Another day had come and gone. The fights hadn't decreased at all. As usual she had to pass the Rodian that stood just inside the entrance to the prison yard with her Trandoshan bodyguards randomly slapping inmates as they entered. There didn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to who made it in unmolested and who was struck. The only consistency was Lenora's face never got a pass.
She fared well in most of the street fights that were part of the daily grind. Her physical conditioning and training left her far ahead of the majority of the prison population which was mostly a mix of human and Evocii. It was the other species that really gave her trouble. She was 'winning' most of these fights but the constant battle was wearing on her. Already her hands ached continually but the mental drain was even more debilitating. Her sense of danger was always grabbing her attention. It was getting difficult for her to focus on the particular dangers.
This morning she was attacked by two Evocii prisoners in line for breakfast. Lenora's reflexes were still super-human and neither attacker managed to make contact. Lenora quickly immobilized both of them but afterwards just sat on the floor hoping to be taken away by the guards. They came and collected the two Evocii to bring to the infirmary. They left Lenora there. She slowly got back on line, shuffling her feet across the floor.
It seemed threatening the warden and the mysterious Hutt he was fronting had no impact. If anything it was worse. She didn't have a plan B.
Lenora and a dozen other prisoners were lined up and started the journey out to the prison yard for their two hours of exercise. Once outside the building they walked along a narrow passage formed by two wire fences spaced about six feet across. At the end of the walkway the Rodian took her position inside with her bodyguards. The line of prisoners stopped as each one was patted down by guards before being allowed to enter the yard. Lenora was toward the end of the line so it would be a few minutes before she would enter.
A sense of danger, while always present, seemed to heighten as the line moved and she was closer to the entrance. She found the warnings more irritating than useful. The constancy was draining. The extra danger was difficult to ignore but it was more difficult to find a source among so many dangers.
She watched the Rodian slap another prisoner as she passed into the yard. Lenora wondered to herself about the Rodian. The warden said he didn't know who she worked for. The more she studied her the easier it was to believe. The Rodian didn't seem to have a plan or any real power. It seemed like she somehow got the Trandoshans bound to her with a life debt, and like a child with a new toy wanted to use it but could think of nothing more creative than intimidating fellow prisoners. Perhaps one day she would become a real danger.
Lenora looked passed the Rodian into the prison yard. Her eyes scanned the people in the yard and immediately fell on a Gamorrean on the far end. She had never actually seen a Gamorrean in this prison. She assumed the brute was female being in this place but she couldn't tell by looking at it. The line continued to move closer to the edge.
The sense of danger increased with every step. She prepared herself for yet another fight. The Gamorrean was so much larger than she was, she wasn't sure she could beat one without the Force. She started to weigh the dangers of ruining her cover by using her true strength against taking another beating by a creature that may or may not beat her to death. Spending a few more days in the infirmary recovering might be worth it. She was at least able to rest there.
The Evocii directly in front of Lenora finished getting patted down by the guards and strolled into the yard. She paused in front of the Rodian and exchanged a few words before the Rodian slapped her in the face and let her pass. The guards searched Lenora and removed her chains to wave her through.
The Gamorrean started walking towards the entrance. Lenora stayed focused on the beast. The warning had reached a fever pitch. As it got closer to her she began searching it for weapons, checking for any unnatural bumps under her clothes.
Lenora was waved through. The Gamorrean continued to get closer but was not overtly watching her. The Rodian stepped into Lenora's path and began speaking to her in Huttese. This was routine and Lenora just wanted to get this minor humiliation out of the way so she could focus on her attacker. Perhaps her message got through after all and this was an assassination attempt. The Force screamed danger into her mind. She ignored the Rodian. She only knew a few words in Huttese anyway and had no idea what she was talking about. The Gamorrean took a seat on a bench near where Lenora would pass. She watched her carefully.
The Rodian reeled back with her left hand and swung hard at Lenora. She closed her eyes to wait for the humiliating slap so she could move along to the more pressing danger. She felt an impact but it was not from a hand.
It felt like something cold and metal ran across her cheek from just in front of her right earlobe all the way across her face almost reaching her nose. She opened her eyes and stared at the grinning Rodian. Lenora brought her hand up to touch her cheek. Instead she felt her exposed teeth.
The Rodian opened her hand and showed her a two inch blade she had hidden in her palm. The slap had sliced her face open; the blade went completely through the skin and muscles and carved through all the roots of her teeth on the top of her jaw. When she breathed the air rushed in from the side of her face and struck against the exposed roots.
