The Sith Code

Arriving at the landing pad of the stronghold of her master, Talo’Ra glanced out of the shuttle window apprehensively. She had been summoned here by her master, the Lord Degriro. Being the apprentice to the Blade Master of the Order had its perks, but also its downfalls. His expertise translated into swiftly learning techniques. It also had the unenviable effect of raised expectations in her abilities to higher than normal. She was not expected to be the next potential Blade Master, as that was the role of another of his apprentices. Her medical prowess dictated that she would have another destiny, still she would be looked to for skill with the saber she prized so much on her hip. She fingered it absently with these idle thoughts running through her head.

The shuttle landed with a bump once it finished rotating around into position so that the ramp faced into the complex. It was raining below in the grimy city that wasn’t fortunate enough to be above the clouds like her master’s hideaway. As the ramp lowered to reveal the inside of the shuttle, she nodded at the pilot who always got her here without incident. She walked down the ramp as she normally did and took her customary pause to look at the sky. The primary planet of Nal Hutta loomed largely in the sky as it shone brightly in the light of the nearby sun. At this distance all that could be made out is the oceans, continents and clouds. It was a beautiful sight if you ignored the reality of the planet’s polluted and desolate surface. Pulling herself from her reverie, she turned her attention to the door that led into the luxurious apartment she had come to know in recent years of her training.

Walking inside she noted the usual finery of lush carpets, collection of art on the walls, simple benches, numerous racks of weapons and armor stands. She had stopped to inspect the art and weapons in times past, to admire the craftsmanship of each weapon and armor piece. This day she walked distractedly past the decorations while absently noting the Spartan decorating scheme he seemed to relish. Turning to the left, she went to the end of the hallway where they normally met in his training room. Either practicing forms physically or in long discussions about how the forms came about and why they perform the way they do. The opaque glass door opened to reveal an empty room beyond. No looming masked figure dressed all in red and black in evidence. This was unusual in their meetings, but not unheard of. They had sometimes met in the next room that was something of a meditation chamber.

Turning around she walked back the way she had come a short ways to the next door on her left. Again the glass door opened and this time, the hulking figure of her master was there. He stood at parade rest with his hands clasped tightly behind him and stared at the door, presumably her as well, though it was impossible to tell through his mask. As she entered she noted the braziers with their customary low burning flames on the decorative shrine, light wisps of smoke rising from them. On the back wall, under the window sat twin tables with multi colored datacrons dancing in their individual sockets by slowly turning on different axes. As the apprentice entered, the masked figure nodded to her in his customary greeting. She bowed in response to this as both a required action given his status, but also out of respect for her master. Without preamble, He said "Tell me apprentice, what of the task I set you on? Have you completed it?"

Talo'Ra hesitated only a moment before answering his query. "Not as yet my master. I need but one victory to satisfy your requirements. I have a list of names should you wish to confirm my report. They are as follows: Apprentice Ukodi - Win. Apprentice Ruqua - Loss. Acolyte Belikar - Win. Apprentice Slutu - Win. Apprentice Zekoj’locar - Loss. Darth Sinasi - Win." She let that last name hang in the air with the improbable result seeming to reverberate weakly around it. Would he, the Blade Master of The Order, believe her? Did she believe it herself? Barely. It all seemed a bit hazy to her through the cloud of her own disbelief. Yet, it was the simple truth.

He stood contemplating for a moment before his reply fully formed in his mind. When he did speak, it was in a calm and even tone as he started to pace around the room as was his custom. "So the rumors I have heard are true. You defeated a mighty foe in the Darth." At this he paused and looked at her, assessing her potential prowess after the practical exercises and noting how much she’d grown. “For this, I grant you two victories as his standing is greater than any apprentice.” Turning to face her he says “Your Trial of Skill – Passed. The skill of using a form that is not accustomed to you and still being successful.” Turning away from her again, Degriro walked to the shrine then picked up a few pieces of strange bark. Placing one piece into each brazier he continued “Now apprentice, we shall move onto your next trial, if you feel that you are ready?”

Talo’Ra was taken aback by this turn of events. Not only was she believed, but also rewarded by being granted the ending to her trial. His speech seemed to fade into the distance as she was lost in thought on this. She absently watched the wisps of smoke turn purple in hue before what he said caught up with her brain. First trial done? Second trial already? She stammered out “Uh. Thank you master. I... Second trial? Don’t I need to train more for that?”

Degriro smiled behind his mask at her clearly being flustered in the moment. That was good as he meant to keep her off balance. He kept his tone even and quiet as he spoke to her saying “No further training is required for this trial. With that being said. Are you ready for this trial to begin?” Through the eye holes of his mask he watched intently for her answer, knowing what it will be.

