*Talia's POV*
"Come on sweetie," she whispers, leading the way down the bright white hall. I follow behind quietly, feeling anxious and scared. She stops suddenly, holding her hand behind her to stop me as well.
"Let me go!" A male voice screams. I peek around the corner, watching Zorro being dragged off, fighting to get away. My breathing picks up, becoming rapid as I watch. They pull him into a room, Lama Su following behind. "No!" He screams.
As the door hisses shut, Momma continues to lead us down the hall. I glance into the room, trying to stay hidden as I watch through the window. Zorro is being strapped to a chair, the droid walks away, returning a minute later with an injection. "Stop!" He screams again, Lama Su watching with his back towards us.
The droid ignores him, approaching with the injection. He jams it roughly into his arm, Zorro yelping in response. I watch as the contents of the syringe are pushed into his arm, horrified as Zorro goes limp in the chair.
"Come on," Momma states, pulling my arm to follow her. Tears build up quickly as I try desperately to hold them back, haunted by what I just saw.
~~~~~~
I sit on my knees in the cold, silent room. The Zabraks are seated across the room at an old wooden table. The top half of my armor lays scattered across the far wall. I shiver from the coldness, my blacks doing a horrible job of keeping me warm.
"That's not fair!" The smaller Zabrak argues, quieting down immediately when Novak stands, hovering over him. "You're glad you're getting a cut at all," he growls, jabbing a finger into his chest.
I freeze as he glances towards me, an evil looking grin forming on his lips. I try to sink back into my skin, and become invisible as he studies me. He walks towards me slowly, and I force myself to keep eye contact, and seem strong.
He crouches in front of me, raising a hand and gently brushing the back of his fingertips against my cheek. I pull away from him, my face twisting in disgust. He smirks at my actions, pulling his hand away.
"No need to be scared, sweetheart," he says softly. I glare at him, which causes him to chuckle. "As soon as we get payment, you won't have to see us again."
"Who's paying you," I question, voice shaking slightly. He tilts his head to the side, "you'll know soon enough." I watch him as he stands, turning to walk away from me.
"My friends will come for me," I call after him, trying to sound intimidating. He stops, turning to face me once more. "Oh, I don't think so." He walks back to the table, lowering himself into the seat.
"You know," he says out loud, leaning back in the seat, "the contract only said they needed you alive.. didn't specify what condition..."
He turns to face me once more, fear rising in me. "We'll be here for a while.. might as well make the most of it." He turns to face the other Zabrak, who is grinning up at him. I stay silent, the pair falling into hushed conversation.
I pull my legs out from under me, struggling to maintain balance with my hands secured behind my back. I sigh as I stretch my legs, leaning back against the wall the best I can. I shiver, the coldness seeping down to my bones.
I keep my gaze on the Zabraks, fighting the urge to close my eyes. I'm not sure how much time passes, but I'm pulled from my daze as Novak stands abruptly. "I'm tired of waiting," he hisses.
"Go wait outside, get me if they arrive with the payment." The other Zabrak nods quickly and leaves the room. My heart rate rises as Novak turns to me. "Seems they aren't that eager to retrieve you," he mocks, even though I still don't know who 'they' are.
"I'm losing patience.. becoming, stressed." He crouches in front of me once more. "Maybe you could help with that..." he reaches a hand out towards my knee, which I jerk back quickly.
He frowns at this, reaching and gripping my lower leg harshly. "Behave," he commands, pulling my leg down harshly. I panic, and kick him as hard as I can with my free leg.
He grunts from the force, falling back into his hands. His face twists with anger, him quickly catching himself and replacing it with a neutral look. He pushes himself back upright, reaching for my legs once more. I kick my foot at him, only for him to grab it, stopping the kick.
He tugs me towards him as my eyes widen. I struggle against the bindings around my hands as he pushes my legs down, hands placed flatly on the armor surrounding my thighs. "Please," I beg, pleading he changes his mind. From the look on his face, I can tell I'm getting nowhere.
He pulls off the armor on my thighs, trailing his hands lightly up my blacks. "Stop!" I shriek, struggling to get away from him. He ignores me as I struggle against him, hand gripping harshly on my thigh. "Struggling will only make things worse," he mocks, digging his fingers into my thigh. I yelp from the pressure, already feeling a bruise form.
His smile grows at my reaction, inching his body forward to hover over mine. I try to wiggle out of his grasp, find a way to get out of this situation, but to no avail. I start crying, sodding as I plead for him to stop.
He ignores me, sliding a finger into the waist band of my blacks. He starts tugging downwards, staring into my eyes and I fight against him. Suddenly, the figure above me disappeared, grunting and noises of pain coming from him.
I blink, trying to clear the tears so I can see. I watch him get thrown across the room, groaning as he lands. My savior quickly comes up to me, as I flinch back. "It's okay," he whispers, slowing down as I cower away from him.
I immediately recognize the voice of a clone as my eyes focus on Hunter. More grunts comes from across the room, and I turn to see Echo's foot dig into Novak's ribs. "Don't look over there," Hunter says, lifting a hand to pull my gaze away.