Each exposed root screamed in pain. She staggered around barely able to understand the magnitude of her injury. She tried to hold her cheek together with both hands. The right side of her prison clothes were turning red from the fountain that formed. The shock of the injury, the loss of so much blood, on top of exhaustion was too much to take. She turned back toward her attacker and dropped onto her knees. She felt like she was going to lose consciousness.
After she closed her eyes she heard a laugh. The Rodian laughed at her. The sound echoed in her mind and magnified, as if everyone around her was laughing. The guards, the Rodian, her bodyguards, the other prisoners, everyone. As her mind started to shut down, as parts of her wanted to just lay down and surrender, a fear crept into her mind. What if I die?
No one was coming for her. To close her eyes meant death. She wasn't ready to die. She was meant to die in battle with warriors, not against a worthless criminal, not even a hundred of them. The fear grew but she did not panic. She wanted to live.
She tried to stand up again but she immediately fell back to one knee. It was as if some parts of her body had already decided to give up and she had to fight against herself and the pain. The Rodian laughed even harder when she saw her fail to stand. She chattered on in Huttese. Lenora didn't hear the guards coming to her rescue. She again pictured them laughing.
Her fear quickly turned to anger and then to rage. She would hide no longer. She drew on the Force to replace the strength that had failed her. Her body immediately began to tremble. From the outside it may have looked like the shaking meant she was weakening. On the contrary she shook because the power she pulled in was almost too much for her body to bear.
She steadied herself and then stood up slowly. Her right hand stayed clutched to her face trying to hold it together. Her eyes met the Rodian. She stood proud, challenging Lenora. The two Trandoshans stepped closer to her threatening to attack.
The pain continued to come in waves. Each crash fueled her rage. She fought against the impulse to kill. Some residual training to protect those weaker than her remained but those rules didn't apply here. Each new crippling pain erased her judgment until there was only instinct and a body pulsating with power.
The Rodian stepped forward and raised her armed hand to inflict another slap. Lenora caught the hand with her left and kicked her in the stomach sending her backwards and hard into the ground. One bodyguard stepped forward and Lenora sent a Force Push concentrated into her face. The Trandoshan fell backwards and laid motionless on the ground. The second grabbed Lenora and lifted her up and slammed her hard into the ground. The impact knocked her hand away from her cheek. The gaping wound opened again and a new wave a pain shocked her body as the air and dirt found their way into the roots of her teeth. The agony blackened her vision. She couldn't tell if she had lost her sight or she just couldn't open her eyes.
She felt the Trandoshan's hand clamp around her neck and drag her off the floor. She could feel the other hand pull back. A punch was coming into her wound. She couldn't break the grip around her neck. The punch crashed against her exposed gums. Lenora crumbled to the ground. The Trandoshan reached down to grab her again. Lenora raised up both hands in defense though she still could not see.
Lenora's rage and hatred emerged from her finger tips in a bright purple light. The shock blasted the Trandoshan off her feet. The flow of energy into her body never broke as she fell down and Lenora stood up. The Trandoshan screamed in pain and her body twisted in cruel shapes as the power shocked her body repeatedly. Her cries only fueled Lenora's power.
She felt stronger, like she could now ignore her injury. The prison yard was silent as everyone stood frozen watching the Trandoshan die. Lenora broke the stream of energy when the screaming finally stopped. She stared at her defeated foe as smoke rose from its body. Then her stare found the Rodian. She was still on the floor from Lenora's kick. She tried moving away from Lenora when she noticed her staring at her. She looked to her other body guard who was still motionless and bleeding from her nose and ears. The Rodian scooted on the floor backwards kicking up dirt as she tried feebly to get away. Lenora stood over the Rodian and raising both hands repeated the outpouring of hate.
The Rodian squealed when the Lightning reached her. Her body contorted and rolled backwards into the gate that entered the yard. She died much faster than the Trandoshan did. Lenora waited for the silence before cutting off her power. She checked the other bodyguard who was still motionless but alive. She thought about ending her life as well. She looked to see who else was around.
Every prisoner in the yard had moved as far away from her as possible. Even the guards had fled the gate. Only the guards in the towers above the courtyard were visible. Another wave of pain recalled her injury to her mind. She tried to close the cheek and hold it together. Still no one was coming to help her.
"I need a doctor," she said as loud as she could muster but her words were mumbled.
A few seconds later two guards ran to the gate and opened it for her. They assured her the doctor had been summoned. A third guard arrived pushing a stretcher into the entrance. Lenora calmly sat on the stretcher and laid down flat. The guards gently pushed the stretcher back into the building and carried Lenora to the infirmary.