to the exit. 

"Mi nah et nehla (I don't like her)," Alema said curtly. 

"Me neither." Ahsoka sensed that there was more to Koyi than met the eye, and she had a feeling that her life was about to change.

A/N: It's currently 6am, but here I am, working on this book. My sleep schedule is so messed up XD

Did I accidentally piece together an entire language to use for this book? haha no of course not... 

I'll be back soon with more. Until then, may the force be with you!