He turns me so my back is to him, removing the bindings on my wrist. I turn back to him quickly, wrapping my arms around his torso tightly. I hide my face in his chest plate, the leader stiffening under my grasp.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to tune out the grunts of pain from the room. I feel arms wrap around me, lightly squeezing in return. "Who do you work for?" Echo commands, voice distant as I try to disappear. "He won't ask you twice," Crosshair seethes, as I squeeze my eyes tighter.
I feel Hunter turn against me, knowing he is looking over at Novak. Steps come towards us, as Hunter's arms release from around me. I pull away from him as he hands me off to Echo, who immediately crouches down beside me.
I watch as Hunter approaches Novak, who is bleeding from his lip. "Who hired you," he growls, glaring down at him. Novak looks over to me, a grin making its way slowly up his lips. "They won't stop until they have you," he mocks, before clamping down on something in his mouth.
I watch in horror as electricity courses through from his mouth, his body falling limp a moment later. Hunter sighs, dropping his head. "Let's get you in the ship," Echo comforts, helping me to my feet. I wrap my arms around myself, feeling cold and vulnerable.
Crosshair and Wrecker gather my armor, and follow as Echo leads me on board. I lower myself slowly into a bunk, curling up into it with my back to the rest of the ship. I hear Echo let out a small sigh before walking away. I try not to cry as everything plays through my mind over and over.
I feel the ship sway as we take off, the boys talking in hushed voices in the cockpit. I shiver as I remember his hands on me, the feeling of hopelessness. I jump as I feel something touch my arm, spinning quickly and pushing myself deeper into the bunk.
"-Hey," he says quickly, hands up in defense. "I'm sorry, you weren't answering," he apologizes sincerely. I stare at his tatted face as I try to calm down, and form words. "We are being sent to help General Kenobi's battalion again. We'll be there in a few hours, but you can stay on the ship."
I nod, "I'm fine. Just, tired," I lie, not wanting to be useless. He searches my face, before signing and nodding. He stands and heads back to the cockpit, as I catch the look of a worried Wrecker. I turn and curl back up, drifting into restless sleep.
~~~~~~~
I finish clipping the armor onto my blacks before grabbing my helmet. The ship is oddly quiet, and I know it's because of me. I rather them act like nothing happened, but instead they look like they've seen a ghost.
I ignore the heavy silence as best I can, and walk off the ship. The others follow, and Hunter leads the way through the groups of clones. I fall in step behind everyone else, glancing around as troopers watch us. We approach the Jedi and his commander, Cody taking his helmet off.
"Commander," Hunter greets with a smile. "Good to see you again, boys. And girl," he adds with a smile. I smile back, grateful someone if finally acting normal. "Talia, was it?" The Jedi speaks up, holding a hand out to me. "Yes sir," I reply, shaking his hand.
A flash of an unknown emotion fills his face, before leaving a second later. "I apologize for the short introductions last time," he starts, looking over our squad. "I hope to get to know you soldiers a bit better this time around."
"Now, for the mission." He turns to Hunter. "I am sending your squad, along with a few of my men, to sneak into the Separatist lines. They have been pushing us back with the use of a shield, and we need you to take out the generators."
We nod in unison as he finishes. "The shield has four generators, here," Cody speaks up, a hologram coming from an astrometric beside him. Red dots appear on the hologram. "Once we destroy them, the rest of the troops will take care of the clankers."
"When do we leave?" Hunter questions, looking between the Jedi and his commander. "The troops are getting ready now, should be going within the hour," Cody replies.
"We'll be waiting," Hunter states, turning to lead us to a place to sit. I turn to follow, when a voice stops me. "Talia," I turn to meet the kind Jedi, a welcoming smile on this face. "Yes, General?" I reply, turning toward him.
"My dear, you may call me Obi-wan," he says as he stops in front of me. I nod slightly, "Obi-wan."
"I wanted to ask you, how did you end up in the Republic Army?" He says curiously. The memory of my home on fire, blown to bits by the droids flashes across my mind. "It was luck, really. My planet provided food and supplies for the army, and some transports happened to be there during the time of the attack." I glance up to him, noticing he is waiting for me to continue.
"The droid army came, destroyed my home. And well, this squad saved me, and took me in as one of their own." Obi-wan gives me a sad smile, "I am sorry for what happened to your home. Luck, indeed, they were there to help you."
"And your parents? Did they live with you?" He questions, catching me slightly off guard. "It was only ever me and my mother," I start, "and yes, she was there with me, she didn't make it." I lower my head as I say the words, feeling the sadness build up in my chest.
"I am truly sorry," he says softly, resting a light hand on my armored shoulder. "Thank you," I reply, sniffling and lifting my head once more. "I'll let you return to your squad, and prepare for the coming mission."
"Thank you General," I say kindly, giving him a soft smile. He smiles back, "may the force be with you," then walks back to his troops. I watch him go before turning back to my group, joining them in their seated circle.
"What was that about," Wrecker asks, poking the dirt with a stray stick. I shrug, looking down at my feet as I dangle my hands over my knees, "just wishing us luck," I reply. The boys don't push, and instead resume normal conversation as we wait for the mission to begin.
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