Chapter 1 – Cell Shock
Location: Imperial Prison, Byss, Deep Core
Time: 2 Years Before the Battle of Yavin
So cold... wait... wha-...?
The prisoner jumped up from his deep sleep. The sudden flood of confusing senses struck him like a Corellian crusier. First, the freezing cold temperature of the cell, which, if any colder, would almost certainly be like taking a bath in carbonite. Second, the hard stone floor which he had awakened on. Third, the nearly pitch darkness in the cell, save for a tiny sliver of light that shown through the grated ceiling above. Most importantly, though...
Who am I?
The prisoner thought as hard as he possibly could, but couldn't remember a single thing about... well, anything!
Empire...
One word seemed to be all he could fathom in that moment.
Empire? What's that? Are those the people who are keeping me here? Why am I here? Who the hell am I?
Suddenly, a seemingly impossibly loud screeching sound echoed through the small cell, sending the prisoner to his knees in agony. The torturous sound, which sounded like the amplified sound of metal scraping at the end of a tunnel, lasted about seven seconds. The instant it ended, the cell door slid open. Three humans, all clad in intimidating white armor, with seemingly angry looks on their otherwise emotionless looking masks, entered the room, armed with batons. The rush of light blinded the prisoner, who fell backwards and crawled to the corner of the cell, not only to escape the scathingly bright light, but the three men approaching menacingly.
Through the reflection in one of the men's masks, the prisoner could see himself for the first time.
I'm a Kaleesh... how interesting...
The newfound satisfaction in partially unravelling his identity didn't last long, as the three troopers simultaneously began to viciously beat the Kaleesh prisoner all over his frail body. The snapping of bones, the clashing of the batons, and the laughter of the humans dulled out the very weak wailing of the prisoner.
After about a minute straight, the troopers immediately stopped the beatdown.
"Welcome to Byss." one of the troopers said condescendingly.
The prisoner attempted to speak, perhaps to beg for mercy, or to plead for answers, but through a combination of malnutrition, agony, and sheer terror of the situation, could not find the strength to do so. The soldiers chuckled at this, then left the cell and locked the door behind them.
The next six days followed a very similar pattern of starvation, beatings, and torture from intense sounds or light. Every day, the beatings got worse, the light even more scathing, the sounds more screeching, the hunger more piercing, and all for a reason the Kaleesh prisoner could not understand.
Will this ever end?