Chapter 13: Penetrating a Slave Operation
Summary: Aayla and Izuku discover more about Aayla's accessories, even if it's not particularly good news...
Chapter 13: Penetrating a Slave Operation
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The instant they had set foot on Nar Shadda, or at least the bay that held their ship, both of them had felt a guiding pull from the Force. It wasn't particularly insistent, it didn't have any feel of needing to rush. But they hadn't needed to reach out for it either. It was just there, patiently waiting for them to get around to it. Aayla was far more disturbed by that than Izuku was, particularly as the pull wasn't coming through Izuku's odd connection to the Force. She could feel it entirely on her own now, as if she'd somehow gained the Force's special approval just by being in his orbit. Even if she couldn't remember all of her training, she was sure this sort of casual connection and guidance wasn't normal. Not even a little.
Taking a deep breath, she willfully set that fact aside. It was happening, so she would deal with it. For now, the fact that there was no feeling of a need to rush meant she could and would focus elsewhere. The lack of a collar around her neck was an immense relief...but she was constantly reminded of her more embarrassing restraints. Every movement she made shifted the inserts inside her, leaving her unable to forget. To her embarrassment, with everything that happened with Izuku so far, she couldn't claim she actually hated the sensation. She'd not only grown familiar with it, but she'd come to associate it with pleasant experiences with her…lover? Master? Partner? Friend? Even she didn't know what to call Izuku.
Oh, she knew that she'd never call him master in the sense that a normal slave would her owner. Izuku didn't see her that way, and her access to his emotions had let her know that from the very start. Despite what the legal paperwork still said, she didn't see herself that way either, and never would with Izuku. On the other hand, in the quiet security of her own mind, she couldn't pretend she hadn't come to enjoy the teasing way she'd used the title for him. Or for the…roleplay? She supposed that was the right word for it, if she understood the things she'd found on the holonet since this all started correctly, anyway. Playing into the role with Izuku specifically was fun, in a way she didn't really want to give up, even if it was causing some conflicts with her memories of lessons she'd had at the Jedi Temple in her youth. Those lessons were almost disturbingly easy to ignore, in no small part to just how connected and right Izuku felt to the Force itself.
So, perhaps she'd call him Master in private still, even if they succeed in getting her current restrictions taken care of. But that wasn't what her actual relationship was with him. Nor was she intending to think too hard on the topic of a few fantasies where she kept the belt even after getting the unlock sequence to open it. The thought did, however, bring her back to the uncertainty of exactly what she really was to him, or him to her. A friend, certainly. A best friend even. A lover? Well, she supposed there were technical points both for and against that, and with those conflicting lessons still rattling around in her brain, she didn't really want to touch that at the moment anyway. A partner and companion, she supposed. It would do, for now, even if she thought other words and titles might fit better someday, when things were less scrambled and confused.
For now, she needed to get her head in the here and now. On tracking down a place of unpleasant memories…and getting her partner to stop looking at everything in wonder before he got them marked as an easy target. He was hiding it fairly well, but there was no way she could miss that such was what he was doing. Yes, this needed to be dealt with. Desensitivity training had worked on…other things…so she'd start with the same concept now. A few days of exposure before they started their hunt could be borne, to improve their chances of success. With that decision made, she looped her arm into his and bumped his hip with hers.
"Come on, Izu! Let's get some food and check out a few parts shops around here you claimed were pretty good. There's some modifications I've been thinking of for the Fate."
He blinked in surprise for just an instant…but picked up over their bond pretty quickly what she was doing. Smiling, he nodded and took the 'lead.' He was actually following directions she was feeding him mentally. But, at least to a causal glance, he would look like he was guiding his cute girlfriend around. Since they'd been able to do at least a little bit to make him look older, and dressed her up to look like a slightly-grubby mechanic, they'd hopefully paint the picture they wanted. They definitely needed to acclimatize Izuku to this place before they even thought of heading to the slaver district she remembered. Right now, he would still stand out to the rogues there with decent instincts. Besides, the more she thought about it, the more certain she was that they really should get some security droids for their ship. And Nar Shadda wasn't a bad place to pick up a few that were more lethal that was strictly legal…
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Aayla breathed in deep, held for a count she knew by instinct, and released the breath. Again. Again. Again. Her eyes cracked open, still in the odd meditative state that was, she somehow knew, special. Izuku was nearby, watching curiously, but for once his presence was not her focus. She took comfort in the feel of him, but it did not cause her purpose to waver. Instead, half her focus hovered on the odd mishmash of parts before her, collected from a dozen different shops over the last three days. The rest of her awareness rested on the orangish-gold crystal she had been unconsciously rolling in her palm as she meditated. It had called to her, drawn her to it in a way that had pulled her to its secret compartment on the Wandering Fate, back when the ship was still called the Dilettante. She had long since realized that, at least for her, it was the crystal that had pulled her to the ship, with the ship itself only being a sort of bonus. She didn't know if that was the case for Izuku, and it didn't really matter. She knew what the crystal was for, after all.
