Trooper

Awol

Kadavo: 14 BBY
"Oppressor"
Ryn Alera

Ryn blinked her eyes open hesitantly. Her head throbbed, an after effect of the stun. She hissed in pain and held her injured hand up. Her wrists were shackled together with a pair of cuffs and her collar was still around her neck.

A few other unconscious slaves were on the floor beside her. Ryn inspected her hand for a moment, before taking in her surroundings. They were in a hangar of some sort. Several Imperial troop transports lined the front of the hangar. The other slaves were kneeling on the cold hard floor, surrounded by stormtroopers. A few stormtroopers were on guard nearby. They hadn't noticed she was awake yet.

Her hands drifted towards her chest, subconsciously. She grasped for her necklace, then started. It was gone. No, no! It can't have fallen off! A growl of frustration escaped her.

Ryn turned her gaze towards the other slaves as a lift opened across the hangar. An admiral appeared, followed by a black monstrosity. She stiffened as his gaze passed over her. The sound of his breathing echoed through her montrals. Several stormtroopers formed a few lines as the Dark Lord passed by.

Who is that? She wondered. A hand grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her to her feet.

"This one's awake!" The trooper called, pushing her towards the others. Ryn struggled against his grasp as he forced her onto her knees.

A few of the stormtroopers in the line craned their necks, watching her. She shot them defiant glares. Three of them looked away, but the fourth kept watching. A strange feeling flew over her briefly, but disappeared as the trooper looked away at last. Ryn lowered her gaze to the ground. The Admiral's boots appeared before her.

"Congratulations. You have been freed from your Zygerrian slave masters," he said.

Wait, they're letting us go? Ryn's eyes widened in wonder, though she kept looking at the ground.

"The Emperor took an interest in your work. It seems you are particularly docile slaves, with a few exceptions." She could feel their gazes shift to her. "You are going to be sent to Kessel. There, you will work in the spice mines for the Empire, until your debt to us has been paid."

Kessel. She took a moment to let the word register. I know I told the overseer I would take Kessel over Kadavo any day, but...panic threatened to drill into her thoughts. She pushed it down.

"Take them to the detention levels. We'll be delivering them personally." The admiral turned on his heel and headed away. The Dark Lord remained.

Stormtroopers began to round up the other slaves, pushing them to their feet. One of them grabbed Ryn and pulled her up. She wrenched her arm out of his grasp. She flinched as the movement jarred her injured hand. A thin trickle of blood dripped out of the wound.

She faded back into the crowd of slaves, working her way back towards the ships. The stormtroopers continued to push the others forward. Two of them appeared before her, just when she had reached a ship. "I don't think so," one of them said.

He grabbed Ryn's arm and pushed her back towards the others. They were already moving into the hallway. She was the only slave left in the hangar. Her breath came in short gasps, the fog of panic rising again. No, stop it. Not now. Think, Ryn, think! She urged herself. It did no good. Tears sprang into her eyes. She fought against the stormtroopers grasp.

The same stormtrooper from before, the one who had watched her, was close by. In a sudden bold movement, Ryn wrenched herself free of her captor. She grabbed the other trooper's arm. Smears of red from her injured hand marred the harsh whiteness of his armor.