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| - Smoke churns, low-lights hiss, people mingle, criminals argue, this is the life of the scum of Coruscant—a now truly corrupted planet. It wasn’t that long ago that I was the same way—scavenging to live I mean. It wasn’t that long ago that I had to run away from my home planet of Bilbringi, from my family, from my father. I sit here now, stewing in past memories and swirling the straw on my drink, but not really doing anything about actually drinking it. I despise everything about Coruscant, yet I sit here in one of the scum bars on the lower levels, but that’s the thing it’s the lower levels of Coruscant which means it isn’t where the blasted Palpatine and Vader sit on their thrones. Usually. I’ve seen more and more Empire forces filtering into the lower sections of the capital planet, but I pay them no heed; they don’t rule me as much as they like to think, rather it’s their masters who try and control everything about the galaxy. Sighing in defeat, I push away the drink and stand up. I throw a few credits on the bar table and check my person, making sure everything is still in its place. You never know in these scum bars really—anyone could have slid the blaster out of my holster, or slipped live grenades into my pockets. The surrounding streets weren’t much better than the bar itself, but at least they allowed me to breathe in relatively fresh air—not that you could get much fresh air in the lower levels of Coruscant anyways. I sincerely wished that I could take the nearest speeder up to the top levels, but I knew that I was still being looked for. Even though it had been months since I had overheard my father talking to the Grand Moff Tarkin—who was apparently dead now—about some planet-destroying object, the Empire was still on the lookout for me. I thought I had heard about this. Suddenly I was hit with a reeking, terrible stench that wafted up into my nostrils and made me hack horribly. I picked up my speed and started running, but it seemed I was running toward the thing that smelled badly. I froze and saw three distinct shapes moving toward me through the foggy gloom ahead. Apparently that was what the awful smell was coming from—lower level Coruscant inhibitors tended to be that way. I thought that the brawly sort of thuggish characters weren’t going to bother with me; I figured they had some sort of deal going on somewhere else, but I was completely wrong. I heard muttering of some language I didn’t understand, but the shift in movements in my direction made me believe what I wished wasn’t true: these thugs were coming after me. Not wanting to seem like I knew what was going on, I kept on going in the same direction I had been, but I slipped my hand behind me to pull out my blaster—or where I thought my blaster was. Damn, I thought angrily when my fingers enclosed over thin air. Feeling around desperately I realized my blaster had been jacked. Breathing nervously, I slowed my pace down and started backtracking. I couldn’t run into three men—big, brutish men that intended to hurt me and possibly rape me—unarmed. I whipped around, unable to remain calm any longer, and started walking quickly back the other way. But the footsteps behind me started matching my pace. Dammit! I growled in my head and broke out into a run; it was no use trying to act cool now—they knew that I knew they were after me. Speeding up to a sprint, I darted back out into the open street—not that that would serve to be much better—but before I could even put a foot out into the gloomy light something curled around my arm and pulled me back into the darkness of the alleyway. “Now, now my pretty,” One of the alien life forms hissed in my ears as his arms curled around my waist. “Let go of me!” I shouted and tried to push him away, but it proved futile as his arms curled around me even more. “Aghh! Gross!” “Pass her over here!” One called out, reaching forward and trying to take me from the alien, but the alien refused to let me go. I trembled in the alien’s tentacle-like arms and felt the undesirable urge to puke well up within me. I squeezed my eyes shut against the harsh landscape and heard the other two lifeforms walk up to me, breathing heavily in anticipation. “Back off—I saw her first! She’s mine!” The alien who was holding me hissed angrily as he tightened his slimy arms around me even tighter, hoisting me into the air almost effortlessly. Suddenly, we were moving backwards and I felt the lifeform begin to tremble. “Ack! Hell!” One of the other men shouted and I heard a loud thump as if someone were being punched. Unwillingly, my eyes snapped open and I witnessed a flash of silver and a gush of deep crimson blood, but it all happened to quickly I wasn’t even sure that it had happened. Something in my brain clicked though, and I realized that maybe this guy was trying to save me, though I really couldn’t see him due to the unnatural lighting. So, I started struggling