The apprentice hesitated in thought only a moment before replying, “Yes master. If you think I am ready for it then I accept the….” Her answer was cut off as if with a knife when the heavy datacron slammed into the back of her head. The impact sent her sprawling face first into the carpet. The datacron still hovered over her back, held there by the Force. The hulking pure blood checked her to make sure no permanent damage was done and that she was just unconscious. He envied neither her destination this night, nor the fate of those who would be taking her if she could conquer her fear. There was no doubt in his mind of it happening, it was merely a matter of time. Using the Force he put the Datacron back on its repulsor field, then leaned down to remove her lightsaber and any valuables she may have on her person. Walking over to put down his findings, the Blademaster picked up a communicator and, pressing a single button, he turned around to wait.

A short time later, the Hutt mercenaries waiting in a hidden part of the stronghold entered the room. Seeing the unconscious woman on the floor, they looked at the imposing SIth in front of them for confirmation. The man nodded and declared “As promised, a strong and healthy woman for Nurella’s stable. Pay me and be gone with her.” The merc’s nodded and moved toward her, putting chains on her wrists and ankles. Handing over a credit marker to the lord, they picked up their burden and left without a word. Degriro watched this from behind his mask and knew he would see her again. He also knew that he had better watch his back around her from now on as she was going to be angry. Not foolish enough to attack him right away, however, she would be quite dangerous one day and then he would expect her to exact revenge.

The pair of mercenaries, a Trandoshan and a Gree, trundled their burden to the landing pad where their ship was landing on autopilot. Before the ramp had even touched the ground they were both walking up it and making their way to one of the holding cells for this kind of cargo. Throwing her in the cell the Gree closed the sound proof door and locked it. Nothing ruined a flight more than the cries and screams of newly caught slaves. Even though this would be a short flight to Nal Hutta, you never knew when one of the cargo would wake up.

Setting course to the pleasure dome, the ship lifted off and blasted into the atmosphere, making the transition from atmospheric to space flight without a hitch. The tricky part was always entering a planet’s atmosphere, turbulence caused by massive temperature changes caused some chop that always worried the Trandoshan. Nevertheless the trip was uneventful and the ship landed at the dock of the Pleasure Dome. After landing and lowering the ramp, they sent for the slave handlers to come relieve them of their cargo. It had been less than an hour so they doubted she was awake, but it was always uncertain. The handlers would have that problem if she was, it wasn’t their issue anymore. What was their issue was the bar where they could now get a drink with the waiting over.

Newly caught slaves were always a handful. For this reason the team that dealt with this was prepared with tranquilizer darts, electric prods and shock collars for when they’re subdued. They also wore light armor and soundproof helmets with internal and external microphones for communication. The external ones were always turned off right at the moment they opened the doors so that they didn’t have to listen to whatever nonsense was happening. This time they had nothing to worry about. The subject of this expedition was unconscious still and therefore easily transported to the new arrival pens. Once there and secure behind the thick durasteel doors and permacrete walls, the team went about their business. Removing her clothing by cutting it away in order to keep the chains in place. They put new shackles on her that were attached to a table and removed the regular chains. The table with her body on it moved into the decontamination chamber. New slaves were often disgusting and dirty, usually covered in nasty little critters. The table was a rolling metal contraption with many holes in it to let the liquid fall through, carrying any filth and dead parasites away with it. As the disinfectant sprays started washing down the naked figure, it started to stir.

Talo’Ra woke slowly even though she was being doused with cold liquids, first a disinfectant, then water to wash everything away. There was a ringing in her ears and a painful lump on the back of her head where she was laying. As the sprays ceased their functions, she opened her eyes a little bit to see only a hazy blur so she shut them again. A moment later she thought she heard doors open before the table started to move again. The table stopped abruptly and then she felt rough towels scraping her skin dry. This seemed to be familiar somehow but the pain in her head kept the pieces of the puzzle just out of her grasp. Deciding to try and solve a more immediate question, that being the pain in the back of her head, she reached up to feel the lump. As she moved her arm she heard clinking and felt a tug on that arm. Confused, she tried again, and again met the same result.

Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around wildly, whipping her head back and forth then down at the chains on her wrists and ankles. No wonder it all seemed familiar. She was back in Nurella’s Pleasure Dome and she was in chains again! A scream of pure terror escaped her lips and reverberated around the room. After filling her lungs again she screamed even louder and lightning started to shoot out of her fingertips as she sat up to try and escape. The electricity shorted out the table and chains attached to it, causing the shackles to pop open. Whipping her hands around, she fried the two handlers in the room with her, cooking them from the inside out with lightning. Trying to get up and run she tripped over the chains around her ankles. Scrambling to her feet she tried scampered to the door trying to batter it down with her fists and the Force. Several small and one large dent appeared in the door, however it was meant to withstand combat assault so it held.

