Supreme Overlord Shimrra Jamaane looked into the black void of unknown space through the amber window of his miid ro'ik cruiser. This galaxy was to be the next home for his people, but it was ripe with the filthy creations of arc and metal, the monsters that plagued the old worlds existed here too. No, this would not do, not at all. For decades, the fleet had watched in silence, observing these children who don't know any better. They would soon learn. He would be sure of it.
"Anor!" He barked, calling for his lieutenant. The hundreds of thousands of tiny fibers scattered throughout the capital ship repeated the name Anor through a harmonic vibration. A method of communication for their people that served as a method of organising revolt against the metal men of old.
Mere minutes later, Nom Anor entered the bridge and bowed before the supreme overlord. "You called for me, Sire?" Anor looked up, eager for a task. He had grown ever so tired of waiting in the shadows, watching this Clone War play out from the unknown regions.
"My pet has been meditating. He tells me that soon, this galaxy will be in a state of disarray. The current powers shall fall and a new one shall rise to take their places" Shimrra spoke in a tone of pride and ecstasy as his eyes rolled back into his skull.
Anor perked up at this information, but just as quickly, his optimism was drowned out by skepticism. "Supreme overlord. I do not wish to speak out of tone… But the creature is insane. Nothing but madness escapes his lips."
Shimrra snapped his fingers. At the sound of their master's call, two Twi'lek slaves emerged from the shadows, dragging a large cart. Atop the cart was a huge cage which housed the pet known as Onimi. A creature who's blood was not his own, but that of a dark magic welding sword bearer who encountered their fleet so many years ago.
Onimi grabbed the bars of his cage, peering into the eyes of Anor. "Darkness. Darkness rises and the light shall fall. Yet we shall be the ones to cleanse it all. Hahaha!" The soothsayer cackled.
"He's insane..." Anor grumbled.
"You forget, Nom Anor, that without Onimi, none of this would be possible. Upon grafting his body to that demon, he has led us to worlds within this galaxy full of life. Planets with enough slaves to allow us to build our fleet. You would be wise not to question his clairvoyance" Shimrra spat at his subordinate before returning his gaze to the empty vacuum of space.
"Prepare the slaves! Grow the skippers! The beings of this galaxy may have delayed the inevitable, but our forces shall soon be ready… they shall soon be set free from their shackles. For it is the will of the Yuuzhan Vong… "
In the deepest levels of Coruscant's maximum security facility, five prisoners sit in their individual cells waiting for nothing. What would be the point of hoping for anything? This hidden wing was buried so far below the surface of the prison that escape would be impossible. Which is just as well considering the captives in question.
Tanuk B'Carr: A Gungan terrorist leader responsible for the abduction of Naboo children and selling them into slavery to the Hutts. Relations between the Naboo and the Gungan people have been in balance ever since the Trade federation invasion over a decade ago. Tanuk would tip that balance into chaos, so he had to be sealed away, forgotten by his own people for the good of Naboo.
Clone Sargent Slick: One of the leaders within the famed 501st battalion, charged with high treason. All in the name of love for his brothers. Like every high-profile prisoner in this wing, his arrest was kept very quiet. If other clones followed his example, the entire grand army of the Republic would collapse.
Brytt Vas: A powerful Houk gladiator within the Neomodian fighting rings, this warrior attempted a coup over Cato Neomodia. The loss of this wealthy planet would have left the Republic in a financial crisis that would last for decades, undoubtedly leaving the galaxy at the mercy of the confederacy of independent systems. Brought to justice by legendary bounty hunter Embo, Brytt Vas was handed over to the Republic to stand trial. Without their leader, the loyal followers of Brytt went into hiding across the galaxy.
Fon Ordera: The last member of the Ordo splinter clan, Fon Ordera led the Mandalorian insurgents against Dutchess Satine nearly seventeen years ago, all in hopes to claim the throne for himself and sought to spark another Mandalorian war against the Republic. Of course, everyone believed his ideology to have disappeared with him. Pre Visla proved that theory wrong. Even with the current state of Mandalore, under the leadership of former Sith Lord Darth Maul, Fon Ordera would have rallied many more of his people to Deathwatch's aid, thus adding to the zabrak's army.
Last, but not least, Barriss Offee. Now, many know the story. A Jedi gone rogue, responsible for the bombing of the Jedi temple as well as framing her fellow Jedi Ashoka Tano. Now, Barriss is out of sight, out of mind. Set to live out the rest of her days where she can't hurt anyone else. A shame really that not even her own master had inquired to her whereabouts, let alone attempt to visit her in prison. If not for closure, to ask why, then one would think that she'd at least see her student one last time.
So as Barriss sat in her cell, away from her master, her friends, her home, all she had to look forward to were the visits from the only guard worth talking to. It didn't start out like that, of course not. After betraying her order, her mentor, her friend, Barriss was numb to the world around her after her imprisonment. Different clone guards came to check on the prisoners, feed them, check their cell ray shields, interrogate them and sometimes attempt to offer counseling, the only one to get any sort of reaction out of the fallen Jedi was one of the two non-clones working in this secret wing.