against the alien that was still holding me. I could tell he was beginning to get scared of the guy coming toward us, after seeing him effortlessly take down one of his other thugs and punching the other’s lights out. “Back off!” The alien warned in a voice that shook with suppressed fear and I pushed against his arms as well as I could. “Let go!” I whimpered, leaning forward and trying to get away from his filth. “Get off me!” “I’ll kill her!” He shouted in a panicking voice and without even hesitating, he pulled out something sharp and cool that rested on my throat. Only when he pressed it against my throat and drew a tiny ribbon of blood did I realize that he was holding me at knife-point. Fierfek, I thought and froze. “Back it off buddy—she’s mine and I got her first, you can just leave,” The alien warned savagely, not even paying attention to the knife that could end my life in a moment. “Or I can kill you and we’ll all lose the spoils.” I whimpered when the knife unexpectedly pressed against the wound already there; I didn’t want to move a muscle for the fear of being sliced across the neck, because it seemed that this lifeform didn’t have a good handle on his weaponry. “Kiss my ass,” The man replied and in a flash of silvery light I heard a choking sound behind me and felt something warm and wet splash onto the back of my neck before I was promptly dropped to the floor in a heap. I coughed out the dust that I inhaled upon impact and looked up through my curtains of hair at the man standing five feet away from me. Suddenly I realized that maybe this man wasn’t going to be a savior, and I started sliding away from him. The man, whom I still couldn’t make out very well, flew forward and snatched something off the dead thug’s body and I recognized it was his knife, which he had probably sliced the thug’s throat with. But how on earth did he kill him so fast? I wondered, and then sucked in my breath when the man stared at me. But before I could say a single word he turned on his heel and darted out of the alleyway. I sat in the alleyway, stunned and staring straight ahead in silence. What on earth just happened to me? I wondered, pulling my knees to my chest and sitting there for what seemed like forever.
* * * Sometime later, I made my way back to a comforting bar that I usually visited as of late. Though I was still shaken over the entire situation, I was able to process everything that was going on around me. Something about the situation made me think it was a mistake; there was something about it that made me wonder if it was even real, but there was no denying it. Someone was sliding a hand into my pocket as I sat at the bar and I intended to blow off who’s ever head it was. I whipped around on my bar stool and saw the face of a distinct male Sorrusian. I should have figured it would be one of the slippery creatures. “You might want to stop what you’re doing.” “Too late,” He replied with a triumphant smirk plastered on his face. He waved a few credits in my face and spun around. The bloody thief pick-pocketed me! I pushed myself off the bar stool angrily and bolted for the door, tailing the stupid creature who thought it was a good idea to try and steal something from me of all people! I was being yelled at by the bartender, but I didn’t really give a damn—all I cared about was blowing off that stupid Sorrusian’s head. I halted as soon as my foot touched the sidewalk outside of the bar’s door and realized that I had no clue where the person went. My head whipped left and right and I finally saw the top of his nearly bald head glinting in the late afternoon streaks of light that made it down this low on the capital planet. The chase must have gone on for forever, but I had no inclination of it going on that long. Something happened that made the Sorrusian slow down to a speed where I could easily sprint and leap up onto his back. Which is exactly what I did—being small and light allowed me to fly in the air and land solidly on his back, making him crumble for a second, which was what I needed to get my leg twisted around his. Just like I wanted, the slippery alien fell to the ground with me still on top of him. Instantly I put my hand behind me and pulled out the blaster that was still in its holster and aimed it at the Sorrusian’s head. “I need that money so hand it over.” “Take it!” He shouted at me and shoved the credits back into my hand. “Holy kriff! Had I known you were going to put up a five mile chase I wouldn’t have even picked you.” I smirked at him and slowly backed away. “Let’s just say I’m not your average sixteen-year old girl, alright?” I shrugged and proceeded to put the credits back into my pocket. I turned and began walking back the way we had come, tucking my gun into its holster. “Perhaps not, but you’re not a born fighter either, are you?” He inquired with a voice that seemed to be tinged with amusement, but I couldn’t be sure. In an instant all of my limbs froze up and I