Star Wars: The Darkest Hour

The Sickle

The Sickle was a Dreadnought class prison ship that carried the most ruthless criminals known to the Republic. Political assassins, murderers, and other underhanded fiends had been held in the depths of this ship. Their lives to be spent in solitude. Waiting for the day it would all end. Until the day SHE showed up.

Even from their solitude, the inmates could hear the sounds of fighting. Even now, the guards assigned to their cages were being called to help those in the fray. For the longest time the fighting persisted, the sounds of blasters firing, and men dying echoed hollowly through the ship. Then the ship rocked violently, causing the power to shut off.

Only a moment later the ship was flooded by the red emergency lights. The back-up power had cut on, keeping the cells shut. Now that things had settled again, everyone was listening once again, but the sounds of battle had ceased. Both the few remaining guards, and the inmates all had the same passing thought.

"Who won?" 

As if to answer the unspoken question, the blast doors opened. On the other side a small contingent of republic soldiers seemed to be struggling with something. It only took them a minute to get the struggling mass into view of the prisoners. It was a young woman, and at the sight of her the prisoners went wild. 

"Will you shut them up! We don't need a riot right now!" The commanding officer ordered his men. The ones who were not handling the woman quickly moved among the levels, and silenced the criminals with a shock from the collars around their necks. 

"Throw that Trandoshan in with the Rodian." The commanding officer spat to one of his men. The man quickly followed orders, and approached the cage closest to the, still resisting, girl. Before opening the cage, the guard drew a blaster pistol from his holster. Once the cage was open, a tall shadow moved into the light.

Beast, Predator, Hunter. These are all words one thinks when they first see a Trandoshan. This species was made of bi-pedal lizards, who hunted their prey with relentless dedication. This specimen embodied this perfectly. He stood close to seven feet tall, with scales as black as coal. The right of his face was covered in scars, both old and new. His right eye was a milky white, but the other was a blazing red. 

Once the lizard had been relocated, the remaining guards finally heaved the wriggling girl into the cell. Despite the roughness of their treatment, the girl gathered herself calmly. She slowly pulled her brunette hair back, and tied it up. She then sat as though she was meditating, a sadistic grin spreading across her face slowly. 

"I want her under constant watch! No one near the cell!" The C.O. yelled. It was clear that he was more than just frustrated. 

"What happened out there sir?" One of the lesser guards asked, seeing the clear distress of his superior. 

"Fifty men. She slaughtered fifty men like they were nothing." The C.O. said, his adrenaline levels dropping now, his head spinning. "She cut through them, and was laughing the whole time." 

These words sent a shiver through the entire crew. Even the whispering from the prisoners went silent. This young woman had killed fifty men, and yet had not a single scratch on her. What kind of woman was she?

That's when there was a sudden sound from behind the girl. The surprise caused two high-strung guards to aim their blaster rifles towards her. The girl then turned her head, and grinned. Then she spoke the most terrifying words these men had heard. 

"Time for the fun to begin, Master."

The next sound was that of the cell doors releasing.