Chapter 3 - Newcomers
Louise watched the strange flying machine sail through the air with vacant eyes. If she chose to squint, she would have compared it to a particularly stout bird, though its wings were stubby and immobile. She had seen a few of these so-called 'spaceships' flying around the facility, some leaving to parts unknown, but this one was different, smaller and sleeker than the others.
The spaceship drifted overhead nearing one of the bigger buildings in the compound, humming sharply. It began to slow, soon hovering a few meters off the ground as for metal legs sprouted from the bottom, allowing it to land with a thunk.
The back of the spaceship opened with a hiss, like the double doors to a palace, a ramp extending out for the occupancies to descend.
The first, a man with pale alabaster skin and a head of short mousy hair. Donned in an extravagant robe of purple with hints of black and decals of red, he descended the ramp like an aristocrat, tall and proud, as if he owned the place. Large pauldrons widened his profile while a strange tall and tapered gorget protected the back of his neck and head, leaving his face visible for all to see. Aside from the strange dress, there was a strange cylinder that hung from his belt, reminding her of a fancy sword hilt, just without the crossguard.
The second one was… different, for lack of a better word. Not human, that was for sure, but also unlike any of the strange beings she had met. It was a female, for one, with skin as red as freshly spilt blood and a head of cropped black hair. The bridge of her nose was ridged, and spikes, as red as the rest of her, protruded down her jaw and from her cheeks. Unlike her companion, her dress was far more casual; a sleeveless, black cropped top that bore her midriff and a pair of loose black pants tucked into a pair of calf-high boots. Covering this quite immodest dress, was a long and black bathrobe-likes article of clothing. A few gold rings hung from her ear. She too, had a sword hilt-like cylinder hanging from her belt, though this one was much longer and far less ornate.
Once their boots touched the not-stone, duracrete, they surveyed the area, as if searching for something. But before anymore happened, one of the guards near her barked an order in their unintelligible tongue, shoving her forwards. Ducking her head down, she turned away from the newcomers and focused on following the rest of the slaves. Her curiosity evaporating as she focused on preparing herself for another long and hard day's work in the mines.
Louise had no idea how many days had passed since the incident in the cafeteria, an event that haunted her nightmares, and things had not improved one bit. In fact, if she were to say, it got much worse after that. If she did not know any better, she would have thought that this land was simply the afterlife and her punishment for whatever wrongdoings she must have committed. Every day, she was forced to wake up and work in the mines, toilding away in the heat with heavy and dangerous alien tools. Failure to comply would leave her screaming on the floor as the guards activated whatever the blasted torture device was on her neck. She tried yelling and screaming at the guards, demanding for them to free her, begging them to stop, but they were ignored. Even when working, she was not safe; from being punished for trying to recover from the immense workload to getting flogged for passing out on the job.
Louise did not know when, the days blurring together into one incomprehensible mess, but she eventually decided to do the only thing she could. She shut up and kept her head down. She obeyed their orders, at least the ones she could understand from the small pool of words she was learning and the context in which they were said, and she did not complain. She mined, she ate, she slept, she learned the language and when she was alone, she cried. It was difficult, but her punishments lessened after that.
Time passed, and she found she could work for longer, her arms no longer tired out as quickly and the mining laser felt lighter. Without the veritable feasts the Academy fed to their students, Louise lost weight, and in place of that, she grew muscle. It was one of the few positive things she gained while here.
"My… name am… Louise?" the Pinkette said slowly, not quite sure if she were saying the alien sentence correctly.
Ren shook his head, adjusting his position on the bed. "My name 'is' Louise," he corrected with a small smile.
Louise frowned, berating herself for such a mistake and quickly corrected herself. "My name is Louise."
Ren smiled at her, congratulating him in what she assumed was his version of 'good job!' Louise quirked her lips in a façade of a smile, not feeling any gratification from her progress. It was just something she did between sleeping and working in what had become her life. The Twi'lek's smile faltered slightly.
The loud bussing of the alarm blared to life, startling most everyone in the Barracks. Vocal admissions of confusion filled the air, even Louise had raised an eyebrow at it. Only an hour ago had they all awoken up from their sleep, there should at least be one more hour of relaxation before they got to work.
Then Louise realised; perhaps it was a meeting?
Louise shook her head, deigning not to think much about it. Getting off Ren's bed, she made sure she was wearing everything for the day before lining up at the entry door of the Barracks. The other slaves joined her, standing side by side, waiting for the door to slide open. When they did, Louise expected to see the sleazy man in the grey uniform walk in with his guards, but instead, it was the two strangers from the day before.
