She was in one of the upper apartments overlooking Victory Plaza. From here Samka could see the crowds gathering below, chattering among themselves excitedly. The children especially seemed enthralled with the bright lights hanging from buildings, lamps and almost anything else tall enough to hold them but of course most people were here to see the tree. Watching the people, Sam felt pride in the Imperial spirit to continue living life in the fullest despite the recent tragedy which had befallen this world. A thin smile crossed her lips as she could make out the bodies of two children weaving in and out of the crowds, playing a game of chase or racing to reach certain landmarks. Something like that.
Despite serving the Order of Ren for years now, she'd not seen a Life Day celebration in First Order territory. Every year she'd been stuck inside, training or studying. For the Ren, this was a day no different than any other. They were not the type to hang multi-coloured lights over their temples in celebration of what was once a Wookie holiday. Before that, she was on Cloud City, Bespin, before the First Order's boarders stretched so far. Come to think of it, Sam reflected as she thought back to the last Life Day she could remember, her childhood home may not have been too different from the Order of Ren in that respect at least.
Six Years Ago
"Can't I just have a break?" Sam groaned. The numbers on the datapad in front of her had begun to merge together. They had stopped making sense a long time ago but now it felt as though even the girl's vision was giving out.
The figure of her father loomed over her,
"No." The man shook his head.
"Not when you're so close. Come, this is a simple problem. If the square root of X is 12, how would you discover what X is?" He said as though repeating the question she could already read on the datapad would help.
"None of the other children have to study on Life Day," she grumbled under her breath.
"Which gives you an advantage over them," her father's voice rose dangerously.
"Do not disobey me, Samka. Your education is of the utmost importance. This," he gestured to the numbers on screen,
"is how the galaxy is built. How starships run and buildings are constructed. Without this there would be no civilisation."
Sam's gaze was fixed firmly on the floor, to the child, there was no one scarier than her father. She nodded, unable to speak or look up at him, such was her fear. Her father sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, a hand Sam desperately wanted to shake off.
"I'm going to get a drink. I shall be about three minutes. I hope you have found the solution once I get back. I only want what is best for you, my dear. I hope you remember that," and with that, the man left the room.
Samka paused for a moment, listening to his footsteps outside the room grow fainter. Once she was certain her father would not return, the girl hopped out of the chair on her desk and walked over the other side of her study room. Past the shelves filed with data on math, language, literature, history and the song sheets she'd been practising her singing with just over an hour before, sat a stuffed
Narglatch. It's features were more appealing to children than the real predator with a friendly smile and big eyes. Picking it up, Sam gave the toy a comforting squeeze. At ten years old, she was probably getting a bit too old for such things but it wasn't as if she had anyone else to turn to at home. Her toys were the friends to make her feel better and tell secrets to.
"I hate him," Sam told the Narglatch.
The stuffed toy smiled in agreement.
"Why's he so mean to me?" She asked the Narglatch.
The stuffed toy's blank smile told Sam that he too did not know.
"Because he's a karkhead," came a muffled reply from the window.
A multitude of emotions washed through the girl and her cheeks lit up bright red, 1) that was horrible language 2) someone had seen her cuddling and talking to a toy 3) she knew that voice and even now it made her happy.
"Madlin?!" Sam spun around to the window. It was like a dream, there was her best friend, her only real friend floating at the window side. The Zeltron girl gave a wave and beamed at her. Sam dashed over and opened the window. On closer inspection she could see her friend was standing on a small floating speeder piloted by a droid.
"You shouldn't use such frightful language! And is this legal?"
"Nice to see you too," the Zeltron smirked. Madlin was a few years her senior at thirteen years old. Her body had yet to develop the typical curves associated with the species yet she was marked as Zeltron by a pink hue to her skin and purple hair. It was a mystery to Samka why such a girl had chosen to befriend someone like her but she accepted it with gratitude anyway.
"Wanna go on an adventure? It's life day, Samy! You can't be stuck inside! They're having a ceremony on the upper platforms, you can see all across Cloud City, where everything is lit up. It's beautiful! You have to see it, Sam!"
Sam paused, gazing at Madlin's extended hand. She bit her lip and threw a glance back at the doorway her father had left through, he'd be returning any moment now... did she dare?
Present Day
Sam's memories were interrupted by a cough and splutter behind her, it seemed her
companion had finally woken up. Pulling herself from the window, Sam turned back towards a man restrained to a chair.
He looked at her with unfocused eyes, his body language betraying fear and confusion. A member of the military suspected of offering to sell secrets to the Ssi-Ruuk during the occupation of Dosuun. A public tribunal would reveal too much to the public, unravel their narrative of a united patriotic front against the invader. Sometimes things had to be done quietly.
"Shhh," Sam ordered as he opened his mouth to speak.
"I don't need your words, only your mind." With that she thrust an open palm forward and painfully breached her victim's mental barriers, ripping it apart to find evidence of his guilt.
The man's screams would go completely unnoticed by the merry crowds gathered in the streets below.
