Step one: Torture them. Figure out how they tic, who they are, who they love. Make them question all of these things.
Step two: Rebuild them. Give them a new name, a new face. Show them their role in this. They are just a dog of war.
The girl was preparing herself for mock combat when her guards stood to attention around her. The Inquisitor, Seventh Sister, lithely stepped into the hall.
"I have good news for you, Fifth Daughter." The masked woman announced in a mocking tone. Fifth Daughter brought herself to attention, her practice weapon, and her opponent, instantly forgotten. She struggled to keep her face blank, to not show the swirl of emotions just beneath the surface. If she reacted they would make this worse for her. I've done all that was asked of me, she thought, what am I being punished for?
Good news was never actually good news in the academy, she had learned that very quickly. The last time they had "good news" for Fifth Daughter, it was that her mother wouldn't be killed for her failure, but instead that Fifth would be electrocuted. Afterward, when she had been dragged back to her cell, she had almost wished they'd chosen the former.
"You have been... Relieved of your false brother." The woman, Seventh Sister, stated with thoughtful precision, watching Fifth for any sign of emotion. At first Fifth didn't understand. False brother? The one other recruit she had seen had been called her 'brother', but why say false? What was the point of this? Unless she meant someone else.
"I can see it, your family," The Pau'an sneered. The girl could see them, too. All four of them appeared in her mind's eye, as if projected out for her torturer to see. She writhed in her restraints.
"Tell me, which one do you love most?"
"I love them all equally." She retaliated through gritted teeth. The world twisted for a second, and the girl shied away from the pale face looming over her.
"Tell the truth," He commanded. Was he touching her face? Or beyond it, straight into her soul?
Her mouth began to work on its own. "I love my brother the most; Cinerem. I miss him so much. Please-" Her eyes were streaming- "Please don't hurt him."
She felt so wrong, so humiliated. The girl had always been taught not to love one person more than the rest of the family. But her answer had betrayed her. Had betrayed her family.
"He will be safe," He assured her. He leaned in, as if to smell her guilt, "but only if you comply."
"Which brother was it?" The Fifth Daughter found herself asking. She knew she was on dangerous ground, but the answer was far more important to Fifth than the threat of being beaten. They had always threatened to harm her family, ever since they had taken her from the academy. The worst threat was when they showed her a holo of her little brother being held by a stormtrooper. But after countless weeks - or months- of obedience, the threats had vanished. There's no way they would actually kill without the threat looming overhead, right?
"The elder, but what does it matter? You should rejoice, young one. His end has brought you closer to becoming an Inquisitor."
Cinerem. Cold realization hit the pit of her stomach. She remembered his face, his olive skin and easy smile. He had been eighteen the last time Fifth saw him. He had almost been done at Skystrike Academy, only a few months from graduation. Fifth Daughter could not tell how much time has passed since she'd been brought here. Months? Years? Had Cinerem still been that jovial boy she grew up with when he died? Or had he become something harder, something darker, like Fifth?
This is just another test, she thought, he can't really be dead. Fifth Daughter would be able to feel Cinerem's death, wouldn't she? That's why the red-blades had taken her and stripped her identity away. To use the Force.
That is what Fifth called on now. The Force was already waiting, eager to fill Fifth's lungs. Fifth became aware of the guards, some wary, some bored. She could feel her trainer's sick satisfaction, and even farther, but she tried to reign her senses back in. She focussed on Seventh Sister, feeling for the tight string of energy she only found in lies, but there was no tension there. Seventh Sister believed what she said. It became harder for Fifth to breathe.
"Of course," Fifth Daughter began to bluff, digging nails into the inside of her wrist, "I'm glad to be rid of him. I only wanted to know because the older boy fights- fought- for us. He must have died well, protecting the glory of the Empire." The words were awkward and empty, but Fifth forced them out all the same. She wanted the Inquisitor to believe her- needed her to- but there was no way Seven would be fooled. Yet-
Seventh Sister showed none of it on her face, but Fifth felt her small wave of surprise all the same. There was a strange satisfaction in having surprised a superior, and Fifth held onto that feeling to hold back the waves of pain that threatened her mind. She couldn't give the Inquisitors the satisfaction of watching her break. Not again.
The Sister nodded stiffly, "You can continue with your lessons, Fifth Daughter."
"Thank you, Mother." Fifth bowed stiffly. She knew it gave them a thrill hearing the apprentices use Father and Mother as titles, and she had learned that stroking their egos made them easier on her. Seven did not respond to the title, however, instead, she left the room without a second glance. Fifth still felt eyes on her, and turned back to her opponent. The Fourth Brother, a stick-thin humanoid, grinned and slid into his fighting stance.
"Are you going to start taking me seriously now?"
She pondered his words for a moment. Was this why they had punished her? Why they told her Cinerem was dead? What did they want her to do? Fourth Brother was her trainer. Did they expect her to kill him? Her head seemed to swirl with options. And her damn head kept crying out a chorus of: I'll do anything. Whatever you want. I'll kill again, I'll maim. Do you want me to hurt him? I'll hurt him. I'll hurt over and over and over. Just please- don't hurt HIM- just, just PLEASE-
Finally, she pointed her weapon at the man's feet, "At the end of this match, I'm gonna leave you knocked out on the ground." He only laughed at her, "You can try, little sister."
