new life

The first thing that the prisoner felt as she began to regain consciousness was a dull pounding in her head. The next thing she felt was the cool sting of cuffs around her wrists, followed by a wave of nervous confusion as she realised that she couldn’t remember how she came to be here. Or… much of anything, really.

Keeping her eyes shut and pretending she was still unconscious, she took stock of her state. The pounding in her head continued, and her mouth was dry. It was possible that she had been drugged - though who would want to drug her was lost on her. She had the distinct impression that she had enemies, people who hated her enough to harm her, but… anything more specific than that was lost.

The cuffs on her wrists were a touch too tight. Her wrists were small in the first place, so that had to have been purposeful. Someone really didn’t want her to escape.

Aside from her head and her cuffs, she couldn’t feel any injuries on herself. That was something, at least.

For a few moments, she listened out, stretching her senses to see how much else she could pick up on, but the space around her was utterly silent. It seemed that she would have to give up her pretence of unconsciousness to gather further information.

Carefully, she squinted her eyes open.

The room she was in was dark, with one poor light in the ceiling. Across from her was a mirror - a one-way mirror, she suspected. Glancing down at her wrists, she saw that her cuffs were connected to a chain, allowing a small amount of movement. She raised her hands experimentally, testing to see how much room she had been given, and managed to bring them to rest comfortably on the table in front of her.

Her physical situation was not ideal, but it could have been worse. What was far more concerning was the state of her mind. What had happened to her? Why couldn’t she remember?

Before she was given the opportunity to think further on that worrisome question, the door to the room opened, and a man strode in.

He carried himself with the air of a military man, and the uniform of the Republic Army proved this. Still, despite the rigid stance, there was something else about him. If she didn’t know better, she’d wonder if he was nervous.

“So. Are you going to tell me who you are, and why I’m here?” She asked, breaking the silence.

The man kept his gaze on her as he walked over to the table, sitting at the chair on the opposite side. “I am Admiral Jerrick Martovo. You are here to answer for your crimes.”

That sounded about right. While she couldn’t remember anything, she was sure that she had done terrible things. What was interesting, however, was the presence of an Admiral. She must have angered someone very important to warrant this. For a moment, she was torn between guilt and pride.

“Uh-huh. Seems I don’t have much of a choice in this, so go ahead.”

The Admiral looked her over critically for a moment, before continuing. “First, I have some questions for you. Procedure.” He waited for her to nod her ascent, “Your name is Tessan Starri, correct?”

As if a switch had been pressed in her head, she remembered.

Yes, that was right.

She was Tessan Starri. She had been raised on Delaria, in the Outer Rim. She became a smuggler at a young age, amassing a great deal of enemies over the years. She recalled her last job - how she had been backstabbed by her partner and left for dead on their ship as the Republic came down upon them.

“...Just Tess is fine.” She spoke, blinking as her memories sorted themselves in her mind.

“Are you alright?” The Admiral asked, his tone distinctly not one of concern. “You suffered a head injury as you were being brought in. I’ve been assured that it isn’t serious, however…”

“Aw, it’s nice to know that you care,” Tess replied, smirking as the Admiral’s eyes narrowed, “but I would really rather if we’d hurry along with this. The sooner I know my charges, the sooner I can get out of them, you know.”

“Quite.” The Admiral spoke dryly. “You have been a thorn in the Republic’s side for quite some time, and your smuggling operation is the least of your crimes. If it was down to me, you would be put before the firing squad.”

“Then it’s a good thing it isn’t down to you.”

The Admiral regarded her, a look of hate clear on his face. Tess wondered if he had been personally affected by her actions. Despite what some would like to believe, she was no sadist. She didn’t take pleasure from harming others - but there were situations where causing harm was the only realistic option. She wouldn’t apologise for doing what needed to be done, but she did feel a degree of sympathy.

Had he been anyone else, she may have even acted on said sympathy - but she had always had an issue with authority. She would not waste her energy humanising someone who would refuse to do the same to her.

“You are aware of the War, Starri?”

Of course she was aware of the War. One would have to live under a rock to not be aware of it. From what Tess knew, it was some fire-fight between two factions of Jedi, with the Republic being dragged into the Force-worshippers mess. There was something almost humorous about the fact that the Jedi had refused to fight with the Republic during the Mandalorian Wars, and yet here they were, now, dragging the Republic into their little internal squabble.

But she doubted the Admiral would appreciate her sense of humour.

“Of course. What does that have to do with me?”

“Most believe that the Republic is winning the War. After the death of Darth Revan, most believe it will only be a matter of time before we are able to defeat the Sith Empire - however, they are wrong. Defeating Darth Revan was a decisive blow against the Empire, to be sure, but Malak’s attacks are at a level of aggression that we are not capable of defending against for long. If we continue with our current strategy, the Sith will claim the Core Worlds in a matter of months.”

Tess frowned. “Why are you telling me this?”

As the Admiral continued, his voice sounded pained. “It has been decided to put a new strategy into place. If we cannot defend against Malak’s aggression, we will need to be smarter than him. We will need more than common soldiers - we will need soldiers with specialised skill sets. Skill Sets that cannot be taught in an Academy.”

The pieces fit together in Tess’s head, and she let out a laugh. “You need criminals.”

“Yes.”

“So that’s what this is.” Tess grinned, leaning back to make herself comfortable in her seat. “You aren’t charging me at all. You’re recruiting me.”

“If you refuse, you will be charged. You will be-”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it, and that’s why I won’t refuse. I’m no fool, I can see when I’ve been backed into a corner,” Tess interrupted, “and, besides, I may hold little love for the Republic, but I don’t want to live under the banner of the Sith Empire. I’ll pick the lesser evil any day.”

The look of hate in the Admiral’s expression spiked, but he remained impressively controlled. “I have paperwork for you to fill. When you are done, you will be fully briefed, and will receive your first assignment. Know that precautions will be made to ensure you do not desert or sabotage the war effort in any way - and if you are found to attempt either of these, you will not be given another chance.”

Tess smiled pleasantly, accepting the pen and paper that was pushed across the table towards her. She raised it, about to sign away her name on the dotted life, but before her pen touched the paper she paused, and looked up towards the one-way mirror.

She couldn’t explain it, but for a moment she could have sworn that she made contact with a pair of wide, blue eyes.