An alarm started to sound and guards started to pour into the area. Not knowing what had happened, the first few opened the door to help subdue a new slave that was too much for the usual handling team. They were greeted by a naked and bloody human woman, screaming at the top of her lungs. Death swirled around her like a shadow as she lashed out with lightning again and again. The first few through the door were baked alive in their armor and died screaming. One was flung against the wall and crushed into jelly. A female guard had her torso twisted all the way around backwards in an ear splitting crunch of bones. After several minutes of confusion, sounds of electricity, screaming from guards and the woman, sounds of fat popping as it cooked off and blood flying, a backup team of handlers arrived with their tranquilizer darts.

The first dart hit Talo’Ra in the left butt cheek while she was facing the opposite direction, defending herself from the guards. It barely registered in her mind that she had been hit as it managed to penetrate the massive flood of adrenaline that was coursing through her body to a minor degree. She had managed to get a vibrosword from one of the guards and was lashing out with it blindly. The second and third darts took effect slowly, but overwhelm her, they did. The fourth dart sealed the deal and sent her crashing into the ground for the second time in as many hours. The crews assigned to clean up after the fact were horrified at the wreckage caused by what was rumored to be a single person.

The young apprentice woke a full day later, her eyes fluttering open slowly as she stretched her way to awareness. The room was not one that she was accustomed to seeing, but that wasn’t too uncommon as she had been going on missions as a medic for the Legion. Waking up in a strange area was almost normal at times. It was another moment before memory flooded in of the day before. The panic that she knew must be there was muted and almost silent, as was most everything in her observation. The drugs used to keep her placid had been doubled from a normal person until they could get a handle on her metabolism. She felt mentally sluggish, however her body was still reasonably agile as she rolled over in the bed and then stood up only swaying in place a little. The room was functional but nothing to write home about. There was a fairly large and luxurious bed against one wall. A well-lit vanity with a variety of makeup, glitter, wigs and other hair decorations was against the wall by the lavatory. On the other side of the door to that room was a closet full of all manner of seductive clothing. Looking down at herself she was wearing a small pair of shorts that barely covered anything and a belly shirt, with fuzzy pink slippers on the richly carpeted floor, should she decide to wear them. Another wall had mirrors on it to better judge outfits as they were mixed and matched to best attract paying clients. The final wall had the door out to the main corridor where all the slaves would funnel into the Dome itself and disperse to the awaiting crowds.

The full impact of what her life was, and now is again hit her like a speeder smashing into a canyon wall. Wait, she had power now. All she had to do was concentrate and. Nothing happened. She tried again and a third time, still nothing happened. The drugs couldn’t completely numb the feeling of panic welling up inside of her, but even that rush of emotion wasn’t enough for her to conjure up a spark. Whatever they were using it had her suppressed and off balance, hardly able to think coherently. The terror in her threatened to overcome even those barriers but still, she was blocked. Walking surprisingly steadily to the closet, she found a robe in which to cover up with, as more of a mental armor than for any reasons of temperature. The slave quarters were always kept at a comfortable level for their inhabitants, according to their race. The robe she found was sheer and didn’t leave much to the imagination, but it was better than nothing in her mind. Trying to calm herself she looked around the room for anything that she might be able to use to her advantage, knowing that there wouldn’t be in the slave quarters.

An hour or so later, her door opened and a middle aged Twi’lek walked in with a distracted expression while reading a datapad. Without looking up he started in on a speech he had made countless times before and was bored out of his mind. “I am Durda Ree. I am in charge of the females on this side of the complex. You may call me Administrator Ree, Sir or even ‘boss’. You will do all the things we require of you and live in luxury here, or..” He pressed a button on the datapad and Talo’Ra’s entire world was suddenly awash in agony. The shock collar on her neck discharged into her spine as it was designed to do and practically paralyzed her. An eternity later, the pain subsided. She found herself on her hands and knees with her forehead pressed into the luxurious carpet, throat raw from the scream that must have come. “Am I understood? I thought so. For now you are assigned to the dancing cages where you will perform daily and nightly for our guests. Once you have completed your trial period of two weeks, you will then be granted one day off per week. Where you go from there is up to you and your skills.” Looking up for the first time he said to the prostrate Human woman. “I have been told that you require extra harsh treatment for your past activities. What that was, I do not know, nor do I care. I simply follow directions and have your collar set to the max level.” Pressing the key again she screamed and writhed on the floor with her muscles contracting in random spasms.

Administrator Ree watched the writhing woman for a moment before releasing the button for the collar. After another moment or two, he asked benignly “Any questions? No? I didn’t quite catch that. Very well, then your first shift is in 2 hours. Wash up and make yourself presentable. I’ll be by to collect you at that time to show you where to go.” Turning to go the overseer mentions “You will find me hard, but fair. Pull your weight and we’ll have no problems.” Slowly recovering, the apprentice rolled to her back then sat up before reaching gently behind her neck, feeling the shock collar. Briefly she slumped in defeat and fell flat on her back, driving the collar into her neck with some force. It seemed to her that the collar pressing her neck was the capper to a very bad couple of days. She sat in contemplation about what had happened. Much of it was a blur or a complete blank. She did not know how this happened to her. Surely her master would be coming to rescue her. The entire temple would be roused to storm this place, raze it to the ground and make sure the message got out to not mess with the Sith. This brief moment of hope faded as she realized the nature of The Order. The strong survive, the weak do not. No one was coming for her. It was all on her shoulders to succeed or fail.

