***28 February 2005 - Pretending
“You will be sold into slavery for the coming two weeks to pay off your fine.”, the stormtrooper said to Aaricia.
Her eyes widened but she said nothing, she kept herself as silent as possible, which was a very tough job for her.
Pretend they have the power over you, Val-Tane’s words echoed in her head.
She sighed, her sweating hands resting on the arms of the interrogation chair.
“So patient #12388-45667 is to be as my child for the coming two weeks?”, Nora the droid asked with a metallic voice.
Aaricia grinned slightly.
“NO you piece of junk!”, the trooper sighed at Nora.
One of the troopers walked towards Aaricia and removed the straps, that had pinned her on the chair, from her hands.
“Stand up, slave.”, another ordered.
Aaricia got up from the chair with a sigh and obediently walked towards the enemy. Rudely he removed her necklace and replaced it with a slave collar.
No don’t punch him in
the face- stay calm Aaricia.. soon you are out of here.
She sighed. She could have been tortured like last time again, and after this executed.. but they apparently hadn’t done a thorough background check on Salmia Lanark’s ID, guess they only considered her as some annoying random citizen. If only they knew who she really was.. inside of herself she smiled.
“The two of you are to get an ID as soon as possible.”, the trooper ordered them both, “Understand?”
They nodded, Nora twitched.
“Follow me, juvenile.”
“She is not your child.. she is a slave.”, the trooper repeated impatiently, “Give this to Iara, you heap of malfunctioning junk.”
Then they left the garrison building, the building where Aaricia was tortured only a month ago and where she was released from now.. she had been so terrified, terrified that they would find out who she really was. But apparently her ‘casual’ acting was good enough to not make them very suspicious. She had only yawned..
She thought back to yesterday.. like cattle they had been herded into the desert, flanked by several AT-ST’s and a lot of stormtroopers. Some lecture was to be given, by some Imperial ‘war hero’.
Val-Tane, she and several others from the
Several days ago a lot of uprisings had started in this
galactic sector, on several planets. Finally, people were quitting their
‘duties’ to the Empire and had started to fight. It had turned out into an
overall war situation. If you walked through Mos Entha these days you would
definitely see several dead bodies lying on the streets, and patrolling
Imperials with AT-ST’s, shooting every insurgent on sight. Now the oppression
was really visible.. a lot of people were getting arrested. It was very
dangerous these days, especially for people that served the
In the desert a stage became visible, flanked by a lot of Imperial flags, a few landed Tie bombers and a Tyderian shuttle. On the stage there was a microphone, and behind the microphone an old looking Imperial officer was standing, staring at the crowd. Never Aaricia had seen so many stormtroopers at one spot by her own eyes..
Oh my god, we walked
right into the lion’s den.. and haven’t even a pistol. We walked right into a
trap..
“Monitor the crowd.”, she heard a voice. She felt how they were watching them all.. their paranoia.
Stay calm Aaricia,
hide amongst the crowd..
She wondered who were with more: the Imperials or them. The officer on the stage started talking with a very fanatic voice.
We are the barrier
against chaos, we protect you.. you are already free. The rebels are evil
terrorists and if you know any rebel that is here on the lecture then tell this
now!
Her eyes widened.. she was scared that somebody might point at her or one of her friends, but everybody remained silent.
In the background she heard the troopers talking in their helmet comms with soft voices.
Somebody tapped on her shoulder..
“Let’s make some party from this.. they ask for it!”, Val-Tane whispered to her with a grin.
“How? We will get shot right away.. what can we do? Look at their numbers!”
The man grinned at her.
“We can run.”
“Eurm.. we will never escape.”, she said with a trembling soft voice, “Will we?”
They will definitely
kill us! Or am I getting too chicken?
She hesitated but when she looked left she saw troopers staring at them..
So she watched the ‘war hero’ again, and sighed. The man was getting more and more fanatic. She yawned..
“You!”, he exclaimed suddenly and pointed at.. her.
“Take her to the stage!”
What the heck..
damnit!
There was no way out of here, two stormtroopers pushed her onto the stage.
