Old Chains for New

[ZabrakBustati]

@James Steel On Tatooine a few blocks from the Auction house where Bustati has been bought by Zalow, after suffering through 9 years of slavery...Bustati is following after Zalow through the busy streets free of her chains.

Bustati followed after Zalow with a bit of a stumble and wobble as she raced to keep up, her peg leg certainly not the latest model, but something she devised with her own hands based on what she had available. They seemed to be moving at a rapid pace through one of the more grittier markets on Tatooine, leaving the auction block and her chains behind, or more like he seemed to be leaving her, after just freeing her. No, she couldn't allow that to happen.

Finally her voice broke through the crowd, "Hey! Wait!" She said as she moved after him, the words of 'You owe me one' echoing in her ears, leaving her rather perplexed. "What do you mean I owe you one? I mean you bought me, owing isn't quite the- Are you even listening?!" Did he not understand how the slave trade worked, could this truly mean freedom and if so now what? It wasn't like she could go back to her home world, not that she knew how to get off this current clump of sand! "Aren't you going to take me with you?!"

Her hand reached out, the nails like claws snagged on the fabric as red skin stretched and flexed with her digits in the desire to take hold of him. She was bound to get his attention one way or the other. He was not going to leave her here! He was not going to ignore her! He was going to explain what he meant!...Perhaps the sun had taken an effect on her in the sweltering heat of high noon, causing her to abandon all reason and lessons of the past.

Looking at her there wasn't much to scrawny form which was no doubt stricken with hunger, her hair no doubt containing some warped form of lice, and her clothes rags which hung from her form much like a gunny sack. She was desperate, she was lost, and understandably her eyes showed a hint of fear. But there was also hate in her eyes. Hate for him. Hate for her situation. Hate that stirred an unyielding defiance and a soul that was not quite broken.

 

[Where]

Zaylow had only freed Bustati moments ago. He did quickly tell her she owe him one, and left. Zaylow sensed her power in the force and knew she was to become sith. Zaylow would need as many allies and friends as possible if he was to form an insurgence against the sith. As he began to walk out of town he heard the voice of the slave he had just freed. He could see her, but wasn't sure about having a long conversation with her. He decided he would however help her out of the crowd, just in case some other fellow tries to imprison her again.

Zaylow walked up to the crowd the girl was stuck in and attempted to use force telekinesis to lift her out of the crowd and next to him.

 

[ZabrakBustati]

The fabric of Zaylow's robes had slipped out of her grasp as the crowd tried to swallow her whole, but alarm struck her expression with widened eyes and a gasp of surprise as he levitated her out of the muddle and set her down by his side. Indeed she was not heavy thanks to a small frame to begin with and malnutrition. She blinked. Her amber gaze darted to him and then looked to the ground as though trying to process what just occurred. After all it wasn't everyday she met someone with the gift to use the Force, much less one who took interest in her. In that moment of silence the gears in her head shifted. Indeed others looked at him a bit odd, but seemed to give him a wide birth. They knew and she knew as well just what the Force was capable of. She swallowed hard despite her mouth being parched, and lips being cracked with hints of blistering.

"Thanks..." She said quietly, a murmur. She looked around at everyone else before finally looking to his feet, a sign of respect to say the least. "W-Why?" She asked as she stood before him. Indeed his show of power had tempered her unruly emotions due to a hint of common sense. As if reminding her that she was nothing once more. After all what did she possess aside from her peg and the clothes on her back. How could she ever amount to anything, with everything that she was being robbed from her through betrayl. "Do-do you intend to leave me here?" Interesting how the tone changes when a degree of power is executed.

 

[Where]

Zaylow listened to what the girl said and responded "No, I suppose I shouldn't leave you here. Very well, come with me I'll take you to some where... Semi-safe..." Zaylow began to walk into the dune sea, he had landed his ship about a mile from his current location. The suns began to set, and the winds began to get a tad bit stronger. Zylow then turned and asked Bustati "Do you know why a freed you? Don't tell me you don't know..."

 

[ZabrakBustati]

Bustati quirked a brow, though her eyes remained averted from him, there was still a level of mistrust. Semi - safe? What exactly was his definition of Semi-safe? Still what choice did she have? She hobbled after him out beyond the ragged settlement. The sand hindered her movement, her peg continuously sinking into the depths of the grains forcing her to put more effort into their journey. The wind was simply making things a nightmare, blowing up gusts of sand in her eyes which she used her scraps of cloth to try and shield but to no avail. When they seemed to be nearing the ship he spoke. She listened, but made no response. After all she didn't know, and he told her not to tell him if she didn't know.

 

[Where]

Zaylow laughed "Ha ha ha- Just as I had suspected, you would have been free long ago had you known. You your self are force sensitive, in fact you may be stronger than me someday. Aslo, I'm taking you to moraband, there you will train to become sith. Before that however, I should see if you have any... how should I put it talent in the force." Zaylow through the young girl his lightsaber. the winds began to die down, and millions of stars filled the skies. "Now, here's a simple task. Ignite my lightsaber by use of the force..." Zaylow suggested.

