I own nothing except a few characters and the plot.
STAR WARS REBELS
The New Spectres
Scared Straight
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - 2030
Darius couldn't help letting out a smal smile when he saw the Philadelphia Department of Prisons bus outside the school. He had been told yesterday by Greg Washington and a week ago by Lucy about what day his school was scheduled for the Jail Tour by General Marlion. As a Knight in the Jedi Order of Earth, Darius had the same authority as a Peace Officer and was assigned to go with the students selected for the trip who were to meet in his classroom. A Remnant Officer ran up to him.
"Jedi Knight Carpenter?"
"Yes."
"Lieutenant Bastner. I was told that you were my were my staff contact here."
"My wife didn't tell me who was assigned to do this on her end. They are a lively bunch. I know of three who like to give problems. My son's new teacher was a sub here and she knew all about them."
"That's good. They pay me to have problems." Darius let out a chuckle as he led Bastner to his classroom. As the first bell rang, the students selected for the trip filed into Darius' classroom each eyeing Bastner suspiciously. Darius took a quick head count and noticed three people missing.
"Where are they?" He asked.
"Maybe they decided not to come." Someone said.
"They can be brought in from their homes or wherever they are hiding by a wagon if that turns out to be what we have to do."
"We'll start without them. Rule is, once we enter the jail, you follow the instructions of the staff there. They tell you to do something, you do it without the lip and the attitude you give the staff here. If you have anything on you that you don't want to bring in there, give it to me now and I'll lock it up here. Electronics, money, jewelry, wallets, and anything else. You will be searched when you get there." Darius told the kids as Greg Washington walked in with the three missing students.
"You three belong in here, not in the locker room." He said to them.
"Whatever." One of them replied. Darius and Bastner exchanged looks.
"Thank you, Mr. Washington for locating them. Lieutenant Bastner, you can deal with these three." Darius said.
"Your attitudes stink." Bastner told the three.
"So does your breath."
"We're gonna have a lot of fun today."
"Like we did with your mom last night."
"THAT DIDN'T REQUIRE AN ANSWER! I SEE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS. I GET PAID TO HAVE PROBLEMS." Bastner shouted at them.
"Hand in anything you don't want found when you get there. Including the loosies you got from the guy hustling them at the corner store." Darius added as he unlocked the closet. Greg raised an eyebrow.
"You're not supposed to have cigarettes on school property." He said.
"Were we planning to bring contraband into a jail?" Bastner asked them.
"I think they were and you don't have to be a Jedi to see it." Darius added as he took out a box of Ziploc bags.
"One bag per person." He said.
"I ain't going." Another one of the three students that Greg had brought in said.
"Oh yes you are." Greg told him.
"Oh no I'm not." Bastner stepped out of the room and waved a hand. Two Stormtroopers came over and entered the room.
"I believe you're going."
"Make me." The student said to Greg and Darius who both nodded at Bastner.
"Do it the hand way. They pay me extra when I have to explain something to a little punk with a smart mouth the hard way." Bastner said as the Stormtroopers placed handcuffs on the student.
"Anyone else feeling like they don't need to go? Got a whole box full of chains and shackles on the bus." No one said anything as they gave their bagged stuff to Darius who locked it up after he got his Jedi Badge and Lightsaber and put them on his belt.
At the jail, the attitudes continued. The kids were arguing with Darius or arguing with Bastner despite having been told on the bus to sit down and shut up at least twice. The group was joined by Lucy, R9-D2, and a second pair of Stormtroopers. The three students promptly catcalled and wolf-whistled Lucy until she stormed over to them.
"WERE YOU TOLD TO SPEAK OR MAKE NOISE?" She shouted at them. The three fell silent instantly.
"You done?" Bastner asked the three. Hearing no voices, he nodded to Lucy.
"I am Major Carpenter and this is R9-D2. While you are here, there will be no foolishness, no hitting on female staff, no talking back, no disobeying staff directions, and no sudden movements. Your arms remain at your sides at all times. Any movement of your arms from your sides is a sign of aggression and you will be restrained. When you are asked a question, your answer is to end with either Sir or Ma'am. Why are you in cuffs?" She asked the teen who had been cuffed after finishing her speech.
"No reason." The teen mumbled.
"WHAT WAS THAT?" Lucy shouted at him and then turned to Darius and Bastner.
"He's one of the three that give substitutes a problem. The ones that Mrs. Archer still remembers. He said the only way he was doing this was if someone made him. Lieutenant Bastner ordered him cuffed as an example." Darius explained.