A chill crawled up her spine as the two strangers moved closer to the line-up of slaves, stopping a few feet before them. Now that they were closer, Louise could see them in more detail, and suddenly, she was questioning whether the male was actually human or not as his glowing yellow-gold eyes were quite unsettling.
The red woman's eyes were eerily similar, looking menacing when combined with the scowl etched on her face.
The male, on the other hand, wore an impish smirk as his unnerving gaze washed over the gathered slaves until they reached Louise where they stopped. The man bore into her with the intensity of the sun and suddenly, she felt like a slab of meat before a hungry wolf.
She averted her eyes.
The man coughed, clearing his throat before he began to speak in the alien tongue. It was an introduction, but Louise could not quite hear what his name was, though she understood the red lady's to be 'Rayne'. He went on to say some other things, but she could not quite follow along to what was being said. And then he said something, looking pointedly towards herself and Louise suddenly realised that he was talking about her.
Her mind floundered, trying to figure out what the two strangers wanted with her; did she do something wrong? Was she being punished? Did they want to take her away from this strange land? Did they come to free- no, she would not entertain such a thought. It would only end in pain.
Ren said something in response, looking quite fearful. Actually, looking around, she found that the rest of the slaves had similarly fearful expressions, all pale-faced, or at least as pale as some could get with their colourful skin.
The man replied to Ren, saying something that seemed to placate the Twi'lek, then turned to Louise. "Forwards," he commanded, and obediently, Louise complied. With a delicate hand, he pulled on her chin, forcing her to look into his glowing eyes. Then with his other hand, he pressed three of his fingers to her forehead.
The last thing remembered was pain, like hundreds of white-hot needles, stabbing into her brain and her screams of agony before darkness took her.
A short while later, the young slave roused from unconsciousness; the pain now nothing more than a mild headache. "Maybe I went a tad overboard with the languages," the man mused with a chuckle.
Louise did not know where or how, but a fire of anger burst to life within her. Pulling herself up with surprising speed, she glared hatefully at the being before her. "A 'tad'?" she spat, about to tell the man exactly what she thought about his actions, that is until she realised exactly where she was and what she had done.
The room stilled.
Nobody said a word.
Louise tried to make herself as small as possible, tensing, preparing herself for whatever punishment the strange arrivals decided to give.
What she got, however, was a slight chuckle. "Ooh, I like you," the man said, his smile still plastered on his face.
Louise blinked, unsure of what to do in this situation. She had expected him to electrocute her, maybe flog her, but instead, she got an impish smirk and mischief sparkling in his unnatural eyes. And then her mind caught up with what he said. "I…I can understand you…?"
"Yes. Yes, you can," he said, "I find the prospect of trying to track down a protocol droid with the obscure language you speak quite annoying and a needless diversion. Now, let me introduce myself to you properly. I am Lord Juyn Eros of the Sith, and this," he said, gesturing to his scowling companion, "Is my apprentice, Rayne Arren. Tell us, what is your name?"
Louise was not sure whether she should be pleased that the man before her was a lord of some kind, or terrified. He was obviously some form of mage or something, so she decided it was best to act as she had been for the past few weeks. "My name is Louise Françoise of Blanc of the Vallière, milord" she answered obediently.
"Louise Françoise, quite an exotic name," he muttered before pausing briefly. "As I was saying. I am here at the behest of the Dark Council to investigate a disturbance in the Force. A disturbance that seemed to have been caused by a certain pink haired girl."
Dark Council? Louise thought, suddenly anxious and confused by the prospect of garnering the attention of some ominous sounding council. However, without any way of learning about "What does this council want with me?"
"Answers. They want to know what this disturbance was, how it was caused, and other such questions. So, I've decided to invite you to dinner tonight, around say… six, perhaps? I've discussed this with Commander Bosket and it's been decided that you'll have the day off today; we wouldn't want you falling asleep halfway through dinner, now, would we?"
"I… ah," What? It was at this moment, that Louise realised just how surreal this conversation was, exactly. The two strangers had just waltzed in, said a few things, proceeded to do… something that gave her the ability to understand their strange language – which her mind had, somehow, helpfully supplied as Standard Galactic Basic… whatever that was. And now? She was given a day off and an invitation to dinner. So, in this shocked state, Louise bowed deeply, like the servants at the Vallière manor did whenever Mother or Father ordered them, and said, "I humbly accept your offer, milord."
