Ashoka and Ventress- Eating Contest

Ashoka Tano awoke in chains. As had been drilled into her, her first thought was of the safety of her companions: her squad of clone troopers and her master, Anakin Skywalker. Carefully, and without giving any sign that she was conscious, Ashoka scanned her surroundings with the Force. It appeared that she'd been tied arm-and-leg to a lavishly carved four-poster bed, and the silk blankets felt cool where her combat garb exposed her midriff. Beyond this, there was no sign of her Master or her squad, only a large, rectangular room open on one side to a wide balcony and with what seemed to be an identical four-poster bed on the opposite end of the room. She felt she could almost sense someone else.

Suddenly, Ashoka's mind erupted in a splitting headache that caused her to cry out, her arms convulsing against their bindings. Like a muscle that had been stretched too far and then torn, Ashoka's force-sense recoiled back to her in a fit of blinding agony.

"Aahhh... you're awake." Came a voice from above, the flat tone and modulation betraying it for a droid. Against the onslaught of pain Ashoka mustered her resolve and cracked one eye open. Sure enough, hovering above her was a speaker-bot, it's one red eye pulsing maliciously to the Padawan's aching eyes. "You really shouldn't have done that." The droid continued, sounding almost disappointed. "Not with that collar on, anyways." Ashoka bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming in helpless frustration. All her instincts were telling her to reach out with the Force, yet whenever she touched that part of her mind she found only red-hot pain.

"Where... am I?" Ashoka managed, calling upon her Jedi training to still her wildly-beating heart and panicking mind. Quickly taking in her surroundings, she found the room was brightly lit and richly decorated with marble floors and gold filigree running in angular veins along the walls. Outside, a clear, pale-blue sky gave no hint at all to her location.

"You'll see." Was the droid's only reply as it gave her its equivalent of a sneer and floated off, leaving her to stare after it. However, from this prone angle she soon lost sight of the bot and was forced to accept that without the ability to draw on the force, she needed to come up with some mundane plan for escape. She felt like a blind bantha trying to solve a Rubik's cube (writer's note: Rubik's cubes are a universal constant).

Quickly, Ashoka ran through the archives of her memory to that last thing she could recall. She remembered being in her fighter alongside Anakin as they carved a path through vulture droids... no, there had to be more... back on the bridge of Master Kenobi's Destroyer, arguing over attack strategies as usual... no, no...

"YYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAaaaaaaaaaghhhh!!!" A harsh, female voice screamed out of nowhere, making Ashoka jump-flop in alarm. "Yyyeaaahaghhhhghghh...!!" The screaming continued, becoming more and more frantic as the Padawan twisted to get a view of the opposite end of the room.

'Ventress?!' Ashoka recognized the Sith assassin immediately by her distinctive features: bald head, angular tattoos and eyes that blazed like pale blue fire. Eyes that right now were wide open and wildly dilated as the assassin, tied in an identical fashion to the bed opposite Ashoka's own, thrashed and flailed against her bonds. Ashoka felt a twinge of sympathy for the Sith, knowing that she was probably trying access her Force-sense, only to find it similarly blocked. of course, Sith just never knew when to quit.

After what felt like hours but surely couldn't have been more than a minute, the screams finally died out, becoming a sort of coughing gurgle as even Ventress' hate-fueled will caved. The droid was making a noise that sounded uncannily like laughter as it floated back to the center of the room. It was then that Ashoka realized the droid wasn't autonomous, it was simply acting as the proxy for whoever was controlling it. Someone probably too cowardly to show themselves before a wielder of the Force. Ashoka resisted her rising hatred, recognizing it as the path to the Dark Side.

"Now that that unpleasant business is behind us," said the droid, "You're probably wondering why you're both here." When the only reply was Asajj 'Ventress' laboured breathing, the speaker-bot chuckled and continued. "You are both my prisoners, but I won't be ransoming you any time soon, oh no. We're going to have some fun first, aren't we, boys?"

With that last statement, a number of holo-screens flickered to life around the room, all showing Ashoka's trooper squad and her Master shackled to a wall. Anakin seemed to be unconscious, the collar around his neck the probable cause. In the hologram, the clones didn't seem to know they were being watched. Most of them looked like they'd been beaten.

"I've spent too much time and money acquiring you all to throw you away, no matter how much Count Dooku and the Separatists would surely pay for all your pretty heads."

"Then what... do you want?" asked Ashoka, feeling a bit braver as the lingering pain continued to subside.

"What do I want?" The speaker sounded almost hysterical. "I just want to watch!"

