Purge (Star Wars)

Part 2: Echo of the Past: The Defector (Flashback)

TK-274 walks with purpose through the halls of Fortress Inquisitorious, the headquarters of the Inquisition, on the ocean moon of Nur. The aggressive black spire juts out of the waters like the end of a great spear. There are days that the sun shines bright upon the waters, making the line between water and sky almost indistinguishable in the radiant blue but not today. Today both the ocean and sky are a rolling force of violence and darkness. The waves slam against the outer wall and the winds rush through smallest gaps, sending ominous whispers and shudders through the tower.

Deep inside, however, is silence.

The only sounds are the thudding of her boots through the metal corridors and the hushed voices of imperial officers that instantly cease as she approaches. The reputation of Purge Troopers being especially vicious and quick to anger is well known throughout the fortress and even though she has not yet completed her training that reputation is imposed on her as well. Another pair of officers give her a wide berth as they exit a lift and she steps on after them. The lift plummets through the tower for longer than feels possible, deep below the surface to the ocean floor.

When it finally stops, the doors slide open to reveal the darkest chambers of the fortress lit only by scant artificial lights and a menacing orange glow rising up from molten rock, churning below grated walkways. A few twists and turns farther brings her out into the dojo where Purge Trooper candidates train every day.

The dojo is a wide, open, two story tall metal chamber mostly unadorned but for the harsh, formidable lines characteristic of the darkest Imperial facilities. Red banners displaying the Imperial emblem hang from the walls near the two large primary entrances at either end of the room. One door leads out into the sprawling reaches of submerged tunnels while the other leads deeper into the spire to the detention and interrogation chambers. Projecting above the inner door is a holodisplay that cycles through red security images, maps of the facility and the Imperial Emblem.

In addition to these two entrances, there are four more, much smaller, side entryways near each corner of the room. It is one of those near the detention center that TK-274 steps out of now. She walks out to the center of the room to join TK-387, another Purge Trooper in training who is waiting at attention. Trainees are required to always present themselves to their trainers and the Inquisitors at the very center of the room in part to show their readiness but also because this area is not composed of solid structure; but rather movable panels metal grating that cause one to feel as if they are hovering over the lava that flows below. Standing there, one does not forget their place in this machine since at any moment those panels could move, dropping the person to a fiery end.

As she reaches the center of the dojo and comes to attention next to the other trooper, another side door opens and a third trainee enters. Just like her, he also walks to the center of the room and falls in line with the others. All three had received the same summons and now stand unmoving, unspeaking; waiting for further orders.

The Inquisitors enjoyed making the troopers wait almost as much as they enjoyed the brutal training they put them through. It was another chance to drive home that they, the Inquisitors, are the ones with power and the troopers only carry out their bidding.

Heat rises from the fissure beneath them and permeates their armor. If not for the protective suit worn beneath the mixed plastoid and beskar alloy armor, the heat would scald any flesh the armor touched. Once, shortly after TK-274 had begun her training, she had been made to watch as a rebel insurgent who had failed to break under days of standard torture had been chained to those gratings. His light green skin had darkened, blistered, and eventually blackened after hours over the pit. Finally, the Inquisitor decided he would never break and released him from the chains but as he lay prone on the floor she had given the order to open the grating, sending him into the fires below.