She'd known it on instinct, known since the moment she first touched it. Just as she'd felt the weight of history to it. It had been used before her. It would be used after her. She didn't know by who, in either direction. Only that all whom had wielded it before had been called to it, as she was, as those after her would be. She let go of the crystal, almost unaware she was doing so as it floated forward. Almost at the same time, all the disparate parts she'd acquired lifted off the mat to join the crystal's hover, just a handspan or two in front of where she sat cross-legged in meditation. There was no more split attention now, not even a bit of it spared for Izuku. All was one. There was a heartbeat, a pulse to the galaxy, an underlying purpose to all things that lived. She was part of that purpose, so too was the gem, and the switch. The emitter, the lens, the melted down and reformed metals of her collar, now given new purpose in representing a challenge overcome. All was one…and her new lightsaber constructed itself with a smoothness whose awe almost broke her meditation, the faint echoing memory of her first time doing this trying to superimpose itself. There was no room for that memory in that now, however, and neither she nor the Force would be denied. The parts wove together, she breathed, and then the newly constructed blade came to rest gently in the palm her hand. She lit it without hesitation, already somehow knowing what she would see.
Golden. The blade glowed a gorgeous, warm gold, tinged with just a hint of bronze at its core. Somehow, she knew that the color had been changed just a little from whatever it had been before. Changed by bathing it in her own personal force aura over the time since picking it up, unconsciously attuning it to herself as she used it as a meditation focus. She hadn't known until this very moment what she'd been doing. Hadn't understood why her instincts had told her 'not yet' when she considered making a new blade on The Wheel. It had needed to be attuned first, and now it had been. The crystal was hers now, and she knew its name. It echoed through her mind like a shiver in the Force itself. Heart of the Guardian…
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The two of them looked very different, the next day, when they wound their way into the slaver district. It had been four days now since touching down on Nar Shadda. The first three had been used to acclimatize Izuku so he wouldn't stand out as the newbie he was. They'd accomplished a lot of other little tasks, of course. Acquiring a pair of NS-13 Guardian Droids, for example. The droids were an older model of the same type currently used by the Hutts for their own security…and they would have been very illegal in Republic space. Since Hutt Space was, in fact, not actually part of the Republic, they'd been easy to acquire. Though that illegality had required they also search out and purchase some scanner-shielding material to construct small spaces on the Wandering Fate to hide the droids when they were on Republic worlds.
The third day, or rather night, had also seen the construction of Aayla's new lightsaber. Even now, concealed as it was under her the jacket of her 'spacer' disguise, Aayla could feel the blade's presence. Far more strongly than she could remember feeling her original blade, in point of fact. The crystal had granted her new lightsaber some sort of resonance to it that was doing subtle things to her own Force presence. As yet, she didn't understand what the actual effects were. Even if she could sense they were positive in some fashion.
Most of that was beside the point, however. More relevant to their actions of the moment were the false tattoos running down Aayla's lekku and across her cheeks. The heavy blasters both she and Izuku wore. The rough and tumble spacers leather, scuffed-but-quality boots, and dangerous air of tough competence both radiated subtly. She'd been surprised the first time Izuku got it right, until he mentioned some sort of previous training in 'underground' work. It had apparently been limited, but enough for her to build on. Now, combined with no longer gawking at the admittedly odd mix of sights and sounds all around the Smuggler's Moon, her partner looked like he belonged to the seedier side of Nar Shadda. As, she knew, did she. The tattoos had been chosen to break up the youthful look of her face, as well as muddle any attempt for a facial scan to identify her. She had been here before, after all, and not of her own choice. Her own outfit was made to emphasize her body, while still hiding her lightsaber and current remaining restraints, which had been more that a touch of a challenging combination of needs. She'd pulled it off, however, and added to her sensual rolling gait, she knew she looked a lot like a stereotype. The femme fatale Twi'lek merc wasn't the most common sight in the slaver district…but enough of her race preyed on their own that she wouldn't be out of place, either.
