The Outer Rim

Orbiting Kedrun IV

The flagship of Darth Ordatus 'Pristis'

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reliqus strained her eyes to catch one last glimpse of the facility she had called her home for so long. She sat next to the port-side window of the small shuttle belonging to her new Master. Sat next to her was the man calling himself her Master, Reliqus and the other slaves were told he was a Sith Lord, it wasn't the first time a Sith had come to the facility to acquire slaves, but something was different this time. 

To begin with, he felt different to the other Sith that had come before him, Reliqus remembered being terrified of the previous Sith, but when she first saw this one something told her not to be scared, so she wasn't, despite his giant size and cold gaze she wasn't scared. Even so, she didn't entirely understand what had happened or why, this Lord Ordatus ordered her to call him Master, just like the other slaves who were taken before her, but he also told her she was his apprentice, not his slave.

Apprentice, no slave that she knew had been an 'apprentice' before, what does it mean? Is it something to do with the force? Even as a slave Reliqus had been taught about the force, the weapon of the Sith, and her master said that she was strong with it. She thought, maybe that meant he was going to teach her how to use it, but she did not understand why it was her. "Apprentice, that is my command ship, the Pristis, it will be your home for the next few weeks." Reliquses thoughts were interrupted by her Master pointing to their destination. Ahead of their shuttle was a large, looming empire ship, black stripes streaked down the visible side, giant cannons shifted angles in their emplacements and lights illuminated the command room sitting far above looking over the rest of the ship. Two small fighters flew out of the hangar they were approaching.

"My Lord, we were not expecting you back so early... I - I apologise for the delay." A voice over the intercom crackled into existence, whoever the man was, he sounded a little worried.

"I told you I would be swift, Redvis." Ordatus grunted a reply. The two fighters flew by either side of their shuttle as they passed through the hangars magnetic field. Reliquses strange master stood up uncrossing his arms as he approached the shuttle door. He turned to face Reliqus signalling her to follow. "Come, apprentice. I shall introduce you to my men." The floor shook with a gentle thud as their shuttle landed in the hangar. The large rear door opened revealing three Empire soldiers. 

"I... Apologise for the lack of reception my lord." The closest Empire soldier bowed his head. His grey hair held streaks of faded red, he wore a small well kept beard, which was unusual for a soldier of the Empire. His skin was worn, but he would have be considered handsome if not for the large scar that reached from his mangled ear to his rigid nose.

"It's fine, Redvis, this is my own ship after all. Fanfare is reserved for guests." The hulking Sith Lord lowered his great hood, his cold eyes fixated on the two other soldiers. "Where are my usual Guards?" Ordatus strode towards the man he called Redvis without a change in his expression. The only sound in the hangar being the clank of his boots on the metal floor. Was he angry? Reliqus didn't think so, somehow she could sometimes feel what others felt and her master didn't feel angry. 

Redvis kept his head bowed. "It's my fault Lord, I believed you would be gone for a few weeks, I granted your usual guards a few days on the recreational floor." Her master stroked his long beard between his thumb and forefinger. 

"You made the correct decision, Admiral. They haven't had a real rest in weeks. An unrested soldier, is a useless soldier. You may raise your head." Admiral? Reliqus had heard that word before. Is it a title like Commander? Does it mean that he gets to boss people around too? 

The Admiral sighed with relief, raising his head and relaxing his posture to a level that was barely noticeable. With his head raised he seemed to notice the tiny green-skinned child behind his lord. "So this the one, My Lord?" Holding his hands behind his back, he nodded his head towards the now ex-slave.

The child's master turned his head to face her. "Yes, it was an easy decision. She is strong with the force. Her name is Reliqus." He motioned her to come forward, with a bow Reliqus stood at her masters side. Now standing next to her master, the small child mimicked the pose of those around her placing her hands behind her back. For some reason Admiral Redvis brought one of his hand to his mouth covering a snort.

Redvis knelt down placing his arms on his knee. "It is good to meet you, my Lady." The Admiral gave Reliqus a light smile.

