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(3.26) Prisoners (Part Two)
Prisoners (Part Two)
Heavy Cruiser Shadow Streak
Somewhere in Republic Space
*(GM NOTE: This post takes place prior to the events of last gaming session. There are many types of prisons that could hold a person. The most horrifying to suffer are those of the mind and spirit)*
The Shadow Stalker led Plo as she fought hard against his grip on her arm. The man's grip on her lower arm was like a vice as she tugged and tried to pull her arm free. She would plant her feet in hopes to gain some leverage and tugged “Please let me go” she pleaded “I didn't do anything” still no reply for large man that dragged her behind him. Plo realized that her best defense was a good offense, she pulled once more on her arm and used the large Stalkers grip to swing forward and kick the man in lead walking ahead of her. He blow sent him forward a bit. He turned to face her in his white lab coat and rage in his eyes. It was clear by his expression that she was getting on his last nerve. He turned and continued while she continued to fight against the grip.
Finally after listening to her 'whine about letting her go' he snapped about and walked right up to her. The Shadow Stalker stopped in mid stride as the man lowered himself to Plo. “Listen up! I can't kill you, but that doesn't mean I can't make the last remaining moments you have with us a living nightmare” he snapped at her as she pulled back from him in fear. He could see in her face the same defiance that ran so deep in her family. He whipped his hand back to smack her but saw the Stalker ready to protect the Puppet Master's new prize. His eyes narrowed as he lowered his hand. “I know what will cause you to claim down and behave.” He stood back up, “Follow me!” he ordered the Stalker as he walked down the corridor once more.
As they continued down the corridor the man moved ahead once more as Plo continued to fight against the Stalker's grip. Her demands for freedom echoing down the corridor causing others to look to see what the commotion was. Had this not been a Crusade ship, Plo might have received some attention from on lookers. Yet, everyone knew that no one questions the actions of the Stalkers. They answer solely to the Puppet Master. A few glanced to see what was going on, but no one dared to intervene. Plo could tell that others simply didn't care at all about her plight. The man led her to a room with large bay windows. He smiled as he walked over to the windows, “Just in time”
He turned to her with an evil smile. “Behave yourself and watch what happens to those who are not useful” he said and motioned for her to be allowed to watch.
The Shadow Stalker moved Plo to the window and she could see down in some kind of large landing bay. There was a group of people down there. She looked closely and saw many different races set up in rows. There were armed guards dressed like the man that was dragging her to her own fate. Other men in lab coats were walking up and down the rows pulling individuals out of the rows and sending them somewhere. She could tell that most of them where broken and even crying. She saw a young Twi'lek boy pulled from the arms of what had to be his mother. She cried out from her son and Plo could even hear her cries through the thick glass.
She looked to the man in the lab coat, “What is going on down their?”
He just grinned at her, “Just wait and see.”
Plo turned her head and watched as the men in white coats finished walked up and down the rows. As the last of the men with coats left the hanger she watched as another armored man walk up to the center of the room. He commanded the guards to move the people in a tighter group near the center of the bay. She closed her eyes as she knew what was going to happen. The force was clearly showing her the evil she was about to witness. She didn't want to watch but something demanded that she continued. She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes once more. She turned her head to watch more closely. Something caught her eye but she was not sure what it was. Almost as if something had called out to her. She carefully turned her attention in the direction of the two large shuttles on the far side of the bay. Beyond them she saw something strange along the wall of the landing bay. Near one of the large vents she saw a white bushy tail slip in to the vent and the cover return to where it belonged. Her eyes widened as she saw it. Still disbelieving what she had just seen, her sight slowly turned towards the other two men with her. She was fearing they had seen it also. To her relief, they had not seen it. She pondered what it was and had her ideas. She closed her mind to it as she went back to watching the event in the center of the bay.