Now, they just had to identify which of the dozens of slave auction houses had sold her. She hadn't exactly been in the best state either coming or going from the place. Which meant they really only had the small details from her Bill of Sale to find it, and a lot of these places didn't exactly put out a signboard with their name blazing in lights. A few, the ones with Hutt backing, did just that. But most had quiet entrances off the main street. Which would force them to canvas the area while trying not to be marked out as doing so…
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It had taken another two days. But, ultimately, it had been only time consuming, not difficult, to find the auction house that had sold her. Nor had it been particularly difficult to find an entry point into the place. Generally, particularly on Nar Shadda of all places, no one had to worry much about someone trying to break in to a slaver operation. Out of? Of course. But who would try to break in? Why would they bother? Slave trading wasn't illegal here, and trying to steal slaves generally just ended up with them literally exploding in your face. No, short of gang wars, there wasn't a reason to bother much with external security, which had made it hilariously easy to simply carve their way in from a derelict lower floor. Mind you, it was also highly unlikely that the gangsters here were used to dealing with the need to secure against lightsaber-assisted-entry.
Despite being well armed and with Izuku right beside her, Aayla was struggling to keep her anxiety in check. This place…she didn't remember much of her time here. But, even through the haze of the glitteryll, she remembered the mix of shock and despair. How, in her brief moments of pseudo-lucidity, the pain of loss and fright of her situation had made her want to embrace the drugs. Izuku, bless him, seemed to sense her inner turmoil and squeezed her shoulder, sending waves of support through their link. Like a mental hug that she couldn't help but lean into.
It helped.
After a few long moments to recenter herself, she nodded in the direction where they thought the slaver masters had their quarters. Probably. It wasn't like they'd been able to do the same degree of research here that they had on The Wheel. No one on Nar Shadda cared what the blueprints of your building were, so long as you weren't going to cause the people over your head to fall through your ceiling. Still, they'd been able to make some educated guesses. It was unlikely that the slave masters stayed on the lowest levels, higher levels always being a status symbols on any city-planet like this one. Likewise, they were unlikely to want to be near the noise of the loading docks, or near the smell of the building's sewage and trash outlets. Mocking up the rough shape of the building, then slicing away the chunks of it that were unlikely to hold their targets, had given them three possible spaces. One was, pretty obviously given its size and location near the entry, the auction stage that Aayla had vague memories of. A second was on the mid-levels and secure. If not for its size, it might have been a good candidate. But it was too large…which likely meant the slave housing.
The only remaining place that seemed likely was on the upper levels, which made sense, and had an overlook of the city. That also made sense, even if it was irritating. There was sky traffic at that level, enough of it coming and going that they couldn't sneak in that way. The auction house was on a fairly high up level, after all…which made a sickening sort of sense given the high price Aayla had commanded. Sadly, high traffic at that altitude had also made a rooftop entry inadvisable. Which meant, instead, they were going to be stuck skulking through the lower levels and hoping they didn't trip any alarms on their way up. Mustering her courage, Aayla got them moving to do just that, keeping an eye open for cameras or other sensors…
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There had been cameras, of course. But not nearly as many of them has Aayla had feared. Better yet, they hadn't been on a closed system. Which meant she'd been able to disrupt them for a few moments at a time, allowing them to sneak up elevator shafts and dart through corridors. Somehow, by luck or the Force, they'd made it to the security room without triggering an alert. Finding the security room before the slave masters' quarters had been a stroke of pure luck. Not only had it allowed them to use the cameras to find what they were looking for, but it had given them a chance to knock out the two goons manning the place. That did put them on a bit of a crunched timetable since there was no telling when someone would find them. But, overall, it was a win. Mostly.