"I guess that makes him the Special Project then. Lieutenant Kackler, would you mind bringing a chair over." She said to a second officer who left and came back a few minutes later with a restraint chair.
"This is called a restraint chair. When you want to do things the hard way here, this is how we do it. He can go in the chair." A Stormtrooper grabbed the handcuffed teen and put him in the chair where he was shackled in and fitted with a mask.
"The mask is a spit guard. You go in the chair, one gets put on you. We do not know what kinds of disease or infection you are carrying around in your spit and we do not want to find out." Kackler explained.
"This is the Pre-Booking or Intake Stage. During this stage, we review your charges and behavior prior to arrival and then we determine what happens to you during the booking process. What your big-mouthed friend has just been used as a demonstration of is a Code 5 Intake. A Code 5 is an automatic restraint chair and spit mask. A Code 1 Intake is the lowest level of intake. Code 1s get to sit in our open booking area where they go through their process and usually done in about an hour or two depending on the charge and behavior. I sum up the booking process in a simple way, the nicer you are, the nicer we are." Bastner added.
"Move out and don't forget the chair." Lucy said. Everyone followed her into the Booking area.
"When you enter this part of the facility, before anything else happens. We do a search to make sure that you're not bringing anything into the jail or to make sure that the troopers on the streets didn't miss anything. People have been known to bring contraband in here. If we find something illegal, you automatically become a Code 3 and go in a holding cell by yourself while any additional charges are discussed and added on if warranted. The people in the regular chairs are the Code 1s. They called to various stations during the process. Photo, Fingerprints, Medical, Pre-Trial. At Pre-Trial depending on the charges, they either get told when they can expect to be released or what the bail amount is. The last station in the Code 1 Process is the Release Station. When you get there, you get your property back along with a card for SEPTA to get you from the facility. After that, you get to leave. If you need to get up for some reason or need anything, raise your hand and let someone know." Kackler explained as an Army Trooper brought someone a cup of water. Bastner told the Stormtroopers to bring the restraint chair to the search area.
"Do the Three Stooges first." Lucy told them. The other two teens were brought over to the search area and then searched.
"You were told to leave those at school." Darius said as a collection of loose cigarettes was found on the second teen.
"That's a charge. Knowingly bringing contraband into a jail." One trooper said.
"What's with the sagging pants? Are you advertising yourself as being for sale in here?" A second trooper asked.
"Get your hands up off of me." The third teen said and swatted at the trooper before being taken to the ground by the Stormtroopers.
"This one just made a Code 5 out of himself, and this one can be a Code 4." Bastner told the Stormtroopers as two more restraint chairs were brought over and the teens secured into them.
"Anyone else feel stupid?" Lucy asked the rest of the teens. After all the searches were done, the next part was having the teens photographed and fingerprinted followed by changing them into prisoner uniforms.
"This is a housing unit. If you're staying for awhile, you get assigned to a cell in one of these. You do not have a choice of roommates here. This unit houses a number of repeat offenders who were remanded here without bail by the Judge." Kackler explained as he led the teens into an area with tables and cells. A girl let out a few snickers until Lucy pushed her into a wall.
"What's funny? Nothing funny about this part of the facility."
"Your crooked face." The girl said causing Lucy to push her into the wall and place a pair of handcuffs on the girl before turning to the rest of the teens.
"Laugh at that. Anyone else find this funny? We got plenty of cuffs, chains, and restraint chairs here." She said and looked at the list of inmates assigned to the unit.
"Lieutenant Kackler, let's open Cell 327 and have the guests in there come out."
"Yes, Ma'am." Kackler said and went to the cell with a pair of Stormtroopers. After a minute, two large men appeared.
"Tell them your name, inmate number, how you ended up here, and what goes on when you end up here." Bastner told the two inmates.
"My name is William, inmate number 3263827. I'm here for GTA. This place is not fun and games. I'm looking at 10 years for one car. Just last week someone from this unit got shanked in a hallway when they moved us out for cell searches. That happens every week and you never know when they will do your unit. You don't want to end up going beyond the Booking area if you come here because some of you could end up being used for currency here and I know which three will be for sure." He said directing the last part at the three teens in restraint chairs. The second inmate came forward.
"Name's Malik, inmate 3263345, here for stabbing someone during a fight over a girl. I came in and they put me right into one of those chairs your boys are strapped into. Spent 10 hours in it until they put me in a cell. Because I came in on a charge that involved violence, I waited three days to see a Judge, then got sent back here because I couldn't afford to post bail. Now I gotta sit in here until I go to trial and see what my options will be. Don't come here. You got an anger issue, there are other places that can help with it. This isn't one of them." Lucy came over to the two inmates.