What sense of hope she had in that moment was lost when she heard the man below speaking. The man in the white coat with her must had turned on the speaker up here. “Each of you have have suffered a great deal. For this we are very sorry. Our war is against Force Users only. Not those normal, like you. IF you will turn around, you will see the shuttle coming in to pick you up.” he motioned as the large group of beings turned to see a shuttle moving closer. Plo knew all this was untrue. She already knew their fate was sealed and there was nothing she could do about it. She watched helplessly as the guards lined them up while the man continued to speak, “We are going to set you all free and return you to your respected homeworlds.” Plo watched with a profound sense of sadness in her heart as the landing bay shields were dropped. The people were sucked out in to space as they screamed and tried to hold on to something, anything. None of the guards moved as the entire area was vented in to space.
Plo forced herself to watch the horrifying display with pain in her heart. She heard the man next to her move closer to her, “Do you see what happens around here. Behave or else!”
Plo was still terrified but she knew that there was nothing she could do to help those people. She turned to the man and said the only thing that could come to her mind, “If anything were to happen to me then your FUCKED!” she snapped getting in to his face.
“You little disrespectful bitch!” he said as he moved to slap her. Once more the Stalker moved to protected his master's prize. The blow was caught and blocked before it could hit Plo.
No one could see her smile. She couldn't change what was going to happen to her or to others. But in this moment she won a victory. She remembered one of the first lessons of her Master, *“Crossing a river without knowing the river would lead you to a watery grave. Being a Jedi is just like crossing the river. Yet you are the water that flows. You must know who you are before you can reach your goals.”* She moved from her perch and nodded, 'I am going to be a Jedi someday. Not because I want to avenge this. Because I want to defend others like them. And you will not take this from me' she thought as she walked out of the room under her guards grip once more. This had been meant to push fear in to her heart and make her weaker. This event only made her more sure of what she wanted for herself.
She didn't fight anymore. She only focused on the lessons that her Master tried to teach her. She knew that her time limit but she choose to make the best of it. She walked along taking note of everything she could while remembering as much as possible. She was unsure of what to expect from this place she was going but something told her not to fear and so she didn't. She remembered how her Master told her that the force was very strong in her bloodline and that all she needed do was trust in the force and it would guide her. They walked for a long time while her mind was distracted with the details of the ship and what she saw. However all that faded once they walked in to some kind of factory. She could see workers all over the place doing strange tasks. She noticed the young Twi'lek boy from the bay, standing scared in a line of other beings. She looked at them and saw that each one of them were force users. She was confused as to what was going on.
They were being set down in a chair and something placed around their head. The workers did something to them and their faces went blank. They seemed to loss their will to resist or even show emotion. She wondered if this was going to happen to her as well. However, she heard the man with her tell one of the workers that she was to be placed directly 'IN.' She turned and looked confused as she was lead up to a large platform. There were a number of holes in the floor. She turned her attention to the young boy who was crying and speaking in Ryl. He was saying how he was missing his mother. Plo felt so sad for the young boy as she knew his pain. Closing her eyes, she let go the fears of her own fate and reached out through the force for him. She felt his mind through her own and she tried to give him comfort. She opened her eyes to see that he was looking at her. She tried to hold that as long as possible but she felt the ground under her give way. Fear once more over came her heart and mind as she was lowed down the dark hole. As she was being lowered in to the hole, red lights turned on. As she neared the bottom she felt so hot as something was about be unleashed on her. In that moment of pure fear and terror, she let out a scream with her mind, 'DAZ!'
For a few seconds the steam rose out of the hole that consumed Plo. As quickly as the steam rose up it started to fade. A large crane moved above the hole and reached down in to it. The crane lifted the thick slab of carbonite from the basin and set it down on the deck. It hit the deck with a loud thud as workers walked over to check it out. The metallic frozen image of Plo cast an eerie feeling as the other force users saw what was about to happen to them. One of the workers nodded while he talked on a holocommunicator and motioned the device in front of the readings, “See My Lord, she survived the transition.”