 

[ZabrakBustati]

Bustati felt her cheeks flush with the heat of her anger at hearing him laugh at her. She did as he asked, how was she to know such a thing?! It wasn't like she had mind reading skills or anything. It wasn't like she could lift people in the air. It wasn't like...wait what? Her chin tilted upwards and she dared to meet him eye to eye. The reflection in her own amber hues was quite readable. She thought he was mental. She had the force!? How come she didn't know this? Why was she missing a leg?! Why had nobody told her until now!? The anger grew, although now it wasn't so much directed at him, but once more at the galaxy at large.

As much as the fury bubbled beneath her it eased as her thoughts were once more distracted by his words...Moraband...She had never heard of it or had she?...As her mind searched for answers, reflexes snapped into gear and she caught the light saber mid air. Her fingers curled around the metal hilt, and it seemed to fit snug in her hand. The power it contained hummed, and she couldn't help but release a small gasp as that hum traveled up her arm, spread through her torso and mingled with her core. The essence of the Dark Side slithered about her heart, seducing her to come along, and tap into the endless pool of power.

After all her anger was legit? Justice should prevail? People should pay for making her suffer by feeling equal measures of PAIN! A red beam of light emitted from the light saber as firey rage burned up from within. Hate was her friend. Blood would quench her thirst. With wild abandon she swung the weapon left and then right and then turning about wielded it to face him. The Force was a powerful tool, but in the hands of an untrained individual it was a very dangerous tool, and no doubt the young woman had never experienced such a rush at the tips of her fingers. Indeed she had much to learn as she was riding out the high of a lifetime.

 

[Where]

Zaylow could see the rage building inside of Bustati's eyes as she ignited the lightsaber he had given her. He then tauntingly gestured her with his fingers, his eyes began to glow red with the dark side of the force saying "Lets see how strong you are, come at me with all you've got!" Zaylow stood ready for any attack the zabrak would throw. Though he was unarmed, he was still equip with the force (the strongest of all weapons).

 

[ZabrakBustati]

Bustati's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared, she hardly needed a taunt to move forward into action, but she was an unskilled fighter, and indeed the spectacle before the trained Sith could be considered a bit of a joke. Her form was sloppy, her peg a hindered her in the deep sand, causing her to trip and fall a time or two as she swung with wild abandon. Dodging her would be akin to child's play. Indeed the more she failed at a seemingly simple task against an unarmed man the more upset and frustrated she became, and the worse she battled til finally she fell to the ground.

A loud snap derived from her mechanical leg which might as well have been a pile of garbage anyway. She struggled to rise on one leg, though fell to her knee as the sand grasped at her foot. As she worked to brace herself she dropped the light saber, it rolling a few feet away. She was embarrassed. She was enraged. Her hands clutched at the sand and in a last ditch effort filled with malice she flung a handful of sand up into his eyes and then reached for the saber. She wasn't going down like this! She would not be squashed so easily! She deserved to live! She deserved vengeance! As her hands clasped at the light saber reactivating it she swung for his ankles. "BASTARD!"

 

[Where]

Zaylow had not expected the girl to throw the sand in his eyes and was taken off guard. Fortunately, for him all he needed was the force to see. As he sensed her attack coming towards him he used the force to jump five meters back, giving him some time to wipe the sand from his eyes. He aggressively told the girl "So, you want to play with sand huh?"
Zaylow put forth his hand and used telekinesis to attempt to sink Bustati's mechanical leg into the sand.

 

[ZabrakBustati]

Bustani felt her rage ease as Zaylow retreated, and it was only then that she seemed to notice her fatigue as well as the fact that she was nearly out of breathe. She worked to catch it for a moment as her body shuttered, her muscles trying to give way on her, and the pangs of hunger gnawed at her sides. She released the light saber and rolled over falling on her back. Gaze staring up into the starry sky, as each breathe seemed to sear her throat. She needed water. She needed food. She needed rest. Just as her mind was trying pull her into the black she heard a shifting of the sands and she took a half hazard glance towards the sound. Her eyes widened and adrenaline forced her to launch upwards, "No...No...no no no no no!" There was panic in her voice as she moved to grab for her mechanical leg trying to dig it up, desperately clawing at the earth, fighting past the shards that dug beneath her nails. Without it she was a sitting duck. "No! STOP!" It was a plea as fingers latched onto it, splinters digging into her fingers, as sharp jagged bits of metal cut into her hands once she managed to grab hold of it, and pull, though it seemed futile.

 

[Where]

Zaylow felt bad watching Bustani struggle, he then released the Zabrak's foot allowing her to move freely. Using the force he grabbed his lightsaber from the desert sand, and mentioned to Bustani "That leg of yours is quite a handicap, the other acolytes will slaughter you... This simply wont do... It looks like we had better go back to town to find you a better one." Zaylow suggested she begin studding on the way back to the market, and threw her a stolen jedi holocron he had. Zaylow could tell Bustani had a weak body, but this would just mean the force would flow through her even more. "This artifact was stolen from the jedi may years ago, come along now..." Zaylow said with a grin.