The two hours passed and she didn’t move from her spot on the floor when Durda Ree reentered the room. Observing the situation he simply activated the collar at its maximum setting while going back to the forms needing his attention on the datapad. A short time later he deactivated the device, mildly surprised that the Human was still conscious. There had been many that started out tough and he had broken every last one of them. It was only a matter of time. He left the room again leaving the miserable ball of pain where he had found her. He made a note in his file of this one that he needed to send her to the medbay after she woke up from the nap she was more than likely taking now. Perhaps this one wouldn’t take too long for him to shatter her will. It was a tedious process and the screaming did get hard to take. Not because of any feeling of pity for them, the only pity he had was for his ears during these times. He must remember to get a new set of hearing protection.

A week passed with the same results. The power source on the shock collar actually wore out and needed to be replaced while she was unconscious at the end of the first week. The second week was a little better, though her resilience flagged noticeably during this time. By the middle of the third week she was at the end of her reserves and finally decided to stop fighting. The drugs had her fogged over and she was concerned she might have permanent damage in her spinal column. If she didn’t want to spend her life in a chair or bed then she needed to stop fighting, get back into the groove with her slave life. The medical team had taken to accompanying the administrator in his visits to her room as they had to put her back together when he was done with her. On this day, she surprised all of them when they found her weakly trying to get herself ready to go dancing. Her clothes were haphazardly arranged and her makeup smudged. Durda Ree saw this and knew she couldn’t be presented in her current condition. She was clearly unable to make her debut in the cage, but she had not willfully failed this time. This did not require a punishment, merely a correction which he indicated to the medical staff. They sedated the former apprentice and cleansed her body before dressing her in night attire, then placed her in her bed to sleep. While in bed the medical staff gave her a series of injections to aid her healing process and strengthen her for the next day.

Through the night, Talo’Ra had many dreams. Most of which were of no consequence, the normal kind of warm dream that all beings had. Her final vision was anything but of the warm variety. In it she saw the meditation room of her master back on Nar Shadaa. The scene of her last meeting with him played before her as if she were watching a holo of it from an odd angle. Her subconscious mind showed her this as if she needed to understand something. She had no idea what this meant. She remembered the meeting and when she left. When she left… That was funny, she didn’t remember leaving his room. But what had happened in the intervening time she wondered. The answer was before her as the meeting drew to the interesting part of her starting her second trial. She was speaking when something dark and vague of shape hit her from behind and the scene winked out. A single voice could be heard afterwards and she could not make out the words at first, but she knew the voice well. “…oman for Nurella’s stable. Pay me and be gone with her.”

That phrase rang in her mind over and over as more words surfaced and the whole thing revealed itself to her. “As promised, a strong and healthy woman for Nurella’s stable. Pay me and be gone with her.” Degriro had sold her to the Hutt she had formerly belonged to. He had her enslaved again. He had knocked her out and taken everything she had. He had betrayed her. HE HAD BETRAYED HER!!!! In her mind she screamed in fury. She had never been so angry in all of her born days. Battering at the inside of her own skull she awoke with a fire in her brain that cleared all other thoughts away. All of the drugs in her system were burned away as she broke through the barriers that bound her. All fear, all emotion that wasn’t unrelenting rage was consumed by that emotion. There was nothing that would satisfy her but the blood of all those who had wronged her. They would die, though first they would suffer. She threw off her covers and fairly levitated out of the bed, hell bent on raining destruction down when she saw the heavy durasteel door in front of her. It triggered a zig zagging line of thoughts through her brain as she connected several things together. Even though her Force Powers and hand to hand combat skills were formidable, she wouldn’t get any further than the last time she went on a rampage. Eventually, numbers would take their toll, and this time she didn’t think she’d wake up in her room with a kriffing hangover. It took superhuman effort to control her emotions. She had been mad before, but now… Now she was angry, and there was a definite, deadly difference between the two. With great will she put the genie back in the bottle, though the cork was barely holding it back.

Her head was as clear as it had ever been once the struggle was over. She could finally think rationally and now she could plan to get out of this Hutt cursed hole. She had many obstacles to overcome and it would take careful thought. She knew the layout of the building now. But she did not know where she was in relation to the center of the building and where the docking bays were. In order to find this out, she would have to act on her best behavior for a short time while she got her bearings and formulated a plan. An hour and a half later, the Twi’lek entered her room with the medical team in tow as usual to find her fully clothed, so to speak, in a skin tight one piece miniskirt with a low cut front and high heeled knee high boots at the ready. She was finishing her makeup with a practiced, if rusty hand. The administrator noted the expert use of glitter on her exposed skin, just enough to catch the light and therefore the eye, but not overdone. He was impressed. Skeptical of the sudden turn around, but impressed nonetheless. Some slaves broke like this and were suddenly as meek as milk toast, their will completely shattered. Others thought themselves clever in acting this way, intending to fool him. He had seen it all before and would see it all again. There was nothing new under the sun. Nodding to her he said “Are you ready to perform as required?”