There was a 'Thank you, Mr. Tra'ool' before the line went dead. The man in the white lab coat nodded, “Good, take her to storage and make sure that she is labeled correctly. The Master will need her in the future.”
The workers all nodded as they got to work carrying out the orders. No of them cared as the man and the Stalker left. They programmed the slab and recorded who was in it. Within moments it lifted off the ground slowly by the repulsers. One of the workers pushed it along as he took Plo to storage. He walked the slab through the large blast doors and in to a large storage room. On either side of the walkway were hundreds of slabs similar to Plo's. Each one housing a Force Users of some kind. Some were just refugees like the ones that had been caught today. Others were fully trained Jedi that had disappeared without a trace. Some were even Sith and dark siders that had crossed the Crusade's radar. Each were now just a number in a massive filling system.
Preena walked through the shuttle slowly as the Stalker showed her to a seat. The large armored man walked away from her and set near the rear door that she had just walked through. Preena just looked to the rear of the shuttle with sad eyes as her mind started to wonder. Her gaze slowly shifted down towards her feet as she took in a deep breath. She slowly let it out in a long sigh. The feeling of complete betrayal washed over her as she thought of her former Master who was surely dead by now and the other Jedi who had died today. She didn't know them very well during the time that they were together. She spent most of her time talking with the Kel Dor teenager who was closer to her age.
Preena wondered about the girl named Plo. She hoped that the girl was alright and that nothing horrible had happened to her. The fears of her own fate drifted in to the back of her mind while she set alone in the shuttle waiting for the man that saved her life. Her mind was on Plo as she reached out with the force to touch her. She could feel Plo's presence nearby as she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. 'Please be well' she thought as she opened her heart to the young Kel Dor. In the back of her mind she heard a scream that caused her to rip open her eyes in terror. She heard what could only be Plo's death she called out for someone. Preena leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees as she cupped her head in her hands. “I'm sorry Plo” she said in sadness as her eyes welled up with tears.
“Don't worry about her. She be just fine.” The Puppet Master said coldly as he walked in with a few other men and women.
Preena looked up at the man as he set across from her, “I felt her die” she stated confused. She watched the other men and women set closer to the front of the shuttle away from them.
The Puppet Master picked up a holocommunicator, “Mr. Tra'ool,” he said and waited for the image to appear in its bluish ghostly state.
“Yes, My Lord” the image replied.
“The Jedi named Plo, the Kel Dor sister of Daz Murl, is she still alive and what is her state” The Puppet Master asked softly.
The imaged nodded, “One second My Lord we are pulling her out of the chamber now.” The image shifted to that of a large slab, “See My Lord, she survived the transition.”
“Thank you, Mr. Tra'ool” he said softy and closed the link before the man could reply. “See, I told you to not worry about her. Trust me Preena, I have no reason to lie to you.”
Preena nodded as she listened and felt the shuttle start to depart the larger ship, “If you will not lie to me, then please tell me what will happen to me?”
The Puppet Master smiled in such a way that sent a fear pulsating up and down her spin, “Well for starters young Preena, you will continue your Jedi training under some of the best teachers the Jedi Order has had in its entire existence. You will learn about our mission and who we are. You will be trained to become a powerful Jedi and a loyal follower to the Crusade. As we speak right now, a team of my agents are heading to find your family on Fu'ish'Ple.” he held up his hand to cut off her comment before she could speak, “Yes I know about them. They will be taken care of from this day forward. Your mother, father and two brothers will never need for anything again. Our help to them will come in terms of a very pleasant offer for your father of which he will not turn away. They will be transported to a location where they will be able to have regular visits from you while your training continues.”
“We believe that a persons inner strength comes from their routes with their family. Unlike the Jedi who wishes to sever these routes we wish to build and strengthen them. This is why we will help your father with his addiction problems to make him in to a better man for your mother and a better role model for you.” He leaned back in the seat as he felt the shuttle slip in to hyperspace.