Unfortunately, Aayla could feel a seething, angry turmoil coming across her bond with Izuku that utterly dwarfed her earlier bit of anxiety. Worse, she had a very good idea where that righteous anger was coming from. After all, the majority of the camera feeds weren't security for the building, but for the slave pens, and quite a few of the cameras were pointing right into them. Aayla had forcefully ignored it as she got what they needed from the computers, discovering both the slave masters' quarters and the location of what passed for a records room. But now, she had to deal with it before Izuku did something everyone would regret. Sighing, she looked over to him and saw exactly what she expected. He was staring at the monitors, which showed sentients of every kind, including even a few other Twi'leks. No children, at least. That was a blessing of sorts, since she wasn't sure what she needed to say would get through to him if there had been. Aayla slid over to her partner's tense form and laid her hand on his arm, shaking him with infinite gentleness. He tore his gaze away from the monitor, looking into her face as she shook her head.
"No, Izuku. I'd like nothing more than the free the slaves here. But we can't do it."
"But-"
She shook her head, even as she quieted him with a finger to his lips.
"No. This isn't like Gargon, where you went after a single Spice merchant. Or like The Wheel, where all you needed to do was steal a little data. This is Nar Shadda. What would you do even if you killed everyone here? Deactivated all the slave chips? Could you sneak a hundred plus people halfway across the planet? Somehow get them all aboard our ship, which was never designed to hold so many? Where would you take them? How would you escape the Hutts, who have to have their fingers in an operation this big and would know the minute things went to hell?"
Izuku's expression was mulish.
"We could take them to the underground hyperlane."
Aayla's smile was sad as she shook her head again.
"To the single agent we know of on Zeltros? And you didn't answer any of the other questions, Izu. This isn't a fight you can win. Not today. Someday? Maybe. I'd love nothing more than to join you in a crusade against slavery. But trying to save those people today would only result in both of us dying…and all of them being recaptured or killed in the process."
The look of pained acceptance in Izuku's eyes nearly brought tears to her own, particularly with the utter, soul-deep agony she could feel in him via their link. But Aayla knew she was right…and she knew Izuku knew it as well. That was what made hurt so much, after all.
"Someday, Izu. Maybe someday. But you can't save everyone. Not today."
Her partner didn't respond, but he did follow her lead as they left the way they'd come…
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With the few bits of security that might have presented an issue for them bypassed, it hadn't taken long at all to access the records room. Unfortunately, it has also quickly proven to be a bust. Well, mostly. They did learn one detail that momentarily enraged Aayla, though she wrestled control of herself quickly. Specifically, she'd discovered that it had, indeed, been her own uncle that had sold her to the slavers. That marked the second time in her life that Pol'secura had done so, and this time he didn't have even the feeble pretense of doing so to hide her from their clan's enemies. It also summoned up vague memories of her Master that were loaded with pain. Even knowing she should probably embrace them to help close the gaps she still had in her head, she shoved them back down. There was enough pain in just the echo of them that she knew bringing them to mind now would cause a breakdown when they were in the middle of an enemy base. Part of her knew that was just an excuse. But there was enough truth to it to satisfy her in the moment.
Their next target had been riskier. The slave masters' quarters, after all, would have at least a few of the slave masters physically present. Still, they'd chosen a time where most of the district was sleeping, and they had means of detecting people before they ran into them. Even Aayla, shaky as some of her abilities still were, could do that. And Izuku's own mix of telepathy and telekinesis actually gave him a better mental 'radar' for people nearby than she had. Which was saying quite a bit, given that her own gift of empathy enhanced hers mental radar as well.
The combination of the time of night with those abilities saw them through to the personal quarters of the man who'd bought Aayla from her uncle. Their luck wasn't good enough for him to be out…but it was good enough for them to catch him asleep. Aayla had managed to hack the lock without setting off any alarms, and a quick stun bolt from Izuku's blaster had made sure the Bothan wouldn't be waking unexpectedly anytime soon. The headache he'd suffer when he eventually did was, as far as Aayla was concerned, only a tiny amount of the payback he was due for his loathsome profession. The fact that she got to drag him roughly over to his computer terminal to use his biometrics to unlock it was only a bonus. And Izuku was kind enough not to say anything, beyond a snort of amusement, when she put the slaver back in his bed folded over double, so it looked like he'd been trying to such his own dick in his sleep.
The terminal was much more enlightening than the records room had been…but not in a good way. He'd had a file on her, alright. But that file indicated quite clearly that she'd come pre-equipped with her chastity belt by Pol'secura. The digital unlock key they'd been given had worked the one time they'd tested it in Pol's presence…then failed to do so when they'd tried it again for their own potential 'fun.' There was some angry ranting in the file about that, as well as a cautious note that they needed to be careful who they sold her to.