Fifth Daughter screeched as she charged at him.
Celavi Os sat on the roof of his home, watching the sun set behind large scyscrapers. His house was a small, ramshackle thing on the outskirts of the Corellian capital. Too small for his whole family, for sure, but just enough room for him and his parents to live.
Celavi kept finding his thoughts wandering to his siblings. Earlier that week his father had sat him down and told him the news. Celavi's big brother was missing-in-action, Father had explained slowly, and was assumed dead. His father's voice would crack sometimes, and he had held onto Celavi's hands like they were the only things that kept him grounded. His father had tried to be gentle, like he expected him to crack open or shatter like glassware, but Celavi didn't know how he felt. He wasn't feeling much of anything, if he had to be honest.
He had cried for days when his big sister, Emora, disappeared from the Imperial Academy almost two years ago (but he had only been ten then.) His father's voice had cracked then, too, when he would talk at all. Celavi's mother, on the other hand, had raged at the Academy's administers and raged at the Imperial Agents who would come talk to her. His mother had made calls and calls and calls, and when that didn't work, she had hired a detective to find Emora. And when even that didn't work, she had gone quieter than Father had. After all of that, and now that Celavi was more grown up, Cinerem disappearing just seemed natural.
Maybe he found Emora and they decided to explore the Galaxy together, He thought wistfully. He shook his head. Exploring the Galaxy and the unknown regions had always been his dream. Cinerem never had a sense of adventure, he had always wanted to follow the Empire, to fight for it. In fact, one of Celavi's first memories were of Cinerem throwing toy stormtroopers at his face. And Emora- well, Emora must have wanted the same thing at some point, because she had put on that stiff cadet uniform and followed Cinerem into the academy.
Even though Celavi had to look out for his parents, maybe he could still explore the Galaxy. He could take his parents with him when he got his own ship. That way he would never have to miss a dinner, or a birthday and he could have the chance to make his parents smile.
Lost in his daydreams, he hadn't noticed the person looking up at his perch.
"Hey kiddo! You looking for your girlfriend?" A sharp voice called with the drawl of a factory worker. Celavi's head snapped to face the speaker. He quickly jumped down from the roof and, ignoring the soreness in his ankles, rushed to her.
"Mother! You're back!" His mother laughed as Celavi slammed into her, and held him briefly before pulling back. She ran a hand through his hair as she studied his face.
But as she studied him, Celavi also studied her. She had left for one of the stations that orbited Corellia three months ago. He had never cared to learn the names of all of them, he just knew they all were apart of the factory rings that hugged their planet. Even though it had only been a few months, it felt to Celavi that it had been forever since he had seen his mother.
Mother smiled down at him with warm brown eyes. Her olive skin was sickly pale from years of working in dark space stations. Her black and silver hair was held away from her face by a tight braid, revealing the sharp angles of her face.
"You've grown!" She noted, and Celavi's chest filled with pride.
"Seven centimeters," he boasted. He had been carefully measuring himself each week, eagerly waiting for that next centimeter. Father said he was in, "the fastest growth spurt he'd ever seen!"
He watched his mother's face slowly change with this news. He had wanted to share his excitement with her, but her smile now looked like a wince.
Celavi was painfully aware of how tired his mother looked. Dark bags hid beneath her eyes, and he noticed brand new crow's feet. He wondered if she had heard the news about Cinerem yet, and if that was the reason she seemed so worn. Celavi knew it was hard to get news quickly offworld. As a part of some agreement the Empire's lackys couldn't move around freely in the orbiting factories, and transmission fees became really pricey when the message was long. Celavi hugged his mother again, even tighter this time. He knew he was too old to be so clingy, but he couldn't bare to let go. She gently pushed him away.
"That's enough mushy stuff," she said, her dark eyes going stern, "How's school going? Have you been keeping up with chores?"
Celavi slumped a little bit, "School's ok, I'spose. And Father won't let me out of the house without cleaning something." He couldn't help the exasperated sigh that escaped him. His mom barked a laugh and slung an arm around his shoulders as she led him to the door.
The door swooshed open before they reached it, though, and with a loud "Hasta!" Celavi found himself suffocating between his father and mother's embrace.
"Hasta," his father said again, the deep sound vibrating in his chest and around Celavi's skull.
"Volarr" his mother replied, emotion thick in her voice.
Celavi squirmed and wriggled until they let go, making dramatic gasping noises as he braced himself against his knees. He needed to make them laugh. He couldn't let them have a crying fest in the middle of the street. He couldn't let them be sad.
They didn't laugh.
"Celavi," Father rumbled, "Go inside and get some food. Your mother and I need to talk."
"Ok" Celavi replied, eyeing them both. He slinked away, willing himself not to glance back like a lost panther cub.
He stared into the semi-darkness of the kitchen as the door swooshed shut behind him. He saw a pot of something warm on the burner, but his stomach rolled at the thought of eating. Why am I like this? He demanded of himself. Mother's back, I should be happy. We should all be happy. He passed by the counter to go to his room but something made him stop in his tracks. Something red.