"Such manners," he exclaimed. "Now, we need to be off. We wish you a good day… Apprentice?" Juyn gave a sidelong glance at his companion.
Rayne inclined her head, her scowl never leaving her face. "Good-day." Louise mentally recoiled. She had been expected the woman to sound cold and bitter for some reason, yet what came out was melodic yet bored, compared to her teacher's voice, which seemed to sound naturally giddily, like he was going to prank someone.
After Rayne's curt goodbye, the two newcomers left the room. Only then, did Louise notice every slave was staring at her as if it had been revealed that she was dying from horrible illness.
But as she went to go ask what was wrong, the loud alarm blared to life, and this time Louise knew it was not a meeting, but that it was time for work. The slaves walked out the room obediently, some throwing fugitive glances back at Louise who stood there stunned. That is, except for Ren, who looked to Louise with worry in his eyes. "Be careful, Louise."
She did not even think, just acted. Her body slammed into Ren, her arms wrapping around the Twi'lek, not wanting to let him go. He returned the hug, his arms hardened by years of work comforting the young girl. But it all ended too soon. "I have to go, Louise," he said, ruffling her hair affectionately as he broke the hug.
Louise knew he needed to go, if he did not, then the guards would surely punish him. But despite this, she did not wish to be alone. "Thank you for helping me, Ren," she said, her eyes starting to water. Ever since day one, Ren had always been there, by her side looking after her and teaching her as best as he could. And now, for the first time, he would be going where she could not follow.
She would prefer to be stuck in the mines than alone in the Barracks for however long it took for it to reach 'six'. But she felt that disobeying Lord Juyn was unwise. She said her goodbyes, watching him leave through the door to the harsh conditions of the mines.
When the door hissed closed, Louise hung her head. The sound of silence seemed all too overbearing. A month ago, she would have been pleased with silence, finding comfort with being alone instead of trapped with her tormentors. But now, she felt vulnerable, scared, and confused.
So much had happened between waking up and the beginning of the day shift, all leaving her with more questions than answers. She needed time to process this all, and with that, she began walking to the other side of the room and entered the washroom.
Article by article, she removed her clothes, starting with her boots, gloves and goggles, then moving on to her shirt, pants and finally her smallclothes.
Once done, she moved into the shower proper and picked a showerhead at random. Pressing the button, Louise jumped back, letting the water spray from the font unobstructed. With her hand, she tested the water, getting used to it before slipping underneath. The water was admittedly little better than lukewarm, but the water pressure felt like a soft little massage against her back. She had wondered how it would feel against her neck, but the ever-present shock collar would not allow it.
Grabbing the nearby bar of soap, she began to wash her body, pleased for the first time that she could bath in the morning instead of the afternoon as she had found herself forced to do. While the communal bar of soap was a bit unhygienic, it was the best they had available, better than not bathing at all, so she made sure to use it sparsely.
As she bathed, she thought about the events that had happened only moments ago, thinking everything over in her mind. She found herself curious as to who, exactly, Juyn and Rayne were. They were nobility, that was for sure; she could see it in their dress, their walk, their presence. They spoke and radiated power.
Louise shivered just thinking about them.
Not only that, but they could do some form of magic. Whatever made their eyes glow and whatever Lord Juyn did to her to allow her to understand and speak the language, it was some kind of magic. That she was sure of.
They were nobles and mages, much like her home, one in the same. But who did they belong to? What kingdom did they serve, what land did they reside, what creed, what order did they ascribe to. She thought of Lord Juyn's introduction… Lord Juyn Eros of the Sith…
The Sith.
For some reason, the very thought of that name sent something shivering down her spine. It was not fear nor excitement, but something unfathomable. Sith. Was it the name of the kingdom or empire she found herself in? Perhaps the land itself? Louise did not know, but she wanted to. The urge to finally get some answers was near overwhelming, but at the same time, fear marred her thoughts. The thought of simply asking the strangers brought painful memories of being punished for perceived faults.
Then a small voice in her mind spoke. What if they're different? It asked, and Louise wished to believe. They had certainly given her the gift of language, ignoring the pain it brought, so it was not too difficult to imagine. She wanted them to be different, to be kind and courteous. She wanted them to free her, to save her from this hel. What's more, she wanted them to send her back home. But the metal attached to her neck reminded to be cautious, to be wary and afraid.