The only two good things she could see in the situation were that, first, they'd mostly been overcautious in dealing with their potential trail. While the Zabrak Izuku had accidently terminated on arrival had been rich and decently well connected, it hadn't been the sort of connections that actually cared about him. Most of them had probably toasted his demise, once they'd been sure he wasn't coming back. That was good, as there wouldn't be any future retaliation coming from that quarter. The second, more dubious piece of 'good' news was the implication that her uncle might not be a complete scumbag. Just 99% of one. After all, the assumption that made the most sense was that he'd needed to get rid of her, but hadn't wanted her to suffer…certain things. She did vaguely recall, now that she'd been reminded of him by name, that she and her Master-
No, none of that. Not right now. She wanted the memories back, but now was not the time. Particularly as she was already dealing with the frustration of the dead end. Would she never be free of-
Aayla eeped in surprise as Izuku hugged her from behind. She'd been too distracted to feel him move…and she was distracted even farther a moment later as his hands ghosted over her jacket-covered chest and she felt her nipples being firmly tweaked and pulled. She moaned, instinctively arching into that touch, even as part of her brain realized he must have been using his telekinesis under the jacket to achieve that much. The leather wasn't thin enough for her to have felt the sensations if he'd only physically tried to pinch them through it. Brain thoroughly derailed from her previous thought process, it took her a moment to process that her lover was whispering into her ear cone.
"-remember, this was only the start of the trail. Sure, it would have been nice if it ended here. But it still told us where to go. This Pol'secura…the uncle you mentioned once, I'd guess? We now know he had to be the one to use the belt on you. That's another lead to follow."
Her despair faded a bit, but not as much as he'd probably hoped. There had been more information in the entries on her, after all.
"He's done a runner, Izu. The slavers tried to contact him, but the Secura clan said he's no longer leading them, that he vanished even before he sold me. If whatever he did that made him think he needed to risk selling a Jedi as a slave also made him cheat a Hutt-backed operation…he'll have gone to ground. The galaxy is a big place, Izu. How are we supposed to find him?"
Aayla muffled a yelp a moment later as the nipple tweaking returned, joined by a kiss to her ear cone. When he was sure she was distracted from her morbid thoughts, Izuku pointed out something she hadn't considered.
"Sure. But what are the odds that he'd use a belt like the one on you if it was his. Remember how much Verle Kann said the phrik was worth? No, it's much more likely the belt belonged to the Secura clan and he just used it on you. We might not even need to find him, just visit your clan on Ryloth and see what they know about it…"
That…was actually a really good point. The phrik might actually have been worth more than she was, and she'd sold for quite a sum. He'd also, apparently, possessed the means to open it at least once. Which made it much more likely he really had been trying to protect her, in a really frakked up sort of way. He'd needed her gone but didn't actually hate her maybe? Considering her connection to the Jedi, he might even have assumed they'd find her sooner or later. And finding her in relatively unharmed condition would be better for him, too. There's no way he'd have commissioned the thing, though. Which meant it had to have come from somewhere. Clan Secura's vaults might well be the answer. Its original purpose might have been far more to ensure valuable slaves were 'pure' before sale. The toys had been an add-on, as far as they knew, after all. And they may have been added to appease the slavers more than anything. Aayla took a deep breath, thankful that Izuku had stopped teasing her once she stopped spiraling. Holding the breath for a three count, she slowly let it out in a five count, recentering herself as she did the simple exercise.
"Okay. You have a point. This is just another step. Not even really a setback. Just…more information."
Izuku nodded, his head resting on hers causing her lekku to wobble a bit as he did. She actually giggled at that, before remembering where they were.
"Now, as much as I liked what you were doing, this isn't exactly the right place for it. Let's get out of here…and then you can try that again without the jacket in the way."
She giggled again as she felt his firm approval of that idea flowing through their bond. Yes, this was frustrating. But it wasn't the end of the world, or even the end of hope, yet. Just another stepping stone. Besides, her master had proven to be very inventive as circumventing her current limitations, and she doubt he'd run out of ideas just yet…
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A/N: This chapter marks the first time the story shifts to Aayla's perspective a bit. This won't be overly common, but I felt it would be a good idea to show a bit of what is going on in Aayla's headspace. Other perspectives will appear as well, but the vast majority of the time it will be from either Izuku's, Aayla's, or their combined perspective.