Little Phoenix: A Star Wars story

Quiet, but Broken

"Wake up, you stupid little mistake!" 

Those are the first words I hear in the morning. Another day on Lothal, another day of abuse and loneliness. At least my sister is safe. I put my short blonde hair into a ponytail, put rosey makeup on to hide any facial scarring, and put my simple black dress on. No shoes for me. I walk out the door of my room and keep my head down. 

"Put some pink on, you little rat," my father snarls before slapping me. I turn and go back to my room, slip my pink dress on, and come back out. My father nods his approval before dragging me to the kitchen with the other peasant girls. No one else knows this, but my father is an interrogator. I know this because he tests his methods on me whenever he comes up with a new one. I begin to make breakfast when whispers reach my ear. 

"Did you know? The Seventh Fleet is coming! I hope we get to meet the Grand Admiral who leads it!" one girl squeals quietly. I just sigh and think, One more person to hide my pain from, that's all they are. I hope to never meet this Grand Admiral.  

I finish my part of making breakfast and begin to help the others when I notice a green-skinned Twi-lek girl in a jumpsuit. She wasn't here yesterday, so I drift over to her. I smile and say, "Hello. I'm Aya. May I know your name?"

The Twi-lek shakes her head no. I drop the subject and help her make her part of breakfast. 

Later that day...

I'm just wandering around like I usually do when I'm not doing anything else when I see a white uniform with gold shoulder pads. A Grand Admiral uniform! I better scat before he sees me! I think before I slip away quietly. My golden eyes widen as he passes by my little hidey-hole. I slip back out of my little hiding place and head back to the kitchen when I see the Twi-lek with a kalikori in hand. Unfortunately for her, she gets caught by one of the other officers. Just as she prepares to leave, the Grand Admiral asks for her kalikori. She hands it over hesitantly before being taken to some sort of interrogation room. I follow silently. She sits down in a chair, and the Grand Admiral begins talking about war. 

"I study the art of war, but you were forged by it," he states. 

"But, sir!" the other officer protests, "She's just a peasant!" 

"She's more valuable than you know. Meet Captain Hera Syndulla, daughter of your nemesis, Cham Syndulla," he states, revealing the Twi-lek's identity. I slip out of the room, shaking like a leaf. The Grand Admiral's voice is both calming and terrifying! I never want to mess with him. I shudder delicately before heading back to the kitchen alone. 

That night... 

A kick to my side wakes me up instantly. 

"I have a new method I want to test. You know what to do," my father hisses. I follow my father to the interrogation room. He straps me to the table before he begins. First, he places a shock collar on my neck. Next, he pulls out a syringe and fills it with some sort of dark liquid before injecting it into my carotid artery. He pulls out the remote to the shock collar, turns its intensity up to its highest setting, and turns it on. I scream as electricity courses through my veins. I feel like I'm being burned alive! My cries of pain go unheard since the room is soundproof. The next thing my father does is chain me to a pole before pulling out a vibro-whip. It's spiked, unfortunately for me. He whips me until my back is slick with blood before he drags me to the table again. He adds shockers to the straps, turns the intensity up to the highest setting they've got, and activates the collar as well as the shockers on the straps. I scream in agony. My body spasms like crazy, dancing like a puppet on strings. Tears stream down my face as the agony continues. At last, he deactivates them before dragging me back to my room. He tosses me inside and locks the door. I get up, limp into the bathroom, and begin treating my wounds. I wrap bandages around my back carefully, not wanting to re-open any other wounds. My body still shakes because of what he did, but I eventually finish taking care of my injuries. My stomach growls. I haven't eaten in a long time, not since we came here at the very least. I wrestle my emotions back under control, dull my eyes, and go to sleep.