Louise sighed, rubbing her head as it began to ache once again. Quickly, she finished off her shower and got dressed before retiring to her bed. Once she had packed away her boots, gloves and goggles, Louise reclined onto her bed, deciding to spend the day relaxing in preparation for dinner.
…
The sound of the door hissing open, alerting Louise to someone's arrival. The desperate hope that it was Ren with her fellow slaves quickly rose before crashing down upon spotting the interloper.
It was a woman. She was dressed in a similar grey military tunic she met when she first arrived, stood in the doorway. In her arms was a medium sized nondescript package. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for something until they reached Louise who had sat up in her bed. The woman marched forwards, her eyes never veering from Louise until she reached the Pinkette.
Louise, herself, was quite worried yet curious. Raising her eyebrow at the woman, she felt the urge to ask who she was and why she was here, but she quickly squashed the urge, knowing it was unwise to question someone who could have her own the floor screaming.
Thankfully, the woman deigned to answer one of her questions without prompt. "I have a package I was to deliver to you, ma'am," the woman said, holding out the box for Louise to take.
Perplexed by this turn of events, Louise carefully took the package in hand, once again wondering what in the name of the Founder was wrong with today. Slowly, she opened the package, to find a little piece of too white and thin parchment – Paper, her mind supplied – sitting on a carefully folded lump of deep purple fabric.
Louise examined the piece of paper, noticing something written on it in impeccable handwriting. She recognised the symbols, strange letters that had appeared all around the facility, even on her own mining laser. And before today, she never knew what they meant, but as she looked at them now, she could understand what each word and symbol meant as if it were the script from her homeland.
'You're welcome,
- Lord Juyn'
It read, plainly and simply.
Looking up, she found the woman still standing there, eyes watching Louise curiously. It was starting to make her uncomfortable if Louise were to be honest. Nevertheless, she placed the card down and returned to the package to figure out what the little message was referring to.
Brushing her hands against the fabric, Louise found it was quality made, not expensive, however. Throwing caution to the wind, she pulled out the lump of fabric, watching it unfold with fascination. She ended up having to lay it along her bed to figure out what it was, exactly. And what it was, surprised her to no end.
It was a dress.
By no means extravagant, like Lord Juyn's robes, it was still well made and, in Louise's humble opinion, quite nice to look at. Looking back into the package, she found herself presented with what looked to be a few hair ties and a hairbrush. She opened her mouth, something – whether an exclamation or a question – on her lips, but nothing came. Her mind reeled at the package's contents, new questions added to the veritable ocean she gained earlier in the morning. One of which was: Where did he get this?
Knowing that her questions were not going to be answered until later, she looked up to the woman, who looked as impassive as stone. After a moment of silence, Louise forced herself to ask, "What is all this for?"
"I am to assist you in getting ready for dinner with Lord Juyn," the woman said.
"Oh…"
A half-hour later when the woman, Lieutenant Meetran as she had introduced, had finished helping Louise clean-up for the upcoming dinner.
It was awkward and tense for Louise, having Meetran fuss about with the Pinkette's appearance. But once the half an hour passed, she found herself thankful for the woman's assistance, despite her fears. Her hair had been brushed back to a semblance of what it once was, and tied into three ponytails, one high-top and two loose side tails that fell behind her ears and down onto her chest.
Aside from her pants and boots, her worker's garb was removed, replaced by the dress she had been given. V-necked with long tight sleeves detailed with militaristic black and grey designs. The bottom half of the dress was cut differently than any she had worn as the daughter of a duke, cut for movement in mind with two slits running up the side, ending roughly around her hips, making pants needed least one wished to show more than they wanted to.
All in all, Louise felt… far more alive than she had since arriving here. Like a breath of fresh air or a weight lifting from her shoulders or whatever idioms she could think of, it was refreshing, to say the least.
"Is it adequate, ma'am?" Meetran asked, her face never veering from impassiveness.
Louise nodded her head absently, still marvelling at her appearance.
"I will inform Lord Juyn of this," the woman continued with a nod. She turned around and began marching to the door, but before she reached it, she stopped. After a few seconds, she took a deep breath then span on her heels to face Louise. "Ma'am, if I may ask, is your hair naturally pink?"
Louise blinked at the question, not having expected such a question.
"Uh… yes…?" she answered, not really knowing how to properly
The woman smirked victoriously, inclined her head then left the Barracks, leaving an extremely confused Louise behind.
