Chapter Seven

Blood Moon- Stobar

Moreena laid in her bed curled up in a fetal position, trying to stay warm. She can still hear the screaming Twi'leks inside her head. How she had wished she had done something to help those poor Twi'leks. She felt a tear streamed out of her eye. Suddenly, Moreena was woken up by the sounds of a door opening and someone tumbling down the stairs. After they tumbled to the bottom of the stairs, the door closed again.

Moreena gets up and starts making her way to where the sound had come from, being careful not to step on anyone. Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness. When she got to the foot of the stairs, her eyes widened. She recognized the same Twi'leks from before; they seemed to be in pain. Moreena heard someone coming up behind her.

"DAESHA!!" gasped Feyona, running to the green Twi'lek's side.

"Are you two alright?" Moreena asked, kneeling to the blue Twi'lek's side. But when she laced her hand on her back, she felt something wet and raw. She pulled her hand back and saw dark thick substance. She looked back and saw that both the Twi'leks' backs are covered with bleeding lashes.

"Here, come with me," commanded Moreena, helping the blue Twi'lek up.

"I'm fine," protested the green Twi'lek, shrugging her shoulder from Feyona's hand.

"No, you're not," argued Moreena, "You're gravely injured; those wounds need to be treated. If you don't see to it, it'll get infected. Please let me help you."

"I think you should listen to her," Feyona told the green Twi'lek, "She may know what to do." The green Twi'lek glared at Feyona but her face softened.

"Fine," sighed the green Twi'lek.

Feyon helped the green Twi'lek up her feet; Moreena and Feyona lead the Twi'leks to the water pump. Moreena gently set the blue Twi'lek down, grabbed a bowl and pumped water into the bowl. She turned to the other girls who are crowding around them.

"Does anyone have a couple of cloths I can use?" Moreena asked them. They were all quiet and stood still until a pink Twi'lek came up.

"I do," said the pink Twi'lek, tearing a couple of small pieces of cloths from her red loin cloth and gives them to Moreena.

"Thank you," said Moreena, taking the cloths and gave one to Feyona. Everyone else returned to their cots.

She dipped the cloth into the bowl until it is completely wet. She gently squeezed it- being careful not to squeeze all of the water out- and began to lightly rub it over the lashes on the blue Twi'lek's back. Feyona mimicked her on the green Twi'lek. Each time the cloth gets completely absorbed with blood, Moreena placed them in the water to rinse the blood out. Both the Twi'leks seethed in pain everytime the cloth touches their raw skin. Over half an hour had passed and half of each of the Twi'leks' back are clean from blood.

"Where did you learn to do this?" asked a curious Feyona.

"Oh...uh...Hondo taught me first aid while I was serving him," Moreena lied.

"Your former slave owner taught you, a slave girl, about first aid?" inquired the blue Twi'lek.

"Uh-huh," Moreena continued to lie, "He may be my master, but that doesn't mean he's completely careless about my well-being."

"You must be so lucky to come from such a nice master," commented Feyona.

"Yeah, but he was still a bit of a jerk," Moreena added to her lie. The older Twi'lek was silent during the whole conversation, glaring to the ground.

"Why are you helping us?" asked the green Twi'lek. Moreena was confused with that quetion.

"Why do you ask?" questioned Moreena, "There's no reason why we can't help one another, right?"

"I guess not," the green Twi'lek bluntly answered, "Ow!"

"Sorry," Feyona squeaked, taking the cloth away from the skin for the second and continued to lightly dab the cut.

"So, out of curiosity, where were you going when you two tried to escape?" inquired Moreena. "There's gotta' be more that just freedom, right?" The Twi'lek glanced to Moreena.

"To Ryloth," answered the green Twi'lek, "My sister and I were taken from our home when we were small children.We've bounced from slave owner to slave owner a couple of times until eventually, we ended up here, in the hands of the dreaded Carnage."

"How long have you two been here?" asked Moreena.

