Darth Nox' ship was fairly small, so, since they were the only two women on board, Ashara Zavros shared a cabin with her mistress. The first time she saw Nox change, Ashara could not help gasping in shock. The Sith Lady's back was completely covered in criss-crossing scars. They looked particularly strange against her deathly pale skin.

"Something wrong?" Nox asked as she slipped a nightgown on and climbed into the upper bunk.

"Your back, all those scars. What happened? I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry. Please just forget about it."

"It's alright. I don't mind telling you about it. You know I was a slave before I was brought to Korriban to train as a Sith. Well, slaves get whipped."

"But you're only a little older than I am. You couldn't have been more than sixteen when you came to Korriban. How long were you a slave for? You have so many scars."

"I'm actually not sure how old I am. When I was little, maybe three or four, my mother sold me."

"Your mother sold you into slavery? How could she do such a thing?"

"She was a whore and a drug addict. She didn't want to take care of me, and she wanted money to buy drugs," Nox explained matter-of-factly. "My father was one of her clients."

"Whom did she sell you to?"

"The owner of the brothel she worked at."

"What? How? But, but, why would they want such a little girl?"

"Are you kidding? There's a huge market for little children."

"That's horrible. I guess I knew that things like that happen, but it's still hard for me to really believe. But why did they beat you so much?"

"Well, more than a few of the…customers," and here, for the first time in their conversation, Nox' voice betrayed some sense of bitterness, "I was made to serve enjoyed whipping me. I guess it was part of the experience they were paying for. As for the rest, well, I was sometimes…disobedient, and had to be brought back under control."

"Oh, mistress," and now Ashara was failing to hold back tears, "I'm so sorry."

"It's alright. I don't regret it. The pain made me strong."

"So how did you escape?"

"I didn't. I was with a…client, an especially cruel one. He had used me many times over the years. By the time I was a teenager, he lost interest in me…that way. He just liked whipping me. This time was different. It really seemed as though, this time, he was going to kill me. I got so frightened, so angry, and suddenly, lightning shot out of my hands and fried him. That was the first time my Force powers ever manifested, and I was so drained by it all that I collapsed. The owner was so angry that I think that I think he might have finished me off right then, but luck or fate or the Force took a hand. One of the other customers was a spy for the Imperial government. He realized what had happened and offered to buy me from the owner. By the time I woke up, I was on my way to Korriban. So that's my story. But look at me now: in my early twenties, and already a member of the Dark Council."

Neither of them spoke for a while. Finally Ashara said "Thank you for telling me that. It wasn't easy to hear, but I think understand you better now. There is one thing I don't understand though."

"Oh?"

"How can you support a system that allows things like that to happen? The Sith Empire allowed you to be treated that way—" At this, Ashara was cut off by Nox' laughter. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, my sweet, naïve apprentice. You think I grew up in the Empire? The brothel was in the Republic! My father was a Jedi!"