"My Lady!? Admiral I have kept my mouth shut so far, but I must protest, she is a slave, and an alien at that. You should not lower yourself to her!" One of the guards raised his voice whilst walking over. His brow arched in anger. 

"Wait, Hawk!" The other guard grabbed his arm, the man named Hawk attempted to shake him off.

Redvis stood up, a calm disgust upon his face. "Captain, you are acting beyond your station, do not forget that the Sith are above us." A large, gloved hand was thrust in front of the advancing Admiral, it belonged to their master.

"Be calm Redvis. Arrogance is a virtue in the eyes of the Sith." Lord Ordatus calmly stated.

With a bead of sweat upon his brow, Hawk bowed. "Thank you my lo-"

"However, you did insult my apprentice, and an insult to my apprentice, is an insult to me." Hawk grasped at his neck as his body was unnaturally raised in to the air. Reliqus looked over at her master, his arm outstretched towards the imperial soldier, fingers tightening. She had seen Sith do this before, her master was using the force to punish his subordinate. However she was confused, she could feel no anger from Ordatus, rather... Disappointment. "And I cannot allow such a thing to go unpunished, now can I?"

The two other soldiers in the room began to panic, for some reason their reaction was a little amusing to Reliqus. "pl-please Lord Ordatus, forgive him!" The Admiral begged in a desperate voice. 

Lord Ordatus sighed with slight exasperation. With a flick of his wrist Hawk fell to the floor and began to gasp for any air he could find. "Do not fear Admiral, you should know me better than that by now. I am no sadistic savage like many of my people, but my soldiers still need discipline." Redvises expression was filled with relief. "Besides, I have a need for these two." Ordatus motioned towards the guards.

After helping Hawk up the other guard seemed confused. "Us my Lord?" He pointed to himself then to Hawk with a worried expression.

The Sith Lord nodded. "Do not worry, Lieutenant, I am merely assigning the two of you to be my apprentices personal guards." After announcing his intention the Sith Lord place his hand upon the head of his apprentice. She felt warmth from his hand, it was gentle and without malice. After looking up at her Masters figure with a small smile, Reliqus returned her attention to the two that would apparently be her guards. To her, it seemed that Hawk wanted to complain again, but he must have learnt his lesson.

The Lieutenant kept his hand firmly on Hawks shoulder, possibly to keep him grounded. "I understand my Lord." He gave Ordatus an awkward smile. 

Ordatus grunted in approval. "Good, now I must contact the Dark Council, if they found out I kept them waiting it would not go well for anyone on this ship." Ordatus ushered Reliqus forward. "Come my apprentice, they will wish to see you as well." Reliqus rushed up to her Masters side, her heart rate quickening, she had heard of the Dark Council, those in charge of the entirety of the Sith, and she who was a slave is about to meet them? A pit formed in her stomach.

They began to walk down a long grey corridor, the Admiral was in front of them Reliqus and her Master took the middle whilst her two new guards were taking up the rear. It was odd to think that she would have her own guards, is that what her being an apprentice means?

"Apprentice." Her Masters low growl of a voice caught her off guard slightly. "You haven't said a single word since we arrived on the Pristis, but I do not feel fear in you." He focuses his eyes on hers. "Why do you not speak?"

Reliqus was confused, she thought she could only speak when given permission? That's how it was before. "You had not given me permission to speak, Master." She replied in a slightly meek voice.

Ordatus scratched his beard. "Hmm." He began to mutter under his breath, Reliqus could only make out a few words. "...Imperial... only a child..." After a slight pause Master Ordatus sighed. "Reliqus, as my apprentice you have permission to speak your mind at almost any point. The exception being when we talk to other Sith, then you must only speak when spoken too. Especially in regards to any member of the Dark Council. Is that clear?"

Reliqus scrunched up her brow, I can say whatever I want? she thought. Reliqus didn't entirely understand the implications of what that meant, she noticed her master waiting for a reply, not wanting to annoy him she hesitantly nodded. "I understand master." For now she decided to only speak when she needed to.