The Force user feigned a look of foggy understanding and nodded her assent. She busied herself with somewhat clumsily putting on her knee high boots and standing up. It took her a trip across the room and back twice to get readjusted to walking in such things. Satisfied, the manager motioned her to the door and then walked out in front of her in order to show her the way. Over the next six days she got oriented to her position in the complex and studied the patterns of the various staff. Placement and patrol patterns of the guards, when the various shifts started and ended for both entertainers and other staff alike. She even knew what time Nurella the disgusting Hutt arrived most nights. Back in her room she even managed to shock the medical droid that came to inject her with the Force suppressing agent before it could get to her. Quickly adding in a subroutine to the programming that made it register that her dosage had been administered and she was subsequently safe to handle. During this time that she was supposed to be harmless, she practiced using her telekinetic powers on smaller and smaller objects. Finally she reasonably reliably lifted a pin off of her table and sent it hurtling into a wall with a fair measure of accuracy. Not much more time and she would be deadly accurate. Taking another two days to practice this precision she was certain she wouldn’t miss if she needed that trick or other small fiddly things to be done with the force. The next four days saw her attempting to and then finally lifting the monstrous bed in her room. She slept soundly on it every night, absolutely exhausted from her struggles and dancing for several hours a day. She continued flexing her Force powers and extending the heavy lifting to more than one object at a time, though she could only manage two simultaneous objects at once. Meanwhile the angry woman had been keeping track of the days.

Her fortnight of only being allowed in the cage was almost over. In another two days she would have a full day off then be allowed to interact more directly with the customers. The administrator had only threatened to punish her twice more during that period in which she gave the best performances of her life, pretending to be afraid and begging for him not to shock her again. By the middle of the second week he was reasonably certain that she had been cowed and would likely never be a problem case again. The days passed with more practice and dancing in a cage. Her day off was spent actually resting and meditating. The next day would be spent on the prowl in the main arena of the Dome. Double checking her findings of timings and placements. One more day, two at the most and she would enact her plan of escape. The fear was back since the anger was in check, but now it was manageable. It would not control her this time, she would use it as a weapon.

The next day dawned on the grubby planet of Nal Hutta as usual. It was going to be hot and humid as usual. The pestilential swamps and fetid trees reeked of rot as they baked in the light of the sun. Above all this sat the massive complex of the Nurella the Hutt’s Pleasure Dome. A place where thousands came every day to squander their money for favors from the attractive slaves. It was a day like any other that started out hot, would get even hotter before simmering down to merely being hot again. Credits would change hands and tens of thousands of drinks would be quaffed. As far as anyone was concerned, it was just business as usual.

Today was the day. It was make it or break it time. She arose early that day to make her preparations. She put on a skin tight but stretchy bodysuit that allowed absolute freedom of movement, a complimentary belt and the dancing boots she had chosen for this day. They were at once appealing, fairly durable and provided sure footing. She did her makeup to perfection, as had been taught to her by the dancers of her last stay here. Once this was done she took extra time to do her hair, carefully placing in twenty of the decorative pins that were now her secret weapon. By the time she was ready to go, she was simultaneously scared and angry in equal measure, but she had clarity of thought like she’d never known. Her first step was just right out that door and down a hallway. She knew the second that her door unlocked and she was through it before the sound of clicking locks had faded. She sauntered down the hallway toward the administrator’s office as he no longer had to escort her, there was not a reason to leave until the next batch of new slaves came in. Knocking on the open door, she told him that she was going to go down early and try to get one of the better spots if that was alright with him. He gazed at her with bloodshot eyes and pointedly tapped the activator on his desk and noticed her cringe away before letting her go on. Leaving, she feigned walking slightly unsteadily down the hallway to the main door where Durda Ree could see every step. Finally satisfied he put her from his mind as just one of the slaves who needed to be managed and pampered to a degree. If they were at their best, they were able to bring in the most money.

Talo’Ra used her time wisely. With the main arena mostly empty it was much easier for her to pick the place that she would start the show at. Looking overhead she saw the various decorations and gauzy fabrics hanging from arches and poles everywhere. Various light sources were suspended at many levels. Finally choosing the right spot she waited. Nearly an hour went by as the slaves and entertainers started to flow in and set up for the afternoon’s activities that would carry on into the wee hours of the night. The young Sith sat in her chosen area, trying different seating positions and leaning her head back as if she were just idly looking at the ceiling and watching the light show that happened constantly. Finding her ideal spot she acted as if she were simply stretching when she reached out with the Force and grabbed onto a massive light and shook it back and forth. Confident she could do what she wanted to accomplish, she got up and went to the bar, ordering her favorite meal in this place. Once the plate was served up and placed on a tray with a drink, she returned to her spot in roughly the middle of the large room. The young woman savored every bite as if it was, and very well might be, her last meal. She washed it all down with a fruit juice cocktail that she liked. By the time she had to act, all of the effects of the drink would be long gone. For now, it helped her relax and keep her focused on using as little energy as was possible until it was her time to shine.

