-From a general perspective-

  A suffog silence desded into the dark cave. The adventurers were flicted by this new revetion. They were all taken aback, being uain of what to do with the hibernated person.

  Well, almost all of them… the exception was Malle, the blue skiogruta woman who was currently fiercely demanding to immediately free the unfortunate person trapped in the carbon ptform… especially si robably a harmless teenager.

  -What are you waiting for, you heartless bastards?

  On the trary, Qaghr, the aqualish, didn’t want to hear anything about releasing ao take it even further, the man wao destroy the ptform as it was.

  -I tell ya… this. All bad luck! ‘e shou’d lea’ it or destroy it!

  Malle spat right in front of Qaghr, succesfully regaining his attention as he gred at her hatefully.

  -Look at that, now you speak standard all of a sudden? I always thought that you were a coward, but now you have proved my suspi!

  She s the man, who dared to suggest the absurd idea.

  Suye stepped o Malle, adding her own two bits.

  -I-I think that Malle is right, we shouldn't kill someohout a proper reason… I don’t want to do that…

  Bamadal, o that with a stony expression. It seemed that he also agreed with the girls.

  Ligo looked at the unfolding sario while sneaking thoughtful g the carbon ptform. He took out a somewhat crumpled cigarette from one of his pockets and ig with the lighter held in his other hand. Soon a few billows of smoke were breathed out by the man, which served as a st push for him to finally make up his mind. He eventually turned around and said, determination mirrored in his gaze.

  -Fine.

  He stepped closer to the frozen figure and smirked.

  -Ain’t this your lucky day?

  With that, he activated the inbuilt melting process, which started an automatic chemical rea which evidently ended up with the frozen item, or persaining its inal structure.

  The entire process only took up thirty seds.

  Soon, billows of steam began to fill the room. Ligo stepped back, clutg his hand bster while pointing a ster the steaming ptform. The others following his example and also positiohemselves around the ptform while spreading out in a half circle, ready t into a if the need arises.

  As the seds passed in such a tense way, ohird of the room was slowly filled up with a thick smoke s. They were waiting for some movement or a voice, but it did not appear. While the sileretched unfortably long, the tension seemed to only grow higher.

  At st, a desperate gasp could be heard, which was followed by a series of dry coughing.

  Right away, a small thin form stepped out of the smoke, but could only take a few steps in their dire before colpsing on her knees. While her entire body was shaking in her coughing fit.

  Ligo, lowered his bster, allowing it to slowly slip bato its holster which as usual was loosly hanging from his right hip.

  He waved to Malle with his right hand while saying zily.

  -Che the girl, Malle… Who knows, she could be one of your cousins, of all I know.

  Suye looked at the pitiful-looking teenager. She could see the familiar white stripes c the leks and small montrals surrounding her roundish face. It seems that she was a togruta, just like Malle, but younger and with a base skin color e instead of blue.

  Malle didn’t need more encement, as she bolted from her pce, and was kneeling by the side of the ruta.

  She began to draw small circles in her back with her palms while trying to calm her with her presence.

  -Cough, cough… cough! Whe-cough! Where am-…cough… I?!

  -Shhh! Shhh! Calm down, sweetheart, don’t speak, just breathe, slowly… Yes, that’s good! Keep it up… You were carbon-freezed, we just melted you out of the stuff, it takes time for the side effects to disappear, it’s based on how long you were put on cold.

  The girl seemed to calm down a bit, which was unusual. The more oion was to start panig. It was a known fact about hibernation, especially in the case of carbon-based hibernation types. This is an old teology. It worked fine, but the side effects were unusually strong, and there were more fortable modern ways for personal hibernation which had little to no lingering side effects.

  For that reason, it wasn’t really used for that purpose anymore, except in the case of bounty hunters who didn’t care about the fort of their merdise.

  The steam was slowly dissipating. Suye at st made up her mind and walked up to Malle and her new ward a full bottle of water to the still harshly coughing girl. She didn’t have the preseo take the offered bottle, so Malle took it instead.

  She opehe bottle and said to the girl encingly.

  -Listen, you o drink some water. I will help you, just raise your face towards my voice, alright?

  -I… I ’t see… cough… cough!

  Was the only thing the young girl said, while swallowing a half whimper.

  -Shhh, o panic… Your eyes are fine! I promise you, okay? It’s perfectly normal after a loime of hibernation. Your vision will clear up. Just give it some time, okay?

  She nodded, while biting her lower lip anxiously. Then she made a weird grimace as if... as if she just remembered that on knowledge.

  Malle showed an amused smile, while helping the girl to lift her face, and finally allow a few small gulps of water to enter her mouth.

  -o be embarrassed with yourself, ss… you are fused, hell I bet either of us wouldn't reay better than you!

  Suye also kneeled dowo the pitiful girl, helping her into a sitting position while grasping her right hand reassuringly. She at first was surprised by the unfamiliar presence, but through sensing her gentle behavior, she quickly and gratefully accepted her help.

  -Slowly, ss, you shouldn’t drink too much at onow, that’s enough for now, I will give you more in a minute… We must allow your body to adapt, alright?

  -Y-yes…

  She answered and oo, to reinforce her shaky statement. At least her coughing finally abated.