Preena tried to take it all in, “But why?” she managed to question while her mind raced with the understanding of why all this was happening to her now.
His smile broadened, “Because Preena, some time in the future, you will sit on the Jedi Council and you will help us continue to destroy their organization. Just like so many before you, you will train for this mission for years to come. You will learn the skills you need to pass their Hunter Squads and fool their investigators.” He paused to let her speak the question he could see in her eyes.
“How do you know I will become a Master of the Council” she asked softly almost fearing the answer.
“I know this, because we will make it happen for you. When this day does come, you will walk in to the Temple with your head held high and sit as a Council member and feed our forces vital information that will help us crush them.” The tone and level of coldness in his voice scared her beyond anything else.
“Why do you have to crush them. I heard the stories of so much war and death. Why do you have to add to the killing” she asked confused.
He leaned forward and slowly got up from his seat. Moving next to her and sitting back down, “there is a war that has been going on for thousands of years. We didn't start this war, they did. They created the Hunter Squads and set them loss on the Galaxy. They are the ones who bend the Force to their will and use it to rip the destiny of others away. In small groups, Force Users like yourself are easy to hold in check. It is when they grow in to powerful organizations like the Jedi do they pose a threat to the entire Galaxy. Do you recall reading about the Sith Empire?” He asked and watched as she nodded, “See the Jedi are not like the Sith Empire yet. However if left unchecked that is what they can become. You wouldn't want that would you?” He waited once more for her to shake her head no. “So we have to keep them in check and keep them from growing out of control. But you will learn all about that during your training.”
She looked down for a moment and thought. Everything he said seemed to make sense but at the same time she knew the Jedi were not evil like the Sith. But then again she did hear the horror stories about the Jedi Civil War from the other Jedi she met today. Entire planets caught up in the conflict were laid to waste. 'Was there truth to what he said' she questioned in her mind. She looked back at him, “Will I live with you?”
He shook his head, no, “You will be off training and it is unlikely we will see each other for months at a time. However, I will be watching you very closely Preena. Never will a day pass that I will not know what you are doing. Some times I will come and visit you. Others I will send my messengers to let you know that I am still part of your life. However, you will be close to your family, Preena, because they should be important to you. You will be trained to never let anyone know who you work for now. Once you have this lesson well learned, you will see them regularly. Would you like that” he asked her.
She nodded her head slowly, “Yes I do miss them.”
“I know you do. It was wrong of the Jedi to keep you from them” he said as he pulled up a datapad, “One thing for the Jedi, they take really good records of everything.” He looked through it as pages passed by the screen, “Ah here it is,” he said with a frown, “Youngling Preena's desire for her parents and siblings would ultimately be her own undoing. It is my suggestion that she not be placed for Padawanship at this time till she can learn to control these feelings” he read from the data pad, “This was written by a Jedi Master Megusile, do you know him?”
She nodded once more, “He was in charge of my youngling class.”
The Puppet Master frown faded as he looked at her, “We want you to have strong role models in your parents to look up to. Once you learn to keep your training secret and do well, you will have them in your life. Does this make you happy?”
She smiled as she heard the news and nodded, “Yes Sir.”
He nodded, “Good, I am glad that you like this. Then you shall start your training once you arrive at your new home. Your family should follow you shortly. Train hard while showing your worth and you will see a world of rewards for them and yourself.”
She continued to smile as she lunged forward at him and placed her arms around him in a hug, “Thank you Sir!” she said with happiness in her voice.
The Puppet Master also smiled as he returned the hug, “You are welcome Preena” he replied. She could never image what was in store for her. He knew that he had to set up the next game for the Crusade. It is what made them so deadly to the Jedi and other force users. The Crusade will never stop planning the further destruction of all force users throughout the Galaxy. His eyes told the story that has been told time and time again. His hand ran up to the back side of her head as he held her tightly. The Puppet Master has a brand new puppet to mold and make ready for tomorrow's new conflict in their war against Force Users.
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