Ashoka let her head fall back against the plush pillows. She hated dealing with mad-men, they were always far more clever than sane people. Now she felt like a blind Bantha without hooves.

The droid floated out a window and with a 'zap' a ray-shield appeared, blocking the exit and turning the room a pink-red hue. Then, with a click the bindings around Ashoka's hands and feet opened though her collar remained firmly in place. Coinciding 'click's from across the room alerted Ashoka that Ventress was free as well. However, a ray-shield soon descended between them as two platforms slid smoothly out of the floor on either side. Each platform was laden with an unbelievable quantity of fruits, pastries, delicacies and beverages. Complete with what seemed to be a massive bouquet of apparently-edible flowers. The holograms of Ashoka's team remained but now above the image a line of zeros had appeared: '000000:000000'.

Across the room, Ventress stumbled out of her bed. She appeared about to collapse but remained on her feet through sheer force of will.

"What is this place?" She hissed, pressing a skeletal hand to her forehead. The Sith seemed about to vomit.

"How should I know?" Ashoka responded, sauntering with false confidence up to the dividing ray-shield to examine her counterpart. Ventress seemed thinner and worse for wear than she had when they'd last met, which was really saying something. She was probably nothing but bones and sinew beneath her tunic and skirt.

To embellish her unaffected facade, Ashoka plucked a particularly-inviting red berry from the spread and popped it in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully. Her eyes went wide when the flavour hit her tongue. It was obscenely delicious, the perfect play of sweet, rich and bitter all mingling together on her palate. It tasted like love, was the irrational conclusion Ashoka came to.

'Beep' went the holo-monitors as the numbers flickered to: '000170:000000'. Ashoka blinked twice and took a step away from the table, still overwhelmed by that one small taste. This was clearly a trap, she realized as her stomach betrayed her by gurgling for more. All of a sudden she was extremely ravenous and wanted absolutely nothing more than to dive face-first into the food. Ventress' cold gaze was the only thing that let her keep her composure.

"Interesting." Said Ventress as she ran a long, thin finger along the edge of the table, taking in Ashoka's slightly-flustered condition, her cruel mouth curved in the mockery of a smile.

As Ashoka struggled to master herself a harsh buzzing came over a hidden intercom system.

"I see you've started without me, greedy Jedi." Said what was obviously the same speaker who had been using the droid earlier, now clearly identifiable as male. "Not a very good guest, are we? I'll have to teach you a lesson in manners!" The voice snarled and the sound of sharp, electric buzzing filled the air. On the hologram, Anakin was jolted awake by a sudden, continuous electric shock. There was no audio, but Ashoka could see his mouth open in a square howl of agony.

"Stop it!" She screamed, "you'll kill him!" The only reply was a grating maniacal laughter as their keeper increased the voltage. It was only when Anakin's body slumped forward that the torture ended. Ashoka could tell her Master wasn't dead -- she'd have known -- but he wasn't in good shape either.

Flames of hatred roared to life again in Ashoka as she turned to see Ventress hiding a smile.

"Do I have your attention now?" Asked the voice pointedly.

"...Yes." Said Ashoka in a monotone, wrestling with her fury.

"Good. Then I'll explain the game. You and the ex-Sith are going to have an eating contest." Ashoka could feel the wave of hatred roll off 'Ventress at the emphasized 'ex'. "You will be judged on total calories consumed. If the Jedi wins, Asajj Ventress, you will suffer so much more than that which you have just witnessed. If the ex-Sith wins, Ashoka Tano, I will kill one of your clone-friends. How does that sound to you?"

The two women gave their mute disagreement.

"If... neither of you play, I will simply begin killing clones." The voice explained with a dry cackle.

Ashoka's face twisted into a scowl as she locked eyes with Ventress. It appeared that the (since when did Dooku disown her?!) ex-Sith had every intention of winning, if only to watch her counterpart suffer the loss of her friend.

"Ready.... begin!"

The two fell upon their respective tables, Ventress beginning with the lighter pastries and Ashoka drawn inexorably back to the delicious berries. To her surprise and delight, each of them seemed more utterly delicious than the last. Some sour, some sweet, all running down her throat barely chewed in her haste. On the holo-screens the numbers began rising at a startling speed, already topping the 1000-mark on  both sides.

If Ashoka hadn't been so obsessed with her own gluttony, she would have seen Ventress' cold eyes open wide in surprise. The Dathamiri had never cared much for food, viewing it more as a means to remain alive. Of course, she'd never experienced food like this before and didn't know quite what to make of it. Internally, she'd always found the self-indulgence of over-eating to be disgusting in others and so she found her hands slowing as she reached for more slices of the richly-iced cake. Her mind fought her will and body, forcing her to a near standstill.

