“Come here, Girl!” Lietto the Hutt demanded, calling out to a young slave girl, no older than 14. The skinny Pantoran complied, silently walking towards her master with her head lowered in shame, coming to a halt at the base of the platform on which the Hutt lie. The Hutt reached out, his hand guiding his slave’s head up to meet his eyes.
“Ah, Chloe… So young; so naive. Don’t you know what happens when a slave doesn’t do what was asked about them around here?” The Hutt asked rhetorically.
A look of fear washed over her face as she realized what was about to happen. Just then, a painful jolt of electricity from the collar around her neck coursed through her, causing her to fall down onto her hands and knees. The Hutt nodded to two guards, who walked over to Chloe and grabbed her, one on each arm, and led her off.
After fading in and out of consciousness for an hour, Chloe found herself in a small room, chained to the wall by her leg in a small room, lit only by a slit of natural light let in through a window. She winced in agony from the large, bloody gashes striped across her back from while the guards had whipped her while she was unconscious. During that time, the guards had stripped her down completely before chaining her up, and had placed a small outfit made entirely of metal and red silk fabric on a small table across the room. She was just barely able to reach the brass bikini when she stretched out her arm. She put the outfit on, only to realize that it was incredibly revealing, and it wasn’t very comfortable either, but she decided it was better than nothing. That night, Chloe waited in her cell, a thin wire hairpiece hidden in the palm of her hand. As the lone guard entered and released her chains to take her back to the slave quarters, Chloe jabbed the hairpin into his throat. The pin slipped from her blood covered hands and she bolted towards the end of the hall. She knew she would only have until morning before a search party would be sent out for her. The Pantoran made her exit through a narrow window at the end of the hall.
Finally outside, Chloe ran straight in no direction in particular all night, giving herself a quick pause to regain her breath. As the sun rose, She could make out the outskirts of a city on the horizon. Two hours later, drowsy and hungry, she reached the city. She decided to head towards the cantina, hoping that someone there would buy her a meal and maybe even agree to help her off of Tatooine. As she rounded a corner, she found herself on the ground with a young Pantoran man standing over her.
“I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there!” The man apologized.
“That’s alright,” she responded automatically.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” He asked, trying to make up for knocking her over.
“Anything?” Chloe asked, realizing the boy might be her ticket off of Tatooine.
“Within reason, I suppose, yeah.” He answered.
“Can you help get me off this planet?” Chloe asked.
“Sure! I was just headed back to my homeworld anyways.” He said, taking her by the hand and leading her to his ship. After they left the atmosphere, the man said “I’m Kadrol, by the way. What’s your name?”
“I’m Chloe. Chloe Garn.” She answered.
“Well then, Chloe, I tell you what. I’m headed to my parent’s place back on Pantora. I’ll bring you there and you can stay with us until you get back on your feet. They’re always looking for company anyways. We’ll also keep you safe from whoever’s coming after you. What do you say?”
“Ok, but how did you…”
“Well, for starters, you’re wearing a slave uniform. And secondly, people don’t typically agree to board a ship with a stranger.” Kadrol interjected.
“Do you…”
Interrupting once more, Kadrol answered “Have any clothes for you to change into? Yep. They might be a bit too big on you, but they’re clean and they just have to be better than what you’ve got on.”
“How are you guessing what I’m about to say?” Chloe asked, bewildered.
“Chloe…” He said quietly, “I’m a Jedi.”
Speechless, Chloe exited the cockpit to put on the clothes Kadrol had told her about. Finding the, exactly where he told her they would be, Chloe started removing the clothes she had on, starting with her sandals and working her wayup. Just as she removed the brass plate which was covering her small, pointed breasts, Kadrol rounded the corner to check the ship’s systems, only to find that his passenger was in the hall wearing nothing.
“Woah,” The man said, surprised and embarrassed, quickly turning away to give the girl some privacy. “I thought you were in the restroom!”
Chloe, who was used to changing out in the open as she had to do as a slave, was unfazed by his presence. “What’s wrong?” She asked, and sensing his unease, walked towards Kadrol, wrapping her arms around him in a hug; pulling his body into her own. Feeling an unexplainable warmth rushed through the Jedi’s body, Kadrol turned around to face Chloe, and reciprocated the hug. The embarrassment he had of walking in to see her naked had faded, and he was greatly comforted by her warm embrace.