Admiral Redvis had slowed his pace to walk on the other side of the Sith. "Lord Ordatus, there are a few things I need to discuss with you, I did not wish to interupt for conversation, but if you're finished..?" 

"I am. Reliqus, why don't you get to know your guards a little better, after all you will be spending a lot of time together." Her master gave her shoulder a soft pat. Reliqus stopped walking and bowed towards her master, that's what she thought she should do. She began to walk again when her guards caught up.

The Lieutenant she didn't know the name of spoke first. "I haven't actually introduced myself yet My Lady. My name is Aavon Irris." Aavon smiled, Reliqus thought he seemed friendlier than Hawk. Lieutenant Irris motioned his head towards his fellow guard. "And this is Kaston Ruhl, called Hawk by most of us." 

Reliqus didn't quite understand. "Hawk?" Why did they call him Hawk, if that isn't his name?

"Yes Ma'am, we call him that for two reasons. One he's got the best eyes out of any soldier under Darth Ordatuses command, and secondly he's too grumpy, hates nicknames, so we do it to punish him a bit." Aavon revealed a cheeky smirk whilst Hawk grumbled.

A nickname, a lot of the slaves gave each other nicknames, since they weren't allowed real names. Although Reliqus was never given one, she didn't really stand out enough to be given one. "Are you friends?" She asked them a question, it was an odd sensation to talk to Imperial soldiers so freely.

Aavon scratched his hairless chin. "Well, as much as you can be with this guy." He shrugged his shoulders. "we're both from noble houses and our parents are allies, so we were sort of forced to play together as children." Aavon smiled in a way that seemed to say 'what can you do'. Reliqus smiled back. Next to Aavon Hawk was grinding his teeth, it seemed as though he wanted to say something rather badly. Seeing this Aavon sighed. "Just ignore him my Lady, like I said we're nobles, the idea of serving an ex slave is a very difficult thing for him to comprehend."

"It's not difficult for you?" Reliqus tilted her head towards Aavon.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Aavon scratched the back of his head. "It's the difference in our upbringing. Hawk's family is old and traditional, looking down on aliens, slaves the poor, just typical Empire stuff. My family rose to power relatively recently, our slaves are treated well, they get paid and even have days off. My father even let one of our oldest slaves help with my combat training." The Lieutenant smiled, then paused thinking about something. "Although, you are just a child, I suppose you might not really understand what a lot of that means.."

Reliqus understood enough, she understood that Hawk was a lot like those who used to beat her and the others, and Aavon was a lot nicer. She understood that she didn't like Hawk very much and wished some one else would be her guard instead of him. "I sort of get it, I think." She replied to him. Aavon smiled.

Reliqus noticed that the two men were quite young, before he concentration was purely on the Admiral and her Master, but now she could have a good look at them. Hawk had sharp features, screwed up in his clear anger. He had black hair with thin sideburns and green eyes. Aavon was quite contrasting, ginger hair with tell-tale freckles that usually come along with it. Dark brown eyes, and a well formed face. He didn't look like a typical Imperial, to say the least.

Whilst staring at the two men, Reliqus hit something hard. "oof!" Rubbing her nose she looked up to see she had bumped in to the back of her master. Looking past him, she could see they had stopped in front of a raising door. Her Master and the Admiral turned around to face her.

Ordatus returned to scratching his beard. "Hmm, you may be right, Admiral..." The apprentice stood confused, she looked up at her master with a head tilt. "Ah, yes, you won't have heard us. The Admiral was just advising me that it would be best to put you in something a little more... Presentable. There's nothing we can do about you just being skin and bone for now, but we can at least dress you better." Reliqus looked down at her clothes, she hadn't really thought about, but she was still in her slave rags, it didn't seem strange to her. "Take her inside to my personal wardrobe, pick out any torso robe, it should be enough to cover her entire body which will have to do until we return home."