 

[ZabrakBustati]

She looked pathetic sitting on the ground one leg extended, the other nonexistent, as her hands reached to unearth her piece of junk though it indeed was a pointless attempt as the weigh of the sand claimed it now. Her hands, all scratched up with specks of splinters, balled up into fists, but the stinging pain made her release the tension. She looked to the Sith who had rescued her or brought her into a new depth of misery, she wasn't sure. "How am I suppose to do that? My prosthetic is destroyed thanks to you! I can't walk on one leg!" She argued. Well perhaps she could if he were willing to be her crutch, but she didn't have the strength nor energy to drag herself via her arms at the moment up and down the sand dunes. Her head throbbed and stomach stabbed at her internally a reminder that she was in desperate need of water, and even then food would be nice. His response...He threw a box at her, and she didn't so much catch it as it landed within reaching distance.What was this thing supposed to do! "Will it give me a leg?" She asked not sure what she was suppose to do with it, and still sitting in the sand as he ventured off.

 

[Where]

Zaylow walked over to Bustani who had just lost her mechanical leg, and handed her the holocron she dropped. After handing it to her, he thought it would be to hard to carry her back to town. Instead he decided to travel to the town via his ship. "Alright, my ships only about 100 meters from here. You can rest in there, and then we can fly back to the market." Zaylow used the force to lift Bustani into his arms, and then began to approach his ship.

 

[ZabrakBustati]

Bustati held onto the box as he proceeded to hand it to her. She didn't really care to be picked up, by the force or not, she still had that Zabrak pride embedded into her psyche, but who was she kidding she needed his help, and so she allowed for it, but just this once! As he carried her to the ship she seemed to slip in and out of consciousness, only seeming to really stir as they arrived at the vessel. The second he allowed for it, she was laying in a cot of sorts with a thin mattress curled up in the fetal position, body curled around that box he had given her in a rather protective manner. One could assume she didn't even realize the hatch folding down and the ship progressing towards town. By the time the ship landed even though it was but a mile she had slipped into a dead sleep, which he would probably have to rouse her from.

 

[Where]

Once the two reached the ship Zaylow noticed Bustati had gone unconscious. "This is why I hate slavers," Zaylow said to himself as he set the girl down in a bed. Zaylow then took a glass of water and poured it on Bustati's face to wake her up. "I've brought you some water... We'll have you a new leg soon enough, just hold on for now." Zaylow walked to the pilot seat and launched into the sky, before the two knew it they were in a docking bay inside the small town from which Bustati was freed.

 

[ZabrakBustati]

Bustati's peace was ruined as water splashed on her face, and she emerged from the depths of her slumber with a twist and turn of both her head and body, each opposing one another. Her lids peeled back and she gasped, tongue crossing over her lips, as hands greedily went out to receive the cup. Her lips and the rim up the cup met somewhere in the middle as she partially lifted from the bed and drank with one large gulp after the next. The cup was empty in seconds and she handed it back to him, "More!" It was a plea and not so much a command, and her breathe was ragged as the water dripped from her face. Indeed her manners were rather terrible, but what was to expected of someone who was severely dehydrated. Even as they docked she seemed to still be presenting him with the cup, her amber orbs tracking him with animal like instincts, her body needed water, food, and rest, and her senses were on high alert for which ever came her way first.

 

[Where]

Zaylow rolled his eyes and said "Are you so weak that you can't fetch it yourself? Take what you like there's a small refrigerator over there. Catch up to me once you've eaten." Zaylow pressed a button causing the Firespray's door open, he then proceeded out of the ship to search for the local doctors office. Most of the town was silent, but a few shops were open including the doctor's office. Zaylow walked up to the building's doors and gave a loud knock. Eventually, a medical droid opened the door and asked "Can I help you?"

 

[ZabrakBustati]

Help herself? Follow him? Yeah that was a humorous notion, she wasn't even sure where he was heading, much less if she had the ability to hobble after him, and she wasn't about to find out. Hmm...Her gaze moved to the fridge that he gestured to it. As he left she used her hands to help lift her she hopped about til she made it to the fridge and then parked herself right down next to it for easy access. She wasted no time in fixing herself food and another glass of water, and by the time she was done their was a bulge in her belly, a mess on the floor from various wrappers and the like, and low and behold the sleeping Zamrak. Indeed she had knocked herself into a food coma and at this point was snoring rather loudly.The corners of her mouth containing that of crumbs from the various morsels she divulged her appetite with, and he would probably want to go on a grocery run before he left Tatoowine.

 

[Where]

Zaylow looked at the droid who had greeted him, and said "There is a female zabrak in need of a false leg, is the doctor in the house?" medical droid responded "the doctor isn't here right now--" that was all Zaylow needed to hear, he ignited his saber and sliced the droid's head off letting himself in. He began to search the medical center for any useful prosthetic legs, until he eventually found a Meco-leg.

Once he found a replacement he went aboard his ship to see the zabrak knocked out in bed. This would be the perfect time to equip the new leg to her. Zaylow used his powers to effect Bustati's mind, keeping her asleep until the new leg had been installed. Zaylow was no medical genius, but just about anyone could install a meco-leg to a missing limb.