After a few minutes in a prolonged embrace, Kadrol broke the silence. “So…. did you want to finish getting dressed?” He asked.
Chloe looked up at the taller man and shrugged, her arms still wrapped around him. “Yeah, sure.” She responded. With that, Kadrol went to the control panel he had planned to check in on as Chloe put on the spare clothes Kadrol had given her to wear. After he finished checking the coordinates to jump into hyperspace, he pointed to a couch, saying to Chloe, “Go lie down on your stomach over there and I’ll see what I can do to fix up your back.” Chloe nodded and did what Kadrol asked over her: not because she entirely trusted him, but because sand had gotten into the wounds, stinging her even more than before.
“I’m going to pour a bit of water on your back to get the sand out of your wounds. It might sting a bit at first, but only for a minute, ok?” Kadrol explained, pulling a flask of water off his belt.
“Ok.”
Kadrol grabbed a strip of clean cloth from a med kit and put it over the flask to conserve the water. As he tipped over the flask, about six inches above Chloe’s back, water started to trickle through the cloth. Chloe clenched her teeth and winced in pain as the the water fell into her wounds and down her back, washing the sand out with it. After he had gotten the sand out, Kadrol put the lid back onto the flask, putting the cloth down on a side table. After attaching the flask back onto his belt, Kadrol reached out with both his hands, placing them just above Chloe’s back. The Jedi closed his eyes and concentrated. Almost instantly, the gashes started to close, and her skin began to reform. As this happened, Chloe felt her pain beginning to fade. She was terrified, yet grateful. After several minutes, most of the wounds had completely healed without a trace that they were ever there, but a few remained. Kadrol felt his energy draining, all his power going into the young girl, healing her until a single mark remained, crossing from her right shoulder to the middle of the left side of her ribs. It was mostly healed, less than a few millimeters wide, and would probably heal completely in under a week. He walked over to the medkit he had left open on the sidetable, pulling out a bandage roll.
“We’re almost done,” Kadrol informed, “just stand up with your back towards me and your arms out so I can put this bandage on. It’s mostly healed, but healing you really sapped me.”
Chloe stood up and did exactly what Kadrol had told her, and Kadrol started wrapping the bandage around her, going over her right shoulder and between her breasts before wrapping around her waist a few times.
After he finished, Chloe turned around and lifted her head to meet Kadrol’s eyes. “Why are you doing this for me anyways? I’m just a runaway slave. I’m endangering you just by being here.” She said, a single tear started to form. Kadrol wiped it away with his thumb. “I… I felt something inside me when I ran into you that I can’t explain. It’s something I’ve never felt before. But what I do know is that it made me want to help you. That feeling is still lingering inside me.”
“Wow,” Chloe said quietly, stepping in to give the boy a hug, “Nobody’s ever told me they had feelings for me before.” Kadrol began to feel flustered as her bare chest pressed up against him.
“Chloe…”
“Yeah?”
“Can you put that shirt on? It isn’t that I don’t enjoy your hugs: I do. It’s unsettling to see…”
Chloe cut him off. “Ok.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. For everything.” She whispered in his ear before releasing him from her embrace. She walked over to the shirt and slipped it on. Kadrol let out a sigh of relief. It still revealed quite a bit, but it was better than her other outfit, and certainly better than nothing. “I think we’re approaching our destination soon. Feel free to join me in the cockpit if you’d like.” Kadrol stated as he turned to go take his place at the helm.
Seating himself in the pilot’s seat, Kadrol reread the timer and other instruments. Five minutes. He thought to himself. Hearing the door to the cockpit open, Kadrol looked over his shoulder and motioned to the seat on his right. “Why don’t take a seat. We’ll be dropping out of hyperspace in just under five minutes now.” Kadrol said calmly. He felt more comfortable around her just knowing she had a shirt on. Chloe nodded politely, putting her hand on the top of the swiveling chair before daintily taking a seat next to Kadrol. “So, do you want to learn a bit about how to fly in the next few minutes?” Kadrol asked, trying to avoid silence.