Once again, Louise was left alone in the room, waiting for Rayne to arrive.
…
It did not take long.
The door once again hissed open, about an hour or two later, revealing the dressed-up form of Rayne Arren. Despite the strangeness of her red skin, the glowing eyes and facial spikes, Louise thought she looked quite attractive, though the scowl did little favours. She wore a short black dress that looked quite tight against her skin, accentuating her curves and assets. It also happened to show quite a bit of skin with its low-cut neckline and lack of sleeves. Down her forearms were several black stripes that looked like painted arrows pointing towards her hands. Louise supposed it was some form of makeup her people wore.
Rayne seemed to find Louise almost immediately.
"Come on, it is unwise to keep a Sith Lord waiting." Knowing that Rayne was probably right, Louise quickly joined her side. Once there, the woman seemed to appraise her, the knowing glint in her glowing eyes making the Pinkette feel a bit uncomfortable. "Let's go."
With that, the two left the Barracks in silence. It seemed to be late in the afternoon, which meant that the day shift was about to end soon. A cool breeze wafted through the air, feeling quite pleasant against her skin. As they walked, Louise wished to start a conversation, to ask the questions that had been plaguing her since the start of the day, but every time she went to ask the question would die in her throat. Instead, she focused on walking and not making a fool of herself.
Eventually, they entered the building. Inside, it was bland and monotonous, pragmatic, militaristic and simple. Louise did not like the style, but she could appreciate it. The only décor she could see around the hallway were the red banners. The two girls walked through the hallway and up a few staircases, all the while passing several doors, some of which were open revealing what looked to be a bedroom and living room combo. They soon reached what looked to be the top floor, where they were met by a few more doors, one of which seemed to be their goal.
Through one of the door, Louise found herself met by a small room which was quite different than what she would normally associate with the living quarters of a noble. To sum it up, it was small and bare; the only bits of furniture being a dining table – already covered in a small array of foodstuffs – the chairs around it and a banner hanging on a wall. She could understand why it the room was bare, but she was expecting something more.
Speaking of the food, Louise could not help but stare at the assortment of food and drink. From what she could tell, there was a delectable stake, pre-cut, and some strange looking vegetables and what looked to be mashed potatoes. As for drinks, there were to available, a small ceramic cup of what looked like tea and a glass of water plus pitcher for refills.
Her mouth watered, her stomach grumbling, demanding to be filled. She froze, blushing profusely. She dares not look to Rayne who she knew was staring at her. Silently she cursed her stomachs poor timing.
A chuckle stole her attention, and lo and behold, Lord Juyn stood in the doorway of one of the branching rooms.
"I should have guessed such meal would have enticed you, especially after weeks of gruel," he said, smirking. Louise did not know what to say. Thankfully, it seemed she need not say a thing. "Before we begin, why don't we dig. Satiate your hunger first."
Louise wholeheartedly agreed. The three took a seat at the table and began to fill their plates. It took every single last bit of her willpower to not start shoving food into her mouth like some starved beast as she carefully filled her plate, making sure not to take too much, and only when Rayne and Juyn began to eat, did she. The taste was like a blessing from the Founder. She savoured each juicy bite of meat, each sip of the sweet tea like it was her last. It certainly did not taste like any food she had eaten in her short life, but nonetheless, it tasted wonderful.
"So, Miss Françoise," Juyn said, breaking the healthy content silence that hung as they ate, "how do you find your meal?"
"It's quite delicious, thank you," she answered, falling back on the etiquette lessons her tutor had taught when she was younger. She took another forkful of steak.
"Good, good." He smiled pleasantly, cutting into his own dish. "So, do you like your robes?"
Louise nodded, finishing off her mouthful before speaking. "Yes, they are quite comfortable."
"Good. I would hate for you to be stuck wearing those other clothes," he said. "They're nice for manual labour, tough and easy to clean, but they are lacking when it comes to other qualities."
She nodded again, absently. She had been curious about her dress, but suddenly, she felt another question bubble in her throat. With this, Louise decided to ask a question that had been bugging her since her arrival. "Why?"
"I apologise, but I'm going to need you to elaborate," Lord Juyn replied.
Louise paused, looking at the quality food on her plate to the dress she had been given. "Why are you treating me like this?"
The Sith considered her words for a moment, then answered. "Two different reasons, really. Firstly, the Dark Council wishes I discover the cause of the disturbance in the Force, which seems to have something to do with you; and secondly, you interest me."