Hours passed and she made her customary trips back to the dorms to freshen up. Most of the females did it so Durda Ree didn’t even look up at the normal traffic. Back up the hallway. It was close to his normal time to leave for the night and he wanted to finish up the last of his work. Most of the time this was a simple process unless it was the end of a week and extra reports needed to be done. The Pleasure Dome made money hand over fist, but Nurella demanded that there be constant audits and accountings of every credit spent. Even for a Hutt, she was notoriously greedy and tight fisted with anything money related. The fact that she allowed so much latitude with the slaves eating what they wanted and taking care of them so well in their quarters seemed like a minor miracle to him. The administrator looked up at the faint sound of someone knocking on the door. It was difficult to hear a lot once the music was going full blast in the main arena, the bass booming through the walls. His first year had been a nightmare of dealing with datapads, controllers, and everything else not secured firmly, eventually vibrating to the side of his desk and falling off, likewise things on the shelves. Years later, he now had everything neatly arranged and in the system that he liked. Seeing the human woman he’d broken so recently standing before him, he somewhat impatiently said “Yes?” before looking back at his datapad.

The woman smirked at him for a moment before saying “I just wanted to thank you for all of your considerate and tender treatment when we first met. You were ever so kind.” When he looked up at her, she could see the confusion in his eyes as he tried to comprehend what she had just said. He couldn’t have heard her right and indicated so. “You were ever so kind when we first met. All the extra time you took with me.” As she said this, her face fell from the feigned smile to her normal stoic expression. Durda Ree was annoyed now that he was sure the slave was taunting him. This kind of insolence could not be tolerated and he was about to tell her so before activating her collar. Opening his mouth to speak it turned into a scream as she unleashed a stream of lightning into him that would have killed three of him. She would have kept it going longer and slower but she didn’t have much time and only so much energy. The blast cooked him from the inside out, blood spouting from his mouth where it had boiled out of his lungs and the corpse smoked.

Pausing a moment, Talo’Ra let an evil smile play across her face as she savored this vile thing’s death. His ending was too quick, too merciful for the hatred she had built up for him in such a short time, but it would have to do. There was much to be done and a short window for it to be completed or she would never live to exit this cursed place. Opening the cabinets and drawers quickly she found the key to the shock collars and removed hers. After debating for a moment she kept the key and found a first aid box. Opening it she took out a hypo and two vials, one of Kolto and one of a stimulant should she need either of them. The belt she wore had several pouches in it where credits were normally stored for tips and services rendered in a private room. The key and vials went into those pouches now, while the hypo was placed in the top of her right boot. She closed the door to the administrator’s office and a chapter of her life. After today there would be no returning to anything she had before. Walking quickly down the hallway back to the arena she entered and started searching for someone. Twenty minutes later the apprentice finally found her quarry. She casually half sauntered, half danced her way over and told the males that she needed to borrow the slave but would be back to make it up to them.

Ryla Varren was an older Cathar female who had been a slave there for many years. Talo’Ra knew her the last time she had been here, though the Cathar had not recognized her at first. This female had been the only one who didn’t try to take advantage of the girl when she arrived. Instead she took the very young one under her care and taught her how to survive. The now mature woman had never forgotten. Once recognition did set in, Ryla was elated that the girl was still alive and not dead like she had thought. Keeping it to herself, she chose to wait and make their reunion a private one. Talo’Ra had been wary at first but quickly accepted being mothered again by the Cathar she had known long before. They discussed what had transpired for each of them in the time they had been apart. The apprentice had much more to tell than the Cathar who had been held in bondage with one day being much like the rest. Deciding she could trust this being, Talo’Ra related what had happened to her and the training she had received from the academy. Even going so far as to trust her with her greatest secret while in the Dome by showing her a small demonstration by lifting a hair brush then making sparks dance across her fingers. She was going to escape being a slave once again, but would not give any further details as what is not known, cannot be revealed through torture.