There she was, again.. on a stage, being watched by a big crowd, looking into the eyes of the enemy..
“Tell me.. am I that boring?”, the man asked her fanatically.
“Eurm of course not officer, I’m sorry if I looked like that.. it was not my meaning.”
He made a gesture to her to come to him.
“What if you go standing behind the microphone and you tell me your opinion about the rebels..”
Her eyes widened, she felt the eyes of the crowd watching her. She could kick the man in his balls, that felt the most appropriate.. but she would be killed then.
“Well..?”, he stared at her, “What do you think of people that kill your family..”
She clenched her fists.
What do I think of
you.. well I’ll tell you what I think of-
“The people that kill my family, what I think of them?”, she yelled furiously, “I’ll tell you what I think of them.. I FUCKING HATE THEM! I want to kill the people that kill my family!”
He raised an eyebrow at her, she had to keep herself from jumping on him to strangle the man, with eyes full of hate she stared at him.
“Take her to the back of the stage, I want to have a talk with her after my lecture.”, he ordered his troopers.
“Move it!”, a trooper prodded her in the back with his rifle, suddenly she felt really cold although it was a very hot day. Fear was taking control of her.
She had to get out of here.. pretend like they have power over you, you will have the biggest chance
to escape.. you know what they want from you!
“Say it!”, she heard a voice, she couldn’t see who said that but she knew it was directed to her.
She turned around.
“The rebels are terrorists and they have to die!”, she yelled.
The man turned back at her and raised an eyebrow at her, then he turned back at the public. No, she was not to be released.. and now.. nooo what had she just said.. NOO! She felt the eyes of her friends penetrating her, the cold glances. She had betrayed them..
She got searched, her ID got taken and then they pushed her on the ground. What had she just done.. she hated herself! She wanted to yell, she wanted to cry, but she could do nothing. She buried her face in her hands and waited..
Some others were arrested too, and they were put on the ground next to her. When she looked up she saw Daesk sitting in front of her, and some Zabrak on the right.
I’m sorry for what I
have said..
He looked friendly but sad at her.
It’s ok Aaricia, we
are not angry at you..
After what felt like ages suddenly a bomb exploded and some troopers were thrown on the ground around Aaricia and the others. Maybe this was the chance to run.. she jumped up but immediately a trooper pushed her and she fell back on the ground. They were again surrounded with too many of them, she cursed in herself. She heard the ‘war hero’ shouting accompanied with laserblasts.. the crowd was dispersing, they were running in different directions hunted by the Imperials. Within a few minutes the Imperials and she, the Zabrak and Daesk were left.
The officer from the speech walked towards her.
“Take her onto the stage.”, he said with an angry voice.
One of the cadets held her right arm painfully on her back as he pushed her onto the stage.
“W.. what do you want me to say?”, Aaricia said, scared.
“In the middle.. so let’s continue where we were.. explain why you weren’t bored and then tell me also why you are not a rebel.”
Feeling nervous she stared at the man, searching for words.. fast.
He slapped her in the face.
“Ok ok I was bored!”, she then yelled, hoping he would become less aggressive if she just admitted this.
Then he hit her again in the face and her nose started bleeding.
“I have heard enough.. get her off the stage!”
They had to walk a very long way through the desert, being prodded in their backs by stormtroopers if they didn’t walk fast enough. There was no escape possibility. Aaricia thought of Val-Tane’s words..
There are several
meditation techniques which can be very effective in combating the effects of
interrogation.
She begged the Force that they wouldn’t interrogate her again, that they wouldn’t find out who she really was.. that they would let her go soon. Would they? Maybe they would be killed, executed as an example to scare off the other people. After the uprisings the Empire had become very very harsh.
“Bow to the AT-ST and name five reasons why the Empire is a superior government.”, she heard the trooper saying as she exited the medcentre after having looked for a doctor. They were all standing outside of the southern entrance, seemed that they were forced to do this. In front of them there were stormtroopers accompanied with an AT-ST. Lyzzie was standing in the little crowd too.
She saw one of the doctors, a nice Twi’lek from which she had forgotten the name, bowing to the AT-ST and nervously saying some reasons why the Empire is superior.