Louise did not know what to think about that. He was interested in her. For some reason, she felt as if it was not a good thing to hold his interest. Nonetheless, she found that now was probably the best time to get some answers. Taking a deep breath, she asked, "Who are the Dark Council?"
The room became silent.
Lord Juyn and Rayne looked at each other, both looking quite confused for a moment. Rayne opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it. Louise raised her eyebrow at this, confused as to why such a question would solicit such a response.
Fortunately, Juyn recovered quickly enough, eying Louise curiously. "The Dark Council is the ruling body of the Sith Empire, answerable only to our Emperor… who you know nothing about." Louise shook her head, negative. "What of the Jedi and the Republic?" Once again, she shook her head. "Well, isn't this interesting… Tell me, where are you from?"
"I was born in the Kingdom of Tristain in Halkeginia," Louise asked, a sudden hope blooming in her heart for Juyn or Rayne to recognise the names.
Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. "I've not heard of a Kingdom of Tristain," he said, stroking his chin, "nor of a system or planet named Halkeginia."
Louise deflated. She should have expected that. After a moment, she decided to correct Juyn's strange assumption. "Halkeginia is not the planet, it's the continent," she said, then added. "We call the planet Alfheim. What do you call the planet?"
"Hmm… what can you tell me about Alfheim?" Juyn asked, utterly ignoring her question. "Do they have spacefaring technology?"
"Spacefaring…?" Louise echoed, her face scrunching up in confusion. Her mind supplied its meaning quickly enough, but its definition was so outlandish, impossible, to be true – sailing through the black starry void above, it was impossible to even conceive. "I… don't understand what you're saying."
Juyn paused, then asked, "Has anyone from your… homeland ever walked on the moon?"
Once again, Louise met his question with confusion and befuddlement. "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Nodding at her answer, Juyn continued with his questions. "Louise Françoise, where do you think you are?"
"I don't… know," she said, and truthfully, she had no idea. She did not tend to think much on the lands outside of Halkeginia; she knew of them, of course, knew how they affected her home, but it was not something she focused on. So, with this in mind, she asked, "Are we somewhere near Rub' al Khali, beyond the Easterlands?"
"I am to assume these are countries or lands near Halkeginia?" replied Juyn with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes…" she trailed off, the realisation that she was perhaps further from home making itself known. But despite the sudden sensation of being punched in the gut, Louise pushed on and continued trying to find out anything about this new land she found herself in. "So… if we're not near Halkeginia or Rub' al Khali, where are we?"
Lord Juyn paused for a moment, then, from his belt, he pulled two things from his belt. One was a hand sized thick disk with a concave curve along one side filled with small bumps filling it. The second was a rectangle with a glossy black piece of glass on one side and a few buttons around the edge. He pressed one of the buttons which caused the glass to light up with an image. It was a holoprojector and a datapad, her mind supplied respectively, strange devices that she had seen occasionally. He fiddled with the datapad, pressing a few buttons, the screen changing as he scrolled through the device.
The holoprojector lit up, several grainy and transparent blue orbs manifesting a hands length over the concave surface. One was large, hovering in the centre, with four much smaller ones surrounding it at varying distances. There were a few details on the holograms, different patterns on each orb. Louise also noticed that the smaller orbs seemed to be moving slowly around the larger one.
She had honestly no idea what she was looking at.
Juyn must have noticed as he gestured to the large central orb, "This is Ir, the yellow sun. And this," he pointed to the second orb closest to 'Ir,' "is Ir Elu, which is where we are."
Louise blinked, looking at the strange orbs then back to Juyn, then back to the orbs. She felt like she was missing something. "What does this mean?"
"It means, Louise, that you are not on Alfheim anymore," he said patiently.
Louise eyed Juyn strangely, digesting his words. "Wait…" she said, her mind coming to the only conclusion she could think of, despite its outlandish nature, "are you saying that I'm not actually on my world and that I am on another? That's preposterous!"
"Quite the opposite, actually," Juyn said. "You have all the proof around you. I'm sure you have noticed the difference in moons or even the differences in technology."
"I haven't seen the nights sky since I got here," Louise admitted.
"Well, for the sake of simplicity," Juyn began, "why don't you pretend to believe what I am saying is true, and when you leave you may check yourself."
"If I am on a different world, how could I have gotten here?" she asked, feeling rightfully sceptical. "I'd think I'd remember going to another world."