  Ligo, stepped closer and offered a b, which he just mao untangle from the lower part of his backpack.

  Malle looked up at him and took it with a warm smile.

  -Thanks boss!

  She said, and this time there was no sarcasm in the words. She quickly draped the fabrik over the shaking togruta and pulled it closer around her body with her own arms. She o warm up as fast as possible, otherwise and especially in this enviro, her life could still be in danger.

  Ligo, waited until the girl was muffled in the warm b, and only then did he crouch down in front of her. There was arahing, he noted as he crouched down.

  The girl's face slowly turowards him, as if she could sense his presence. Even though he didn’t announce his arrival, she was clearly fog on him.

  Then again, it could be the cigarette smoke he was stantly breathing out…

  He decided to drop the topic for now.

  -Hi. I am Ligo, the leader of this little adventuring party. I am relieved to see that you are alright, mostly, anyway… you tell me your tle miss?… I don’t want to push you much, but I took a huge risk freeing you from that prison… and it would give me a relief if I knew who you are and what are you doing on Korriban of all pces?

  The e togruta’s eyes seemed to take the form e saucers. Her body went rigid, as she asked in disbelief.

  -Ko-Korrib-ban? Am I on Korriban now?! Ho-ow?!

  The crew members surrounding the young girl exged quid worried ghen turned back to her.

  -I.. I am sorry, I really don’t know. I wasn’t sup-posed to be here… or anywhere o it…

  Bamadal stepped closer and demanded her name.

  -Your name, kit? Focus, and tell us who you are.

  Her face turowards the new voice, she blinked a few times… however, her eyes still remaihe same, cloudy and unfocused. Her face fell, but she tried to collect herself aually answered.

  -.. I am… Ahsoka Tano… Jedi- cough, padawan… to Anakin Skywalker…

  There was a simultaneous sharp intake of air, filling the dimly lit room. Which was quickly followed by a heavy sileension began to fill the hall once again.

  The girl called Ahsoka instinctively sehe ge imosphere, grasping the b edges between her shaking fingers, desperately pulling it tighter around her, while l her face towards the ground. Waiting for the rea of the people standing around her.

  She was in no dition to fight or defend herself in any way… It inly obvious to everyone, and she didn’t feel the strength in herself to pretend otherwise. She was fused and miserable, more miserable than she had felt in years… And that was something sidering that she was a child war veteran of the sort… Her clothes were drenched, she felt both hot and cold while her skin rig all over her body. She was hungry and incredibly thirsty. Her mouth felt as dry as a desert, even though she had just drank a few seds ago.

  On top of that, she could barely see anything. It felt like she was uer, her head hurt, her ear protrusions pulsed and she was dizzy, not eveioning the extreme sense of weakhat was slowly getting a hold over her.

  Even sitting seemed to take a huge effort.

  She didn’t remember how she got here… and that fused her incredibly. They were supposed to go on a tour from Unity, to a differelement uhe directorate of the Gray Order, with a few new acquaintances of hers… everything was going fine, yet, when she walked through the gate… she suddenly found herself in plete darkness… She didn’t know what was going on, and the st thing she could remember, was the boting ess that seemed to engulf her pletely. Then… she…

  She screamed in terror and pain… and after that, the darkness… swallowed her whole.

  She shivered even more pitifully as she remembered the terrifying experience.

  Then she felt the same warm hand from earlier, tinuing to draw reassuring circles on her back. Her mind refocused on the present, and she realized that she probably missed an argument while she ag out just now.

  The tension in the air was slowly dissipating as Ligo closed the argument.

  -I don’t give two shits about the hutts, and while you serve on my ship, you better don’t think about sve traffig either. For fuck’s sake, she is just a kid… and she is one of Malle’s people. You know how tightly kogrutas are. You better fet that idea, unless, if you prefer to wake up with a kuck between you ribs...

  Bamadal, crossed his arms over his chest, and stated drily.

  -I uand it, just fine, Ligo… but how are we supposed to pay off our debts now? Hmm? It’s not like we mao find anything else valuable here…

  Qaghr uedly released a surprise squeal like sound, which immediately gained everyone’s attention.

  As the steam finally dispersed, a new corridor appeared, which was hidden behind the now melted carbon ptform. The corridor stretched far into the depth of this byrinth like struct.

  Ligo smirked and cpped his hands jovially.

  -It seems that our expedition is yet to be done!

  Bamadal shook his head, amused.

  -Fine, but still… if not the hutts, I bet the Republic would happily pay a reasonable amount of credits in exge for one of their lost pupils. Especially after taking into sideration the ret dee in the jedi’s numbers… heh… That way everybody wins!

  Ligo patted the back of Bamadal, as he said in a much kione.

  -See? Now you are talking.

  Ahsoka, hearing the st part of the argument, quickly realized that she was just spared from a terrible, terrible fate… but before she could truly feel relieved about it, she caught on to something that for some reason made her stomach drop.

  She willed her shaking lips to form the words tentatively.

  -Wha-what do you mean… by ret… dee?

  She couldn’t see it, but she could feel the surprised and pitying gazes that suddenly turowards her. The awkward silehat followed have only reinforced the sense of dread she was feeling…

  -Ma-master…

  Was the first thought that came to her mind, and she unknowingly said the word out loud, in a whisper…