Talo’Ra pulled her through the crowd, laughing and dancing all the way until they got to the doors to the dorms. Once inside she slammed the door behind them looked intently at Ryla before pulling her in close and muttering into her ear “Tonight.” The Cathar stayed close for a moment staring at the wall behind the Human blankly, then pulled back slowly. The female gazed intently into the bright yellow eyes of the Human in front of her, breath starting to come faster. The young woman pulled the shock collar key from her belt and placed it in Ryla’s hand, then pointed to her neck. The Cathar looked in her palm and was transfixed by what she saw. This was really happening. She had somehow gotten the key and was actually going to pull it off. She began to tremble in anticipation when the Human shook her to break the moment, giving her an intense look that said everything she needed to know. Motioning with her hand, the young Sith pointed at the others chest then the ground before holding up 5 fingers. Once Ryla understood the show would start in 5 minutes, she nodded heavily. “Message me” was the only other thing she uttered before placing a hand on the older female's shoulder and squeezing lightly. Closing the door again as the human left. Ryla looked at the key again then rushed back to her room to gather a couple of items that meant a great deal to her before coming back to the door to the Arena and standing there nervously. In that time several slaves had come and gone after freshening up for a couple minutes. Years seemed to pass before she heard a moan as of metal being stressed and then a deafening crash. The screams started a moment later once whatever happened continued. Using the key to quickly remove her collar, she threw both down the hallway as far as she could before whipping open the door and hurtling toward her destiny.

Talo’Ra left Ryla behind and silently wished her luck with Force guidance. She put on her game face and half danced her way back to the spot she had chosen. Looking up she saw exactly what she knew would be there, the disgusting slug of a Hutt, Nurella. Lowering her head back to the immediate area, she saw a pair of drunk males in her chosen seat. Pulling a pin from her hair and holding it in the palm of her hand, she looked at where they sat and then shot the pin through both of their necks and into the seat behind them. The entry hole wasn’t too large but the exit was a different story as they began bleeding profusely out of their wounds. Grabbing one in either hand she flung them backwards behind her on the floor where no one would notice them at all as beings were always passing out from too much drink. Taking her place in the seat she hooked her feet behind the durasteel legs bolted to the floor, in case she needed the extra leverage. Gripping the chair she reached out her arms and the Force to grip a pair of light fixtures roughly over the head of the Hutt. Closing her eyes and pulling her arms back to her, the metal framework holding the massive fixtures in place began to groan. As the sound grew, more and more people began to look around for a source, but none could find it over the incredibly loud music. With a deafening snap, the metal gave way under the extra pressure it was never designed to hold. Both fixtures fell with barely a split second between them before they crashed into the platform holding the Hutt. The first one to land crushed a pair of Nurella’s Gammorean guardsmen to paste by her head, the second one flattened her tail, causing her to scream in a manner no one there had seen before. She began writhing around wildly, pinned in place by the impossibly heavy weight of the light. Opening her eyes she saw spots in her vision from the effort, and was disappointed to see the slimy thing was still alive. Possibly mortally wounded, but still alive. After a slight pause she reflected that this was actually better than she had planned, for now the kriffing thing really was suffering.

For a moment all was still after every head in the place snapped toward the crashing objects, a screaming Hutt the only thing to be heard other than music. Then seemingly everyone joined in at once with screaming of their own and rushing to get away from the area. Talo’Ra smiled openly as she reached out with the force again, snapping off several pennant poles one at a time and using them as javelins. The first one missed entirely, whistling past the stricken Hutt’s head, to shatter against the far wall. It was followed quickly by others as she was pulling them down two at a time to hurl at Nurella and the guards still up there. The second, third, fifth and sixth ones of the eight she threw found their marks. The second one skewering a guard through the middle before embedding the makeshift spear into the Hutt’s side, another one passing all the way through her head. Of the last two, one decapitated a Gammorean while the second hit was more of a glancing blow, sending a guard falling end over end, off the raised platform.

Satisfied that she’d had her revenge on that thing, she used the cover of the screaming crowd to make her way to where the exits were. The guards there were not worried about the slaves as their collars would go off if they crossed a certain point towards the exit. Walking boldly towards the exits with the rest of the panicked crowd she passed some overwhelmed Gammoreans at a choke point in the exit. When the crowds thinned more to scatter she began to encounter resistance. A guard squealed at her in its language then ran at her. She quickly seized a handful of pins from her hair and shot one through each of its eyes and destroyed its brain. Turning she repeated the action two more times before having to grab more pins. She started moving forward toward the fallen guards as more came in and she started flinging single pins into eyes hoping for the best. If nothing else they would be blinded partially and not be able to fight back. Picking up one of the axes favored by Gammorean guards, she started the spinning Jung Su Ma and rolling Ton Su Ma moves from her time with the Ataru form, effortlessly slashing through necks and spilling entrails. Soon a field of bodies surrounded her: some guards, some guests and even a couple of droids that had the misfortune of being around. The last droid caused her problems as the axe got stuck in its body. She had been spoiled by her lightsaber passing through most things with little effort. Dropping the axe she found a vibrosword on the body of a mercenary she didn’t remember killing, though it didn’t matter at all to her. Then she ran and made her way to the space docks where more guards were stationed. Several started firing at the blood spattered slave girl with a sword. The rest rushed at her. Two of the Trandoshan guards were close together with their blasters firing away when they were engulfed in a blast of lightning. They screamed as they fell before the next group beside them met the same fate. Two groups of blaster wielding guards were left but they had to wait as the mass of armed opponents reached her. She used the Force to fling several of them away from one side of her before meeting the rush of the rest.