Cayde Durann had worked in this prison since before the clone wars, before the clone army took over the limited Republic police force. Now, the Supreme Chancellor never sought to replace the system already put in place, only to add to it, which is why many officers were promoted to offer their experience to the clone troopers. While these clones were bred for combat, only two things could teach them what the Kaminoans could not. First and most importantly, experience. The second effective teaching method were lectures from soldiers who had actually served before, of course, nobody had served in anything as grand as the clone wars during their lifetime but any experience was good experience. Despite being only twenty seven, Cayde still had a fair few tricks to offer, one of which was his cybernetic right arm, a computer implemented into his limb to counteract any outside hackers attempting to shut down the prison power grid. Cybernetic enhancements weren't unknown to clone troopers, but they were seen as expensive by the Senate, in most cases it would be cheaper to produce a new clone than to replace a limb. So in this aspect, Mr Durann could do what the new guards could not, it's how he kept his value in the prison.
Every four days, he would patrol the singular corridor with a dozen cells both sides, less than half of them filled. He would check the energy levels on the cells, provide the prisoners with their meals, attempt to talk to them, console them, try to get them to open up to him. The first words he said to Barriss Offee when he worked on her cell were "Why Ashoka?"
She didn't speak, let alone meet his gaze. She did however, raise her head ever so slightly as if caught off guard. Cayde continued "Why her? From what we saw in the holos, you two fought side by side at the battle of Geonosis. Wouldn't have thought she'd be your first choice."
"… I… I didn't choose her. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time…" is all the Mirialan muttered before dropping her head down again.
Cayde stopped from checking ray shield power levels to fold his arms. "How so?"
There was no point avoiding the questions anymore, she was already in prison. This would be as much conversation as she would ever have. "When Letta was discovered and arrested, I knew I had to… to protect myself. Ashoka and Master Skywalker were the only two Jedi she knew… maybe it was her compassion that led Letta to believe she could be trusted. I made do with the situation at hand. I'm never going to be proud of what I did to my friend, to that poor girl..."
The cyborg sighed and continued to work on the ray shields. "Well, this is what prison is for. A chance to reflect on past mistakes. The fact that you can easily show such remorse and regret is the key to bettering yourself for the future" He smiled in an attempt to sound optimistic.
Barriss rolled her eyes. "What future? I'm going to be in here for my entire life. There was no trial, no official sentencing, not even a shred of paperwork. Just the chancellor telling the guard to take me away… Honestly, sometimes I wonder why they didn't just execute me." A tear rolled down her face.
"Ah, don't beat yourself up for it, kid. I'm in the same boat as you. So, you made a mistake, got your own kind killed, regret it every single day. I've been there."
Barriss and Cayde turned their heads to one of the most recognised voices in the galaxy. The voice of a clone. More importantly, the voice of Slick as he continued. "The best you can do is come to terms with the fact that no matter how much you regret what you did, you still did it. Nothing will ever change that. But… no matter how good your intentions may be down the line, you'll never truly be able to trust yourself again… so in a way, it's better that you're locked up in here. So that you can't hurt the ones you love ever again."
The padawan slumped back down onto the end of her bed, defeated. "Love is forbidden by the Jedi, all attachments are."
"Even friends? Family?" Cayde asked.
"Especially family. We're taken from our families in our infancy, so that we forget them as we grow older. Master yoda says that attachment can easily lead to fear of something happening to those we care for. A quick path to the dark side."
"But… Ashoka Tano was your friend. Surely you had some form of attachment towards her" This time, it was Fon Ordera who argued back.
Barriss, Slick and Cayde all looked towards the mandalorian elder. "What? There's never anything to talk about down here. And as much as I love hearing about Brytt's gladiatorial battles, it's nice to talk about something else for a change" He nodded towards the Houk, fast asleep in his cell, snoring away.
Realising that there was no way out of this conversation, the former Jedi padawan figured that a group of criminals would be the past people in the galaxy to judge her for her crimes. "That's the question, isn't it? How can you say "No attachments" then go on to put you in classes with people the same age as you, the same upbringing as you and then expect you not to form any sort of attachment? And then they have the hypocrisy to then pair you with a mentor for years! The closest thing you have to a parental figure in a life without family… and she never sees you as her own child that you so desperately want to be…" She broke into tears as she buried her face in her folded arms.
Silence enveloped the room, no one knew what to say. No one had any right to say anything. Nevertheless, Cayde attempted to comfort her. "Barriss… You did something wrong. You know that. But that doesn't mean that you can't come back from this. Sure, you might get out of here today, tomorrow, or even next year. But there is one thing that the Jedi always say that I believe to be true. The force does work in mysterious ways. I don't believe your story is really over yet."
"Maybe… " That was all Cayde got out of her that day, but that little flicker of hope was enough. He wouldn't stop trying on his next shift.