“Sure,” Chloe replied, “what does this button do?”
“that one puts us into landing mode.” Kadrol answered.
“I see. And this one?” Chloe asked, curiosity lighting up her golden eyes.
“That one fires the laser cannons.”
“Oh. What about that?”
“That one turns on the headlights.” Kadrol responded. Only a single minute remained until they reached Pantora. As they timer reached zero, the Jedi pulled the switch above his head, dropping the ship out of hyperspace to reveal a beautiful white orb.
“Woah.” Chloe gasped in awe of the celestial snowball.
“Welcome to Pantora, Chloe.” Kadrol said, greeting her to his home planet.
He pressed a small red button on his right. “This is snowflake-seven requesting permission to land.” A crackling voice soon came over the com. “Snowflake-seven, you are cleared to land on platform zero-two.”
“Cleared to land platform zero-two, got it. Thank you.” Kadrol confirmed with the ground. He brought the shuttle to the platform located on the outskirts of the capital city. After a successful landing, Kadrol shut off the ship’s engines and opened the door. “Ok, we’re here.” He said, standing up out of his seat. The two walked down the ramp onto the landing platform, where Kadrol’s mother was waiting. He walked up to his mother and hugged her.
“Welcome home.” She said.
“I’m glad to be home.” Kadrol responded. It had been nearly a month since he had last seen her. After their hug, his mother noticed Chloe shyly standing behind him.
“Who’s the girl?” She asked teasing him.
“Mom!” Kadrol snapped out of embarrassment. “This is Chloe. I’ll tell you more back at home, but all you need to know right now is that she didn’t have a place to stay, and I told her she could stay with us until she got back on her feet.” He explained.
“Kadrol, you know I don’t like it when you make promises like that without consulting me about it,” She said admonishing him, “however, we do have extra rooms and I’m always happy to have company.”
“You’ll understand when we get back. It’s not safe to tell you out here in the public.” He assured her.
“Ok,” she said, “Chloe, come along now.” The trio proceeded to walk to a hovercraft driven by the Hauen’s butler, Bengar, where they were taken to the family’s large home.
“Bengar, would you please show this young lady to our guest room?” She asked politely. The butler gave a slight nod and waved Chloe to follow him inside.
“So, what did you want to tell me about our guest that had to wait until now?” Kadrol’s mother prodded.
“Oh yeah. Well, I picked her up on my trip to Tatooine, and Chloe was a slave there. She had runaway and I quite literally ran into her on the street. When I saw her, and the situation she was in, I felt a something I’ve never felt before. A sort of warmth. I also felt the Force bringing us together. But there was more to it than that.” Kadrol explained.
His mother paused for a moment to take it all in. Suddenly, she playfully pushed his shoulder. “Oh my Force! You **do** have a crush on her!” She exclaimed.
“What? No I don’t!” Kadrol retorted, partially because he had never felt this way about anyone before, and partially in denial.
“Whatever you say. I know your heart is in the right place and your motives for bringing her here are purely selfless, but you have feelings for her, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many would even say it is a good thing,” She explained, “I’m happy for you, Kadrol.”
“Thank you, mother. By the way, you should probably take her shopping today. She only has one pair of clothes that aren’t the ones she has on, and I don’t really want her putting on that other pair. Especially not in public.” Kadrol suggested.
“I’ll take care of that. You should go say hello to your father, brother, and sister.” She said.
Together, they walked inside before splitting up: Kadrol to the living room, and his mother to the guest room to check in with Chloe. Upon reaching the room, Mrs. Hauen saw Chloe sitting on the bed crying. “What’s wrong dear?” She asked sweetly, taking a seat next to her on the bed.
“Nothing, Mrs…”
“Please, call me Anya.”
“Ok,” Chloe sniffled, “Nothing’s wrong. It’s all so beautiful. I don’t deserve any of it.”
“Oh, sweetheart, come here,” Anya said tenderly, reaching her arm around the young pantoran. It’s our pleasure to have you with us. If you ever need anything, just ask, ok?”
“Ok.”