"Long enough," grunted the green Twi'lek and then seethed in pain when the cloth touched the sensitive part of raw skin.

"I was here for a couple of years," Feyona chimed in.

"And you've been trying to escape ever since you got here?" inquired Moreena.

"Uh-huh," answered the blue Twi'lek.

"Why couldn't you just wait until someone comes and rescue you?" asked Moreena.

"You really think someone will come for us?" inquired the blue Twi'lek, slightly hopeful.

"I know it," answered Moreena.

"I hope it's soon," Feyona hoped.

"Sure, what a great idea," the green Twi'lek sarcastically mocked her, "Why don't we all just sit back and get kicked around like dirt by the slimy Zygerrian until someone come get us in, hmm, I don't know... NEVER!!"

"What's with the attitude?" scolded Moreena, slightly annoyed, "How can you even talk like that"

"Quiet down there!!" The Falleen yelled through the door, banging on it. The girls twitched and lowered their voices.

"Why do you think no one will ever come?" Moreena demanded.

"Because nobody cares about us anymore," explained the green Twi'lek, "Ever since the rise of the Empire, everybody just drops everything and forgets about the enslaved ones. That's when we realized that we're on our own. No matter how much I plead for help, nobody did anything about it. Who would risk their lives to save a few skugs that we are. Face it, no one will ever come for us; we'll always be slaves to people like Carnage."

"She has a point," the blue Twi'lek sadly agreed, "This madness will never end."

"We'll never go home," Feyona tearfully added.

"What home do we have?" the green Twi'lek questioned Feyona, "The Empire took everything from us... including our family."

Moreena bit her lip and thought for a moment. She knows what's it like to lose something to the Empire. She remembered the time when the Empire took away her family's farm. She became upset when they had to leave the planet she was born and grew up in. So many memories were left behind, including a close friend of hers. Ezra, thought Moreena.

"Perhaps," said Moreena, "But not everything."

"What do you mean?" asked the green Twi'lek.

"I've lost things to the Empire too," explained Moreena, "I thought they've taken everything from me, but then I realized that there's one thing they haven't taken."

"What's that?" inquired the blue Twi'lek.

"Hope," Moreena answered, smiling gently, "Even though I'm just a slave girl, I still have hope. Someone will come for us."

"How do know that?" asked the green Twi'lek.

"I don't need a reason to hope," Moreena simply answered, "It just gives you a reason to live."

The Twi'lek's eyebrows lifted and thought to herself. Reason to live, huh? She thought. Moreena and Feyona finished cleaning off the blood, placed the filthy cloths down and Moreena dumped the bloody water down the drain.

"Well, this ought to do it, for now," said Moreena, looking at the Twi'leks, "Try not to lay on your backs while you sleep."

"Thank you," said the blue Twi'lek, humbly.

"No problem," acknowledged Moreena, "My name's Moreena, by the way."

"I'm Tann," greeted the blue Twi'lek, shaking her hand with Moreena's.

"...Daesha," the green Twi'lek introduced herself.

"Why don't you take my bed," Moreena offered the Twi'leks.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Tann.

"I insist," Moreena gently commended.

"Okay," Tann answered, sheepishly smiled.

"You go ahead and take the bed," Daesha told Tann, "I'll be fine on the hay."

"Okay, Daesha," replied Tann and climbed onto the bed. She took Moreena's advice by laying on her stomach. Daesha turned her eyes from her younger sister to Moreena.

"...Thanks," she spoke.

Moreena turned to Daesha. Although she was met with a dour face, Moreena gave a smile in return. Daesha walked past Moreena and laid down on a pile of hay that's right next to Tann on her stomach. Moreena searched for an empty cot until Feyona scooted over to share her bed with Moreena. Moreena thanked her with a smile and lays down next to her. Well, at least the hay is much warmer than the bed, thought Moreena, cuddling into a fetal position once again, Don't worry, my friends, as soon as I complete this mission, I'll come back for you. Only next time with help.