With a low hum, the door infront of the party opened, a large room came in to focus. Against the wall, a bed made of black wood and large enough to fit Ordatus four times over. Against another wall sat a table made of the same wood, with six chairs placed neatly around it. Other than general decoration there was only one other item of real note in the room, a large holo-terminal built against the wall opposite the bed. On either side of the bed there were two door, Reliquses guards led her to the closest one.

Reliqus guessed this must have been her masters wardrobe considering the conversation, she turned her head to see her master pressing various buttons on the-holo terminal. "Me and Hawk will wait out here my Lady, it would be inappropriate otherwise." Reliqus turned back to face the voice, it was the Lieutenant, he appeared somewhat nervous.

Reliqus cocked her head, "Inappropriate?" She asked. Being brought up a slave her whole life, the young girl had no idea about the proper etiquette in the world she was so recently thrust in to.

Hawk let out a sound of complaint whilst Aavon scratched his chin laughing. "Aye, let's just say you'll understand when you're older ma'am. Just go inside and choose whatever robe you want. Not entirely understand, but nodding none the less, Reliqus did as she was asked. 

The room inside was larger than the cage her and the other slaves were kept in, lining the walls hung all manner of black clothing, cloaks, robes, trousers. Reliqus sighed however, there was a lot of choice, but at the same time very little. She didn't want to wear black, she didn't think it suited her even if her hair was black. The ex-slave knew that this was selfish of her, and it would be the first time she's ever been selfish, but they told her to choose what she wanted. Looking at the robes, her eyes narrowed, there she could see a glimmer of another colour; another shade. Reaching in to the hanging robes she pulled out a white robe, from the gathering dust and lack of damage it would seem her master had not worn it once. Which figures, really. Without hesitation she placed the robe around herself. It reached down to her feet, it was warm and soft.

Satisfied she removed her slave rags and tightened the robe. Joining her master back in his room. "Ooh? An interesting choice, my young apprentice. Such a shade is not usually favoured by the Sith." Her master nodded with approval, which made Reliqus quite joyful. "Now come Reliqus, kneel next to me, and only stand when I do." So that meant it was time, time to meet those in charge of the Empire that enslaved her. Reliquses heart skipped a beat.

Her two guards stood guard by the front door whilst the Admiral knelt on the other side of Lord Ordatus. A human sized hologram flickered to life upon the terminal. A tall, thin man appeared in front of them. He wearing a long draping hood with red cloth spikes hanging down from it. Hanging from his neck a strange metal symbol shaped like a mouth shook lightly. A cruel grin spread almost unnaturally across his face. "Ordatus..." The mans voice sent shivers down Reliquses spine with a single word.

"Lord Eviss. I... Was expecting the Dark Council not the mouth of the Emperor himself." Reliqus glanced over at her master, his eyes still showed little emotion, but she could feel he was troubled.

Lord Eviss chuckled. "The Dark Council does not assemble for one reason such as this, Ordatus you should know that." The Sith lord looked towards Reliqus, which seemed to turn the air cold around her. "This must be your chosen acolyte, hmm Ordatus?" He said with a mocking voice.

Lord Eviss glanced back to Reliquses master. "Yes, Lord Eviss. I gave her the name of Reliqus." Ordatus gave an obedient replied. 

Evisses smirk disappeared for a moment. "I did not ask for the slaves name." The Sith Lord turned his focus back to Reliqus. "Stand, slave-girl. Let me look at you." Not wanting to upset her master, she looked to him first. With a nod of permission she did as the holographic Lord Eviss ordered her to. He began to study her. After less than a minute he smirked. "She is already loyal to you Ordatus. I do not know how you managed it, but congratulations. Although there will be many on the council who wont be as pleased about it." Reliqus felt the strange coldness that surrounded her body dissipate, as Eviss turned back to face her master. "You may stand now Ordatus." Eviss nonchalantly waved his hand.

Ordatus stood and the Admiral followed close behind. "Thank you, Lord Eviss. Does the Emperor have an order for me?" Asked Ordatus, straight on to business.