couldn’t make them move. What does he know? Thoughts ran through my head like wildfire: Is he a secret agent from the Empire? Does he know about my past? Did my father hire him? When my tongue finally unglued itself from the roof of my mouth, I stuttered out, “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about.” “I’m sure you don’t,” He replied laughingly. “But then again, you did manage to get away from a group of thugs without so much but that scratch on your neck.” My breath hitched in my throat. He did know something, but how did he— Wait a minute, the man who saved me! — “How do you know about that?” The Sorrusian stepped in front of me and caught my eyes with a smirk. “It’s not everyday a Sorrusian is willing to save a human girl’s life, but we don’t like it when you’re being attacked for no reason. You’re children, and you shouldn’t be taken advantage of like that.” It was my turn to offer a relieved smile, but my paranoia got to me again and I backed away from him. “Why didn’t you take advantage of me?” “Wasn’t my last statement enough for you? Or how about this: I was trying to steal your money, but I wouldn’t rape you,” His eyes dropped, as all men’s eyes do, but he lifted them again with a gleam of wicked amusement in his eye. “Not that I don’t deny that—” “How do I know that you wouldn’t?” I demanded, cutting across his sly remark. My hand edged toward my back, but I didn’t actually grab the blaster yet. “Do you see me trying to do anything to you now?” He retorted. “If I was going to rape you I would have pulled you into a back alley—easily I might add—and done it already.” Clenching my teeth, I nodded briefly, understanding his point, and moved my hand away from the blaster. “Fine; if you’re looking for gratitude, here it is: thank you, but,” I cocked my head to the side and said, “You wouldn’t have taken me down so easily.” “Well,” He replied, accepting my challenge. “You seemed to be all of the damsel-in-distress when those idiotic thugs attacked you.” “Haven’t you ever heard of feigning it?” I shot back. “And besides, I didn’t have any weapons with me.” “You weren’t doing any feigning.” “Well, I’m going to leave you with whatever you may believe about me—cut me down if I’ve ruined that belief—and hope that you have a nice life.” I turned around and started to head away, but the filthy Sorrusian decided it would be alright to grab me after I was almost raped. I hissed in the back of my throat and spun around to face him. “Before you start touching me you could give me a name.” Our eyes locked in a battle of wills, but he finally tossed aside my arm and spat, “Fine, mine’s Sterlo.” “Sterlo,” I repeated, tasting the unfamiliar name on my tongue. “Interesting…well, I’m Naelah.” After waiting for a reply and receiving none, I shook my head wearily and looked up at the Sorrusian whose name was Sterlo. “Naelah,” He repeated with the same amount of uncertainty as I had shown him. “Interesting…” “What?” I demanded, hearing the hinting of humor in his voice. “You aren’t going to latch yourself onto me like a lapdog, are you? I really don’t have time for a dog,” I sneered, hoping to make a point. “Latch onto you? Oh no, I’m no dog, that’s for sure, and I don’t need to attach myself to a naïve sixteen-year-old girl.” My mouth dropped in shock as he dished out the insult. “I’ve seen a lot more than many girls my age—and I can handle myself, thank you very much.” Staring determinedly at him, I stood up to my full height and said, “At least I don’t have to pick-pocket to earn a living.” Not even reeling from the verbal slap, Sterlo folded his arms over his chest and said, “How do you survive, Naelah? My first guess would have been prostitution, but seeing you rreaction to the possibility of rape makes me think otherwise.” “I beg your pardon? I am not a filthy whore and I am most certainly no stealing mutt.” “Are you still going on with that lapdog idea? What do I have to do to show you that I’m not one?” “Why are you still here?” I shot back, hoping to finally get him away from me. “If you haven’t noticed, there are about a million other thugs in this section of Coruscant; you just walked into the worst part of this world, and I wouldn’t be surprised that if you walked down that street on your own, about three other men would try their hand at rape too.” “You’re…protecting me?” Everything I had previously thought about the slippery fiend seemed to fade out of my mind as I realized that maybe he wasn’t as bad as I believed. “If that’s what standing here and arguing with you is called, then yes.” “Let’s get out of this neighborhood then.” “That might just be a good idea.” I turned around and starting walking about a foot in front of Sterlo, glancing back at him only once and realizing that maybe this would be alright. Maybe it wasn’t so bad to have someone else with me on this escape from hell. Maybe he would end up being just like me. Maybe.
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