Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order "Hearts of the Inquisitors" Episode 1

Chapter 3

Painful rays of fluorescent light woke her. The white blur of radiation, like a wash of bright snow glistening across her trembling eyes. At first, eyes were all she could feel. But slowly, vibrations moved down her spine into her toes, until at last she was a full body again.

The Second Sister found herself half awake in a dark grey room, illuminated by glowing ceiling panel lights, exactly the length of the cold bed she was laying in. She looked down to her feet, and noticed how straight her body was. Thoughts finally came into her mind. She felt weak. Guilty. Broken. She studied her body again. Arms laid precisely by her sides, fingers smoothly positioned, even her toes fell into perfect angels. It was as if the Empire had been preparing her for death; a still living corpse, lashed with wires and machines, neatly displayed like a figurine. A tool.

Then suddenly, her thoughts were erased just as quickly as they had come. She felt something else. A presence wafting through the walls like a wave of energy. She could feel him before he even walked through the door, as if the air around her had become distorted, preparing for the arrival of a pulse. 

Shan glided into the room and came to a stop almost in the center. He seemed to keep a cautious distance from her, lingering just out of reach, his body tilted sideways. She felt it necessary to sit up and display a small amount of attention to his commanding aura, but she found no movement coursing through her limbs. Instead, she rolled her head to the side and tried to open her eyes as wide as she could. Although this was a far more casual setting, she had hoped to remain strong enough to show her strength. But most of all, after his daring rescue, she longed to view his face even more in this moment. Secretly, she wished that he would appear before her without his helmet. Yet she was pleased enough by his desire to come. 

"Are you awake now, Second Sister?" he asked.

"As...as far as I can tell, my lord," she responded beneath the wheeze of her nasal oxygen tubes.

"Good," he said quietly. "I could sense you were near awakening, so I have come. I am glad to find you well,"

She let a smile escape her. "Thank you. But it is you who should receive any praise in this moment, my lord,"

Shan held up his hand and shook his head to halt her notions. "The Empire does not leave warriors to die. Especially those so cunning," he stated. 

She could feel red rush into her cheeks again. "I hope I am not troubling you already," she struggled to face him, attempting to reposition herself in a more respectful manner. 

"No," he responded. "And I will speak no more of this,"

All the words she had prepared under her breath disappeared. "I see..."

He stepped closer to her and placed his hands behind his back. The glowing visor hurt her eyes, though she could not tell if it was due to the lighting of the helmet, or his powerful spirit. "I practice pity and woe no more," he affirmed. "Moments pass in seconds, thoughts pass in less, and even dreams pass in time. My only focus is the flow of the living Force. My next step. Do you understand?"

His words soared inside her. So poetic, so profound. He was quite dramatic to be sure, but Shan was so drastically different from any other Lord of the Sith she had ever encountered before. He followed in Vader's footsteps, who followed in the Emperor's. Yet Shan did not fit with them. He was the stray bird in a formation; destined to follow a path, but independent enough to remain himself. 

"...Yes, my lord," the Second Sister finally responded, letting her thoughts calm. 

Shan paused for a moment and listened to her breathing. It was strong, but labored. "Will you recover soon?" he inquired.