Guest at 'the Gallows'

[Esther Nyx]

Orbit of Ilum

Theme

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Jostled awake and wretched to her feet, Esther was pushed to move with the rest of the prisoners. She had never been so sore, so tired; this was true fatigue. But there was no rest for them or any reprieve. They were slaves after all and slaves’ lives limited affairs. When made to march, they shuffled in silence, never once uttering a single word; none had the courage to. Such actions would court the wrath of the overseers and their punishments were swift, merciless even. Domination was absolute, their will obeyed without question. But it served a purpose; it maintained order, both in and around the transferring of assets. That’s what they called the slaves: assets. For some reason or another, these particular people had value to them; they possessed a potential the Empire sought to seize on. So, they were handled accordingly, moved from place to place and put to work. Fear kept the slaves compliant and obedience let them live. For now, Esther lived by the same creed, keeping her head leveled low, her blue eyes never left the grey steel of the floors. One foot in front of the other, all she had to do was keep in step and put one foot in front of the other.


In the beginning, that was easy enough, given the masses of captives on the transport; there were aliens and beings of every variety, all packed tightly into containment cells. Being so slender and willowy, Esther merged within the crowd, lost to the eyes of many. For a short period of time, it was the only security that she could get. The markings of her people were especially noticeable given the dull darkness of her environment; cerulean blue coated the upper portion of her thinning face, catching the eye of any who looked on long enough to see it. Huddled tightly in a corner, Esther folded into herself and simply listened to the absent sounds around her, the symphony of misery that was their imprisonment. Some of the prisoners wept, praying in foreign tongues to gods and deities who would not save them. Others just stayed silent, stoic in their uncertainty.


But over the coming days, captivity grew quiet; with each stop and station, the slaves began to dwindle in numbers. Some were deposited here and there, whilst others were exchanged and shifted.


Eventually, only Esther remained, alone in a holding cell. And this made her nervous.


Was this her fate? To be bound and chained, fettered for the rest of her days? Nothing could be worse. Esther was used to the wilds of her homeworld, the wide open lands spanning beyond great horizons. Her people were as unconstrained as the nature around them, wandering with the wind and walking without fear. But no longer. Not for Esther. That life was stolen from her, by a monster in a mask. A Sith. How many times now had that nightmare revisited her? Had tormented and frightened her to tears? Too often it seemed because now her tears had run dry.


When the overseers came for Esther, she didn’t have to strength to fight. When her legs failed mid-step, they simply continued without missing a step, dragging her along without a second thought. There could be no delay, they had to deposit the Kiffar quickly and return to duty. This arrangement had been specially requested and it was unwise to keep the Confessor waiting. When the transport approached its final destination, the hanger descended and attached itself on the adjacent vessel; it was time for the handover.


And so Esther resigned her; she was now a guest at ‘The Gallows’.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

The Gallows. A Contemptuous-class dungeon vessel controlled and owned by the Sith Crusader, Lady Eriana Fox, though now she was more commonly known as The Confessor for her work done on this very vessel. The experiments done in the lowest floor of this ship were top secret, only shared between The Confessor and her trusted crew. But the final project was displayed to her superiors as she'd taken top notch criminals of the Empire and turned them into submissive little pets to her will. Now, in this very ship, she even had a Jedi in its hold. But that was not the project The Confessor was interested in today.

Through the grapevine, an old friend had contacted her about taking a slave in for questioning. The Dark Sith had been the same one who saved The Confessor from her ways in the Imperial Republica and helped her align herself to the true power of the Sith; this was before the factions were united as they were now. Naturally, the blind Sith was more than happy to take on such a challenge and she informed her men of the incoming prize. The room and crew was already prepared to handle some two hundred plus inmates anyways, but having a Force sensitive one meant taking extra precautions.

When the shuttle finally came to dock with The Gallows, a host of troops would be waiting to receive her. Two dozen men in white and red armor were standing in lines beside their Sith leader, each of them marked with the logo of a fox. The Sith leader was none other than the blind Sith herself, waiting patiently to see her newest recruit. The woman was dressed in purple armor decorated with holy symbols of the Sith church. Durasteel plates lined the upper torso over a heavy leather bodysuit to protect the wearer underneath. At her waist, which was a basic yet customized utility belt, were her two curved lightsaber hilts as well as a Zygerrian electro whip coiled behind her right saber. Her face would be covered by a standard purple helmet with a golden screen instead of a visor, subtlety signifying her blindness.

Bound in Force-negating shackles, Esther would be marched up the The Confessor and then dropped to her knees in front of her. The armored woman would take a step forward, reaching out with her hand to coil it around the girl's chin and lift her face up. While she herself couldn't see the woman's face nor the tribal tattoo on her skin, the gesture was one of power and control; it was her way of showing that she was in charge of Esther now.

In a cold voice that hissed through the mask's respirator the woman would speak down to the new prisoner. "Welcome aboard The Gallows, prisoner G-112. I trust you have been wondering what is in store for you? I too am curious. Your behavior henceforth will decide how your stay suits you. Tell me, young one, do we need to break you in? Or, will you behave and accept the process?"