“But right now, wipe those tears away, because I’m going to take you to get some things to wear.”
“Is Kadrol going to come with us?”
“I’m sure he will if you want him to. Do you want him to come with us?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok then, let’s get going.” She said, helping the younger girl up. With her arm still around her, they walked out of the room to go to the mall. “Kadrol! Come here, we want you to come with us.” She called.
“Yes Mother!” Kadrol called out from the next room. The three hopped in and drove off to the mall. In the window of the first store they walked to was a beautiful icicle blue tinted dress made of draping fabricate thin as paper, dazzled with glitter which had been meticulously sewn into the fabric itself. The long flowing outer shell of the dress was nearly transparent, becoming more opaque as it neared the torso. The stunning gown had a sky blue undergarment sewn in to it, covering the midsection. “You **have** to try that on. You would look so pretty in it!” Anya said excitedly. The group walked inside and Anya helped Chloe pick out the correct size, holding each dress up in front of her to get an idea of size. “Try this one on. We’ll wait outside the fitting room for you.” Anya said, handing the dress to Chloe. While they were waiting, Kadrol’s mother leaned in and whispered to the man “You know, she has a thing for you too. She didn’t want to come shopping without you.” Kadrol blushed. Soon after, Chloe exited the fitting room wearing the dress. Kadrol’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t help himself staring at her. The dress fit perfectly, as if it was tailored specifically for her.
“So… what do you think?” Chloe said. “It looks bad on me, doesn’t it.”
Kadrol blinked a few times before speaking up. “N-n-no. You look a-a-abso-olutely st-st-stunning.” Kadrol stuttered.
“You really think so?” Chloe asked, blushing.
“Yeah.” He responded.
“Can I get it?” Chloe asked, looking at Anya.
“Of course. Get whatever you think looks good on you. I want to get a dozen every day type clothes, one or two fancy outfits for special occasions, a few sets of casual wear, and some pajamas.”
“Wow, ok. I think that’s more than I’ve had my entire life.” Chloe said in shock.
“Well, then we better get to it.” Kadrol teased. The group finished up in that store, paid, and headed on to the next. Hours later, the group arrived back at home.
“Kadrol, feel free to help Chloe put away her new clothes. I’m too tired right now and I just need to go get some sleep. Don’t stay up too long,ok?”
“Ok mom.”
As he helped Chloe put away her new wardrobe, Kadrol was in awe of every outfit, remembering vividly how Chloe looked in each one she tried on that day, a few in his mind sticking out in his mind more than the others.
“Chloe,” Kadrol said, hanging up the last outfit, “there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Oh? What’s up?” She responded, turning her head to look at the Jedi.
“Come sit down with me on the bed.”
“So, what did you want?”
He took each of her hands and looked longfully into her eyes. “Chloe, I love you.”
The two leaned in and kissed. Kadrol shifted his hands around Chloe’s waist, pulling her in closer. Chloe moved in for another kiss, wrapping her hands around Kadrol’s neck. With each kiss, their passion for one another grew stronger. Soon, Chloe was on her back, Kadrol leaning over her. Chloe let go of Kadrol’s neck, and her arms fell onto her chest. “Kadrol, will you sleep here with me?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t see why not.” Kadrol said, climbing into the covers on the other side of the bed. Chloe climbed under as well, and tucked her head underneath Kadrol’s arm, resting it on his muscular pec. “Kadrol, does this mean we are dating now?” She asked.
“I guess so.” He replied, brushing his hand through her beautiful purple hair.
The next day, everyone had gone to work or school for the day by the time Kadrol got up. When Chloe got up, Kadrol had breakfast made for the two of them. That day, he taught her how to do traditional Pantoran dances, how to cook, and how to play a few card games. That evening, Kadrol would announce to his family that they were dating.
Epilogue
Months later, Kadrol would marry his girlfriend. Being married at age fifteen was commonplace on Pantora; in fact, it was almost expected of Kadrol to marry her. They had a small wedding held in the large backyard of the Hauen home. After the ceremony, they took their honeymoon on Naboo. Today, Kadrol and Chloe live on Seraph with their twin girls Myla and Kira who are now 8 months old.