'004030:003400' read the holo-screen.

'No!' She cried internally, remembering her intention to beat this inferior Jedi and avoid the pain she'd just witnessed inflicted on Skywalker. Quickly, she adjusted her strategy and picked up an immense tray of biscuits. She tiled the entire platter over her head and let them fall into her mouth, coughing on the crumbs as she ate faster than she could chew.

Therefore, Ashoka was alarmed when she next looked up, her face smeared in berry-juice and her stomach still growling for more that the readout was: '015075:016430' with Ventress in the lead! The cold weight of panic settled into her already over-full stomach, her mind racing ahead to whatever gruesome death their mysterious keeper would inflict on her friend.

Meanwhile Ventress' stomach, used to subsisting only on the merest rations was already starting to protest, her middle straining against her tight waist-sash. Realizing that she was at a distinct disadvantage against this well-fed Jedi brat, Ventress snarled and tossed aside the biscuits, going straight for the cream dipping-sauce laid out for the fruit platter.

"Ohoho, we have a clever one, here." Said the voice over the intercom, sounding slightly out of breath, as if watching them gorge themselves was getting him excited. 'Disgusting,' thought Ventress, even as cream dribbled down her chin and onto the floor. Her chest was so poorly-endowed that it didn't even catch any.

'033600:039890' Accused the holo-screen as Ashoka tried to cough up a spoonful of decadent pudding that went down the wrong way. She was going to lose for sure unless she thought of something! She dropped the empty pudding-bowl as she turned back to the table, reaching for an unknown pitcher of some chalky-white liquid. The moment it touched her tongue Ashoka almost choked again. She had never tasted anything like it. This white creamy-sweet-thick liquid put absolutely everything else at the table to shame. It even gave her an unfamiliar tingling between her thighs that alarmed and pleased her paradoxically.

Without even bothering to swallow Ashoka up-ended the pitcher and simply let it run down her throat. The holo-screen went crazy: '055470:056790' and rising steadily until Ashoka's numbers tied and passed Ventress' with an impartial 'ping'.

Seeing this strategy, Ventress forced herself to swallow  the last of the delicious cream before swiping up her own pitcher of the white liquid. She moaned and arched her back as she orgasmed right on the spot. Her stomach was screaming at her, stretched beyond its maximum capacity, but still she sucked at the seemingly-endless pitcher. Across from her, Ashoka's own full belly was distended a good 4 inches, packed full of the calorie-rich feast.

They both chugged in silence for a full minute more, neither container seeming to empty. The only sound was the steady beeping of the holo-screen and the heavy breathing over the intercom until finally, Ventress hit her limit. Coughing violently, the ex-Sith toppled backwards, clutching at her nearly-spherical stomach and struggling to breathe.

Seeing this, Ashoka glanced over at the holo-screen and was astonished to read that Ventress was still in the lead! '089540:099375'. Ashoka was desperately close to her own absolute limit already, her breathing coming in strangled gasps between gulps. Her heavy-duty skirt had refused to tear against her encroaching stomach and had instead bowed under the growing sphere.

'Ventress could only watch helplessly as the Padawan's score grew, her mind unwilling to even contemplate the possibility of ever touching food again.

'095390:099375'.... '098237:099375'... Ventress closed her eyes and braced for the pain that was sure to come.

'Heagh!" Came Ashoka's strangled gasp as she tried to chug air. She opened her eyes to discover not a single drop of the white liquid left! With a strangled hiccup she sunk to her knees and tried to reach for something else, anything else but her hand paused an inch from the table. Through sheer force of will the Padawan resisted the impulse to vomit all her hard work as her body wracked itself with heaving convulsions. Eventually, it was all Ashoka could do to fall to the cold, marble ground and cradle her globe of a belly.

The holo-screen read '099235:099375'.

"Please..." Ashoka whimpered, watching in terror as the number readout flickered and disappeared, sealing sealing the fate of one of her friends. Ventress tried to laugh but only got it half-way out before her stomach spasmed painfully.

"Sorry, Jedi." Said their keeper's voice. It didn't sound sorry.

On the screen, one of the clones began thrashing madly, sparks jumping along his body, between his teeth. His eyes burned to twin black holes that stared up at the camera... at Ashoka. Her last thought before passing out was that she was glad Anakin hadn't been awake to see the result of her failure.

Asajj Ventress joined her in blissful oblivion a moment later.