"Thank you both for sharing. Lieutenant Kackler will take care of you two later." She said before turning back to the teens.
"I see a couple of eye rolls." William said.
"You two, front and center." Bastner pointed at the two teens who rolled their eyes.
"Do you two need to spend time in a cell? I think we have a couple of empty bunks in this unit. Now, three of you are in restraint chairs and one's in handcuffs. I think we're going to have to make some calls and make arrangements for some of you to spend the night here." Lucy said causing Darius to grin along with William and Malik.
At Lunch, the teens were served the same food as the inmates while Darius joined Lucy, R9, and the two Lieutenants in one of the offices.
"Right now, there's four I want to keep for the night. The three in the chairs and the hyena who said my face was crooked." Lucy said.
"I saw a couple of eyes open real wide after Malik spoke about what was done to him when he came in. I will be out of here in time to pick up Caleb?" Darius told her.
"You should be. I added Justin to Caleb's emergency contact form so I don't have to send a radio car to pick him up from school when you have to work late and I'm in the middle of something."
"I better let him know that he has to pick up Caleb then." He said and used an office phone to call Justin unaware that the phone was on speaker mode.
"Hello?" Justin asked.
"It's Darius. Can you pick Caleb up this afternoon?"
"Because you're in jail since you're calling from one?"
"There's a chance the jail tour I'm the teacher in charge of may run late. Some of the kids are giving your sister a very hard time. She already wants to keep some of them for the night."
"Are you spending the night there?"
"What? No." Darius said as Lucy let out a chuckle. Of her two brothers, Justin had been extremely accepting of Darius becoming part of the family so she knew the two joked around quite often. This was simply another example of that.
"I have to make the calls to arrange the overnights. We just wanted to make sure that someone was able to get Caleb from school." She told her brother.
"I get him at 3:20, right?"
"Yeah. If you don't see him outside, ask the school office for Mrs. Archer's class. I told her yesterday that you might be coming for him today although I think she's expecting you given how familiar she is with some of the students I came here with."
"I'll be there." Justin said and ended the call. In the housing unit with William and Malik, the teens were having their lunch watched by the two inmates and and a group of Stormtroopers. Before leaving to have her lunch, Lucy had the three teens in restraint chairs removed from them. Some of the teens refused to eat the provided meal.
"Why aren't you eating?" A Stormtrooper asked one of the teens.
"This is disgusting." The teen replied.
"Too bad. Eat it. In here you don't get a choice. You either eat it or they strap you into one of those chairs and make you eat it." Malik told him. After lunch, the teens were shown the Maximum Security area.
"This is the Maximum Security area. Inmates in here have a history of stunts such as fighting with staff and assaulting other inmates. They do not leave their cells without a squad of Stormtroopers escorting them and being placed in a restraint chair. I heard there were some complaints about the food. In here, its much worse. We give them nothing but ration bars so they have nothing to make weapons out of." Kackler explained as he stopped at a cell door.
"This slot is how we feed them. They don't want to come out, they get dragged out. These cells are on 22/7 Lockdown. You get two hours a day for mandatory recreation and personal hygiene. You cause a problem in here, you go into Supermax. That's 24/7 in a cell and you get strapped down to a cot until we decide that you're no longer a danger to yourself or others."
"I think 622 is vacant." Bastner said as he looked over the inmate assignments to the area.
"Open it." Lucy told a Stormtrooper.
"These are single inmate cells. You get a cot, a toilet, and a sink." She explained as some of the teens shook with discomfort.
At the end of the tour, the teens were lined up on one side of a hallway. Lucy and the two Lieutenants looked over each teen before addressing the group as a whole.
"During Lunch, we spoke to your parents and guardians. They said some of you don't behave at home either. Those who had corrective actions taken against them this morning. We also informed them about that. Guess what they said." Lucy told them.
"They said we could keep you for the night if we thought we had to and hopefully there won't be any smart-mouth, eye rolls, and attitude in the morning. Because there's only one group of people allowed to have attitude here and that's the staff." Kackler finished as Lucy looked over the list of names given to her by Darius who was on her right along with Lieutenant Bastner.
"Here's how this works. If I call your name, you get to move to the other side of the hall with Lieutenant Bastner which means we've decided that you get to leave. Those who don't get called will go with Lieutenant Kackler and will be given what they need for the night." She told them and began reading off a list of names. By the end of the list, the three teens who had been put in restraint chairs and the girl who insulted Lucy were being kept for the night along with three others whose parents had told Lucy tales of drugs, gangs, and violence. Kackler and the Stormtroopers led the six to an area where they were given the things they would need for the night while Lucy, Darius, and Bastner led the others to the Release area.