She shook her head.
“This is ridiculous.”, she mumbled.
“You.”, one of the troopers suddenly pointed at her, “Come here.”
She walked towards the enemy.
“Is there a problem officer?”, she asked him neutrally.
“What were you saying.”, the trooper barked at her.
“I was wondering what the reasons behind this action of yours is.. what sense does it make? What is the good of forcing people to tell five reasons why the Empire is superior in finding rebels?”
The trooper stared at her.
“I don’t understand the logic of it sir.”, she continued sincere.
“Are you trying to outsmart us?!?”, the trooper then yelled at her, “WHAT IF I PUT MY RIFLE AGAINST YOUR HEAD? Now move along, next time you won’t be this lucky..”
She shrugged and walked back into the medcentre, grinning.
I haven’t tried to
outsmart you, I already did.
“Kiss the feet of the armored transport!”, she then heard.
She turned around, but it was not her that they were talking to, it was Xanado. As she feared Xanado didn’t do this, and they started shooting at him.. and captured him. She gasped and dragged Val-Tane out of the medcentre, where he was sitting on a bed.
Val-Tane started to act, she was impressed.
He had just returned to this sector today, after half a year. She never expected that he would have come back, as he was disappeared. She had thought that he was captured by the Empire or something. But no, he was stranded on a strange planet and spent the time there. And now he was back, which she liked much as she had liked him. Although she hadn’t been able to know him very well as he had disappeared so soon.
Now he acted like Xanado was some servant of him.. but the Empire didn’t ‘take’ this and they shot him down too.
Do something Aaricia!!
But what?!?
She hesitated, feeling bad. It was like she had become more and more chicken the last days.. since she had taken the spy job. She wanted to keep a good cover.. but those were her best friends, lying on the ground in front of her.
The troopers started beating them.. and she gasped when she saw some cops doing the same thing with her friends.
“NOOOOO!!”, she yelled, “STOP IT, STOP BEATING UP MY FRIENDS!!”
She walked towards them, her fists clenched. But then one of the troopers raised his gun at her and started shooting. The others did the same. She ran away, trying to avoid the blasterfire, screaming. After she turned around the corner of the medcentre’s wall she collapsed, several blaster wounds on her legs and arm.
“This cannot continue for longer.. this has to stop!”, one of the doctors said with an angry voice, while she looked at the girl lying on the bed, covered with blaster wounds.
“Will you be alright Salmia?”
Aaricia nodded.
“I will.”, she said with a bitter voice, “I will..”
“Come let’s go to the lecture, it is always handy to know how the enemy thinks.”
Val-Tane nodded.
“Definitely!”, he said and grinned at Aaricia.
But when they were standing in the theatre entrance, sandwiched between the Empire and the MEPD, devoid of any weapons she shuddered.
Am I getting too
chicken?
“Move it.”
Aaricia followed the other two unlucky people into the cell. At least they were not separated. They searched them again, one by one.
“Aren’t you a good doggy.”, the cadet said to Daesk and smirked at the bothan.
Aaricia sighed when she heard this, sitting on one of the beds. What would happen? She stared at one of the camera’s that were recording every action of them. She bit her lip, feeling terrified while thinking about last time when she was detained by the Empire.
It’s ok Aaricia, just
pretend like they have the power over you..
it is the only way out of here.. if they won’t find out who you really
are that is..
PLEASE DON’T LET THEM
FIND OUT.. I DON’T WANNA DIE!
“Here Salmia, take the control device.”, Lalamalani whispered to Aaricia, and secretly handed over the device to the girl.
“Thanks, I’ll be alright. It is only for two weeks and I’m with friends. Worse things could have happened, much worse..”, Aaricia said to her with a soft voice, while putting the control device of her slave collar into one of her pockets.
The Twi’lek nodded at her. Aaricia walked towards one of the medcentre’s beds and let herself fall on it. She felt a lot of anger, powerless anger. But also fear.
She feared that she was getting too chicken. She remembered what she had yelled at the lecture, from the stage. With a sad feeling she fell asleep.