A young girl-no older than fifteen standard years- slowly moved her hand upon the cold ground. Her eyes opened suddenly and she popped herself up to a sitting position. How long have I been out? She examined her surroundings. She was in a dark, small cell, with durasteel walls on all sides except for one, the entrance, where metal bars stood solid and a wall of energy blocked anyway to escape. There was a drain in the middle of the floor and the cell reeked of dried blood and urine from its last occupant.

She shifted her hand to reach out to the bars, only to first hear the sound of scraping metal. Looking at her arms, she saw chains connected to her wrists and then to the wall behind her. There were similar chains attached to her ankles as well. For the time being, she ignored them, and reached out to the bars once more. The energy wall sizzled as it shocked her and she jumped back, clutching her stinging hand.

She did not feel fear at being trapped like this, nor did she concentrate on that sudden, sharp pain. No, her mind was elsewhere, worrying more so on who had trapped her and where in the galaxy she was. She had no quarrel with anyone; anyone still alive that is. The girl looked back on the events just before her capture...

She had been placed on an island, captured and trained to kill for the entertainment of others. More importantly, she had been winning. She had used a knife-which was the only type of weapon given to the competitors- to craft herself a wooden bow and arrows, just as she used back home in her tribe on Rigossa. She has also made a wooden spear as well. She might not have been the strongest fighter, but she was just cunning enough to survive.

It was the final battle, between her and a humanoid male-some memory said he was from a species called Gamorrian. He was much bigger and tougher. The tides seemed to have turned at one point when her bow flew out of reach and the male advanced on her quickly. She didn't know whether to be grateful or fearful when someone- off in the safety of a lab no doubt- had let lose a hulking rancor. Both had run off, trying to get away from the monster.

Unfortunately, the Gamorrian hadn't been quick enough, and was eaten alive. Even though the girl had been the last survivor, no one came to her rescue. The rancor then seemed focused only on eating her. She had backed up against a rock ledge, cornered, but waiting, and as the beast lowered its face to howl at her, she stabbed it cleanly in one eye with her spear.

The rancor gave a howl of pain and, taking the opportunity, the girl raced away and back to her bow, rolling and retrieving it. The rancor managed to whack the spear out of its eye, but it was obvious it had been blinded. In no time, the creature had an arrow stuck into the other eye as well.

Now he was ticked, but he couldn't see either. The girl collected her spear and, with a lot of effort, climbed onto the back of the beast. She stabbed and dug the spear right in a weak spot between the two armored plates on its back. The following scream sent a violent shudder down her spine. She held on to the spear tightly as the thing collapsed on the dirt, dead. Luckily the rancor didn't fall backwards or she would've been squished like a bug.

First there was silence, then the loud sounds of applause and cheering. She climbed off the corpses back and looked around hopefully, wondering if now she could exit this nightmare. However, she didn't have much time to look for an escape. She had felt something pierce her skin in the back of her neck, then numbness, and finally there was darkness.

Now it seemed she had entered a whole new nightmare. She had been told she could go home if she won, and this certainly was not home. She looked up upon hearing the energy wall turn off, and the barred gate opened. A large figure walked in and towered over her.

This person was a Trandoshan named Pekt, a powerful slaver well known for his sadistic nature. He wore a black tunic with grey pants that ended by his bare feet. His scales were a light green color. "So, you've finally decided to wake up," he said with a slight laugh. He picked her up by the throat and examined the girl. "Ugly little thing, aren't you?"

The girl didn't respond and spat in his face in retaliation to being grabbed. Given all she'd been through, it wasn't like she was at the peak of health. Her cheeks were sunken in some and she had dark bags under her eyes from restless nights. She was covered in cuts and bruises that were never healed in or after the competition. However, she wasn't ugly, by most other humanoid and human standards anyway. She had long, brown hair that flowed down her back, though currently tangled and matted. She had light, olive skin, full lips, and eyes that would change color sometimes. Right now they were a greyish green, unblinking and glaring at Pekt in anger.

Pekt's own eyes tinged with fury at this. He slammed the girl right into the wall and tightened his grip, using the other hand to wipe his face. "You little pest!" He spat in her face next. "You will learn some respect, or I swear it, I'll skin you alive and have your hide nailed to the wall!"

The girl began to see black spots dance across her vision as he gripped harder, she futilely tried to pry away his claws from her neck. Seeing she was bordering unconsciousness, Pekt released and dropped her, giving a final kick at her abdomen. He stormed out, calling to a pair of other slavers, "Take Layla and redress her. Keep her binders on and place a shock collar around her neck. If she tries to escape, bring her to me immediately!"

Two other Trandoshans stepped into the girl's cell and begin removing the chains, attaching a pair of binders to her wrists instead, gripping her tightly to ensure that she wouldn't go anywhere. Her eyes widened. Layla… That was not her real name. It was a slave girl's name. Her heart began to pound.

The pair half led, half dragged her out of the cell. Layla was in a state of disbelief. She was to be a slave, tortured and forced to give her soul to her master, and a cruel one at that. Any resistance or rebellion would mean severe punishment…but that did not stop her from trying to fight back and get out of the two Trandoshans' grasps.