"This is the part of the jail everyone likes, the Release area. You can take those uniforms off and put them in this hamper for the laundry. Now, we want you all to try and not end up coming back here. Understand." Bastner told the group.
"Sir, yes, Sir." The group replied. With that, Bastner led them back to the bus they came in on.
That evening, the Carpenters and Justin ate dinner together as was the normal routine. Justin had ordered pizzas since Darius didn't put anything out for dinner in the morning.
"You ordered two pizzas?" Darius asked him.
"I wasn't sure how much you two would eat. I figured better safe then sorry."
"Greg enjoyed hearing that you kept six for the night."
"If you did it on a Friday, you could have kept them all weekend." Justin suggested.
"I called their parents back to make sure that they aren't on any medications that we might have to provide. They said we could keep them longer if we had to. They might just adjust their attitudes real quick when they hear that." Lucy said.
"Longer you keep the Three Stooges locked up the better. I don't have to put up with them disrupting class. How was Caleb today?"
"No complaints that I heard, but I didn't check his backpack for notes." Justin replied as Darius used The Force to summon Caleb's backpack to the table.
"You nearly hit me with that." Justin protested.
"You could have asked R9 to do that." Lucy told him as the droid appeared between her and Caleb. Darius opened the bag and looked through the contents of it.
"Here's a picture of the family he drew. He got just about everyone, including Mace. Who are these two with him?"
"Kanan and Bryan." Caleb replied pointing at the two figures surrounded in blue next to the figure of Mace Windu.
"Kanan Jarrus and Bryan Khayman. Really long story." Darius explained and handed the drawing to Lucy.
"He's missing much of your side of the family."
"Most of my side is locked up." Darius said as he took out another piece of paper. This one being a note from the school.
"Talk to Ed Dobbs about this or bring another pair of Death Troopers there? School's so-called Nutrition Expert says that Caleb's packed lunch doesn't meet her nutrition standards and that he has to eat the school lunch."
"She clearly went behind his back on that. I guess you can talk to her while I have her car towed and then have her paperwork lost repeatedly." Lucy said.
"That's what Dad would have done if he got one of these notes." Justin added.
"Dad would've had Major Hochster tear her life apart. He did that once to one of Justin's teachers over something relating to a school election."
"She gave me Detention because I didn't vote the way she wanted the class to vote. I got suspended after I accused her and the Principal of rigging an election. Dad was furious when he heard that. He went there with the Death Troopers and everything. He told Major Hochster to build cases against both of them for treason and anything else the Major could think of. As I recall, they both were fired after the investigation." Justin explained as Caleb used The Force to lift R9 off the floor.
"Don't drop him." Darius said.
"Caleb, put R9 down. Who told you he could be used for practice like that?" Lucy asked Caleb who put the beeping droid down.
"Either Josh or Chris." Justin told her.
"Maybe Kanan gave him the idea. He once used Chopper to do the same exercise with Ezra." Darius added. After dinner, it was Justin's turn to bathe Caleb and tuck him in. Darius and Lucy sat on the couch discussing Caleb's behavior.
"Any ideas on how to handle that before he manages to lift the car or lift a trolley up off the tracks?" Lucy asked Darius.
"I have to wonder if Master Skywalker had the same problem with Rachael at this age."
"Or if Jacen did the same thing to Hera."
"I'll talk to Josh, Ezra, the Jacens, and Kanan." Darius said. That night, Mace's Force Ghost appeared to talk to Caleb.
"That behavior has to stop, Youngling. Your powers are not a toy. No matter what others may have told you." He said. Caleb sat up in his bed and looked at the Force Ghost.
"It just seems to happen." Caleb told Mace.
"Only when you're home I've noticed and when people aren't paying attention to you."
"Caleb, who or what are you talking to? Oh, Master Windu." Darius said as he walked into Caleb's room.
"Your son's behavior is worrying me."
"There was actually never a formal Jedi Code established here. On account of Master Skywalker's past and an overwhelming desire on everyone's part for it not to repeat itself. As well as respect for local traditions and religious customs. Remember, your last Padawan was born into a Jewish family."
"Point taken. I just wanted him to know that I knew now that you know he knows we're around." Mace said as he disappeared.
"Back to bed you." Darius told Caleb and tucked him back in.
"Good Night Daddy." Caleb said as Darius closed the door.