Talo’Ra revelled in the battle, her blood singing of death and destruction as she rained the same down upon her enemies. One by one they fell before her as she used all of her combat prowess from the temple and the academy as she flowed from one form into another. Suffering cuts and bruises from various assaults she carried on in a frenzy of battle. The last one close to her was a Twi’lek mercenary. She performed a Jung Su Ma and caught his blade on the back end of the spin. As she knocked his blade wide she swung her left arm behind her before lifting it up in front of her in an underhand blow, charging her palm with lightning and sending it blasting up into the surprised female's middle. It doubled her over before sending her flying backwards 5 paces. Weakened from blood loss Talo’Ra paused after this final blow to take stock of the situation. It was a mistake and she paid for it immediately. She had forgotten about the other groups of guards shooting heedlessly into the group of combatants. She was hit by a glancing blow across her ribs and a solid strike on her right leg and left arm. She screamed in pain as the hits came in before she ducked behind a pair of Gammorean bodies piled on each other. She picked up a blaster from one of the bodies in her uninjured hand to begin firing back but she had little skill with it. All she could do was lay down as thick a cover fire as she could by pulling the trigger as fast as she could. After a moment she popped up in a crouch dropping the weapon and sending another torrent of lightning at the group on her right. They started screaming and smoking as the last group two guards in the area watched in horror. As one they broke away and started running away from whatever it was that just caused so much death.

The Human girl watched them run as she finished the other two off and was thankful. She would have liked to kill them as well but she was running out of juice. She could feel the fatigue of what had taken place over the surprisingly short period of time. Slumping onto the bodies, she called on the last of her strength to perform a Curato Salva on herself to close the worst of the wounds. Then fumbling in her waistline she found that she still had the stimulant and hypo, but had lost the Kolto. Cursing the luck she injected the stimulant to give her a few more minutes before she needed to stop. She lurched over to the mercenary's body and searched her as she was the most likely to have a med kit on her. The hypo and some of the vials had been smashed during the skirmish but two vials of Kolto miraculously were still intact. Grabbing the first one she injected it around the wound in her leg to make sure it healed the fastest, she still needed to run after all. The second she jammed into the hypo she had but held onto it to let the first do what it could. Pausing a moment to pick up the fallen Twi’lek’s vibrosword, she half ran – half dragged herself through the doorway to the waiting ships beyond where beings of all types still ran and screamed in terror from the disaster following them. Looking quickly left and right, she chose the most likely candidate and went inside it. The small crew manning the ship were quickly dispatched with savage thrusts and cuts in the enclosed space. Her grisly work done, she quickly raised the ramp and sat at the controls. The ship had already been prepped by the now deceased crew so it was a simple matter of lifting off, turning the ship and flying out through the dock entrance. So little time had passed that no one had thought to activate the shield on the docks so her new ship was unmolested as it left the port.

Letting out a huge sigh of relief, the apprentice sat back in the pilot seat. She felt the wave of exhaustion flow over her as the adrenaline rush and stimulants wore off. Producing the hypo with its payload inserted, she injected that into her left arm to finish healing that up and work on the still oozing cuts on her body. She could fix them in a minute if she had the strength, but for now she didn’t. She set course for Nar Shadaa, though only to orbit the moon for a while as she recovered. Searching the ship she found more medical supplies and injected more Kolto into her system before falling onto a rancid bed in the crew’s small quarters. The ship continued its directive and orbited the moon for four hours before she woke up. She was a little stiff, and a little shaky, but otherwise she felt fine. Finding the food stores she ate until she was full and could feel her energy coming back. She laid back down and fell asleep again for another three hours before waking up and feeling worse for wear, but she had had worse in the Legion battles. Now that she was mostly back in shape she had a debt to settle. Setting a new course she piloted the ship towards Degriro’s hideout. She wasn’t as prepared as she wanted to be but she would not let the matter lie for another moment. Memories of disgusting aliens clutching at her body fueled her anger now that she needed it. The rage filled her again as she let everything out. Her betrayal, her enslavement for a second time and the man responsible for it all.

She piloted the ship recklessly through the city-scape as it came in from orbit. She passed by his hideout twice before finally landing to see if there were any traps that she wasn’t privy to set up. Thinking there weren't, she finally set the ship down with a thud on the landing pad. Picking up her stolen sword she lowered the ramp and exited the ship. Every sight here made her more and more angry. The fury within her caused involuntary sparks to dance along her arms and along the blade she carried. As she approached the door from the landing pad, instead of putting in her security code, she blasted the heavy durasteel door out of its guides on either side and sent it flying inside. She entered with murder on her mind, and now was the time.

( Art by Avon Cornish - https://www.deviantart.com/avon-cornish )