Lord Eviss placed his hand behind his back and sniggered. "Is that it Ordatus? No 'It's good to see you again?" Ordatus replied with a stone faced stare. Reliqus got the feeling her Master was not very fond of this 'Mouth of the Emperor'. The thin Sith Lord sighed. "Not that I was expecting much." He muttered. "The Emperors orders for you are simple. Train your slave-girl at your estate, then pit her against a Jedi. If she wins one on one, then the experiment was a success. If she loses... Well there won't be loss to anyone important." A twinge of anger surged forth inside Reliqus, as far as she could tell the same happened to her Master.

With gritted teeth Lord Ordatus asked. "Is that all, my Lord?" 

"Hmm? Oh, yes. That is all. We will give you a personal assignment when you return to Korriban." Eviss inspected his nails with a cruel grin on his face. "Eviss, out." With that, the hologram fluttered out of existence.

The room fell silent. It stayed silent for what seemed like a lifetime. With a warning Reliquses master let out a deep frustrated sigh. "I truly hate that man..." He complained.

The Admiral gave a wry smile. "Most do, my Lord. He likes it that way." 

Reliqus didn't understand a lot of what just happened. "Master, what's a jedi?" She asked her master. 

Ordatus turned to face his apprentice. "Hmm? A Jedi. Well, I'll explain to you properly eventually, but they're force users like us, but are our enemies." He scratched his beard as he spoke.

Reliqus still wasn't any the wiser. "If they both use the force why are they enemies?"

Ordatus crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "It might be a bit difficult to explain. If I had to put int simply, it would be because the Sith rule their people, whilst the Jedi guide theirs." He glanced at Reliqus. "Understand." 

Reliqus thought for a moment, mimicking her masters pose for a second time. Then shook her head. "not really." She replied.

With a glance sideways towards the Admiral, her Master shrugged. "Well, all in due time I suppose." Looking back at his apprentice he continued. "For now though, you should get some rest. It must have been a strange day for you."

Reliqus hadn't noticed it due to the excitement of what had happened, but she was indeed tired, exhausted in fact. She nodded.

Ordatus nodded back and signalled Hawk and Aavon towards the door. "Your room will be right next to mine, there is food and a small bath in there, if you need anything, these two will be taking it in turns standing guard, understood apprentice?" Reliqus nodded her head again. "Good, first thing tomorrow we'll start your rehabilitation process. Stop you being just skin and bone. Now go, rest." Lord Ordatus ushered Reliqus out of the door.

She was led in to her new room, it was just as her master said, next to his. There was a basic small table with a plate of bread and meat on it. Against the wall was a small hard bed with a plain blanket. A door on the wall right of the entrance led to a personal bathroom. Reliqus had never experienced such luxury in her life. With an elated heart she happily stuffed down the food and drink. Of course she didn't bother with the bath, she had no idea what one was anyway.

Then, when her belly was fuller than it had ever been before, she slipped in to her first ever bed, and fell asleep in almost no time at all. For the first time in her short life, Reliqus looked forward to the next day. She looked forward to seeing her newly acquired master, she looked forward to seeing the Admiral and Lieutenant Aavon, yes she even looked forward to seeing Hawk, just a little bit. The newly ex-slave fell asleep with a smile on her face.

______________________________________________________________________________

*PHEWW*

It has been a while since I've done a chapter of anything. It's been over a month since I released the first chapter of this story. I feel as though the first chapter is written better, I wanted to try writing it a little differently to help show it's from another characters perspective. We'll be back to Ordatuses perspective next chapter, then it'll be Reliquses ans so on. 

I'm sure there'll be some readers of my main fiction that are annoyed that my first chapter in over two weeks is to my Star Wars fanfiction, to which I apologise, but I am working on chapter 13, don't worry. I've just had a very busy March so far. 

Anyway, feel free to comment, give me tips or just tell me how I screwed up the Star Wars lore, as I probably have done. No idea when the next chapters will be out, but thanks for reading!