Juyn smiled. "And this is where our goals align," he said. "I have a feeling whatever caused this disturbance in the Force caused your arrival here… Tell me, do you have the concept of the Force on Alfheim?"
"I don't know what that is…"
"The Force is like…" he stopped, then reworded his question. "Do you have the concept of magic?"
"Yes, we have magic," Louise said with a nod, before quickly amending, "but there is no spell that could teleport someone, definitely not send someone to another world. Even if it could, I couldn't do it…" she continued, feeling ashamed by her admission, "I'm no mage."
Juyn hummed, tapping his chin with his index finger. "What was the last thing you remember before you woke up here?"
"I… don't remember," Louise replied, and truthfully, she didn't. The last thing she remembered was crying in front of everyone on that fateful day of the Summoning. Then, nothing.
"Well, hopefully, we can try and jog your memory…" Juyn said patiently. "But that can wait for later. At the moment, I would like to learn about Alfheim, and in return, I will tell you about the larger galaxy. Seem fair?"
"I guess," she mumbled.
"Good, now let us start with…" What followed was a number of questions directed at several different parts of her homeland, from its technology to its government to the magic and people. Louise answered all to the best of her abilities and was pleased that Juyn stayed away from her personal life, especially concerning her abilities with magic, of which there were none. Rayne was mostly quiet during these questions, only asking a few, but was otherwise content to observe.
Soon, however, Juyn exhausted his supply of questions and allowed Louise to ask her questions about the Sith Empire and the rest of the 'galaxy'. She still did not believe that she was on another world, the idea was too outlandish, but for now, she would pretend for the sake of the conversation, and thankfully, that mindset spared her from a harsh headache that came the more she learned of the 'galaxy' she found herself in. Millions, billions of worlds, just like her own or very much different scattered throughout the black starry void with civilizations populated by trillions. Technology that sounded far too much like magic, built by those without, allowing anyone to fly among the stars or harness the power of nature to create a simulacrum of life. It was far too fantastical to believe, far to fantastical to exist. Louise knew it had to be an exaggeration, yet the nature of these claims hit Louise hard.
Then, she was told of the Sith Empire and the Republic, two galactic superpowers in their own right and enemies until the end. It was a religious war, between the Sith Order and the Jedi Order – the attack dogs for the Republic, mages who sold their free will to the Republic. The Sith preached about power and passion as their core, with those with magic ruling over the masses of magic-less beings, while the Republic allowed corrupt businessmen and politicians to govern, sitting around arguing about laws and how to rule while bribes are passed around in the shadows.
By the end of it, Louise could not help but find herself feel sympathetic to the Sith as the Republic seemed more like an abominable amalgamation of corruption and unnatural ideas of how to run a government. However, despite this, she held no love for the Sith Empire. After all, they had enslaved her, tortured her and made her work herself to exhaustion in the mines. And so, she decided to confront the Sith about this. "But how can you serve an Empire so cruel?" she had asked at one point.
Lord Juyn sighed, leaning back in his chair while Rayne sat, watching the dialogue with interest in her eyes. "I can understand where you are coming from; you wake up in some strange land, lost and confused, only to find out that you've been enslaved by an Empire you know nothing about." He shook his head. "But you were merely a victim of circumstance. Commander Bosket is an effective officer, but dim-witted and inflexible; he found you in the middle of some slate plain, a stranger with no documentation, family, connections or anything of the sort, and decided to put you to work in the mines instead of coming to the Empire for us to deal with. He has been punished for this breach of protocol."
Louise squirmed uncomfortably, her mind conjuring terrible images of what the Commander's punishments might have been. "Does that mean I'll be freed?"
"Unfortunately, no. This is out of my jurisdiction and in the hands of the owner of this mining colony. If I were to take you now, it would lead to issues between my Sphere of Influence and the Sphere of Influence which rules over this colony," said Juyn, sounding the least bit apologetic. "But, there is something I can do. From what I've seen, Commander has a poor understanding of how to properly treat its workers. The Sith Empire believes firmly in rewarding loyalty and punishing dissent; as long as you do not cause any issue, the guards will be more tolerable. Should you or any other slave find yourselves wrongfully punished, I will deal with them. Not only that, but this installation has been lacking in proper funding, we will be improving several other things around here."
This did not answer Louise's question, so she pressed forwards, an ugly knot forming in her gut. "But why would your Empire have such a barbaric practice as slavery? Why would you do this?"
"I shall answer your question with another question," Juyn said, before asking. "How could you say slavery is evil when your own people own slaves?"
Louise crossed her arms, glaring at the Sith. "We don't have slaves, it has been outlawed centuries ago!"
"But you have serfs, do you not?" he replied innocently.
"They're not slaves," Louise said.
Juyn nodded as if agreeing with her but continued anyone. "Serfs are not owned by nobility, but they work the land for their lords, correct?"
"Yes, and the lord looks after them in turn."
"And when a lord sells the land to another lord, what happens then?" asked Juyn, smirking as if he had already won the argument.
"The serf then works for that lord," she answered truthfully, suddenly feeling like she had made a mistake.
Juyn's smirk became sharper. "So, serfs and the land they work on are intertwined; the fate of the land reflecting the fate of the serf. To me, the line between serfdom and slavery are blurred so much that the only difference I can see is that one is called serfdom and the other is called slavery."
"That's not true," she retorted, felling infuriated that she had to argue about this. "serfs can leave if they wish and they are not treated, treated like… this." She gestured to the shock collar upon her neck.
"Are you sure about that?" the Sith pressed, still smirking in that annoying way. "If a serf was ordered by their lord to work not as a farmer or construction worker but as their personal maid, would they be forced to oblige?"
"No, they have a choice," she said adamantly.
"Do they, really?" he asked. "In the Empire, people abuse their power, such as Commander Bosket with you, but could you say differently for your own people? Have there never been reports of nobility abusing those under them? Have you never thought about the commoners who serve you, how they might have had dreams of a better life, yet have to serve your every whim because they cannot deny their lords? If you can say that your nobility doesn't abuse their power, then I will concede, but if you cannot say that, then my point stands." Louise wanted to answer, to tell him that there were laws that stopped nobles from abusing their servants, but she knew that, even with the law, abuse was still there. Many a time she had heard Mother and Father talk about the latest rumours about other nobles and their questionable actions towards those under them, whether they be from Tristain or other countries. "You can't, can you?"
"It's just… wrong." It was the most she could articulate, the most she could say and she felt sick that she could not say anymore.
Juyn tilted his head, questioningly. "Why? Would you prefer them begging for coin on the streets, with no food or a roof above their heads? We are not the Republic who would pretend to care while people starve and suffer. As slaves, they are given clothes, shelter, and food. Some are even literate and learned. Not only that but in some cases, a slave's loyalty can be rewarded with freedom, allowing them to rejoin society as full Imperial citizens."
"If they survive that long, that is," she grumbled.
"Don't let the condition of this mine fool you," Juyn said dismissively. "While there are slaves who work in the mines or in construction, there are a fair amount who work as maids, nannies, and butlers; servants who look after the estates of their owners. Others work side by side with their owners, acting as a second pair of hands."
Louise remained unconvinced, yet she did not wish to continue arguing about such things. She had no idea how much time had passed, but she knew that it must have been late into the night. So, after a few more reluctant questions form the Pinkette, she decided that it was time to end the night. "I thank you for dinner, milord."
"Yes, it was quiet… illuminating. I have sent for Lieutenant Meetran to escort you back, I hope you do not mind."
Louise did not mind and wished to just go to bed. Meetran arrived quickly enough and soon, the two had left the building, on their way back to the Barracks.
During the walk, she remembered what Juyn had said and found her eyes looking at the dark night sky. She expected to see the twin moons hanging up in the sky, surrounded by a sea of stars, but instead, they seemed to be replaced by four small white orbs glowing dimly overhead. The realisation was like a massive crushing weight had just been dropped on her shoulders, weighing her down.
Lieutenant Meetran looked to Louise, her expression impassive. "Ma'am, it would be best if we got a move on."
Louise nodded absently, not really knowing what to say or do. There, in the sky, was proof of everything Lord Juyn had said, of massive Empires that spanned inconceivable distances, of billions of worlds and thousands of alien creatures. They continued to the Barracks, eventually passing through the two electric doors to the living area of the slaves. Meetran quickly excused herself, leaving a shell-shocked Louise to gaze vacantly at her fellow slaves, her new understanding of the world, galaxy, plaguing her mind.
Ren came to her side almost immediately, worry and confusion etched in his alien features. He was speaking, that much she knew, asking her about what happened and what she was wearing, but she could not bring herself to respond or care. Her eyes did not meet his, looking past him towards the other slaves, who she could not help but notice were looking at her strangely.