Six years ago
“Greetings, child. It took much time and expense to acquire you. Let us see if it was worth it.”
A prick of a needle, and the pink-hued one-year-old girl howled.
“Yes, feel the pain. It is yours. In time, you will learn to feed on it – it will give you power.” A light chuckle as blood flowed from the child’s arm into a vial. “Well, perhaps. First we shall discover if you are who I think you are. Be comforted by this, little one: if you are not who I was led to believe, your suffering will end forever, swiftly and painlessly.
“But if you are…well, if you are, you will feel much more pain. Pain, rage, terror, hate. Oh, you will hate me.”
The needle was removed, the vial sealed and placed in a nearby machine, which whirred as it accepted it.
“But in time, you will understand. In time, you will see that all you are about to endure, every trial, every injury, every dark moment of your life, all of it was done to prepare you. To provide you with what you will need, not just to survive this hell we call a galaxy, but to thrive in it.”
The machine dinged and the Sith man leaned over and pressed a button. A slow smile spread across his face as the results scrolled onto the screen.
“So. It is true. You are the daughter of that maniac Brembal Kybersmith and S’loan Sunscryer, the Ice Queen herself. What a match made in the most unholy of hells. Is that what you left us for, little sister? Did you destroy the alliance we had built, piece by piece, over the course of two decades just to have a dalliance with one of the few Sith in the galaxy who was powerful enough not to need us? What did you hope to gain? Your plans were always convoluted, it is true, but though I would never admit it to your face, you have been always twelves steps ahead of me.
“But to leave everything…kill the alliance just as the last piece was dropping into place…I admit, little sister, I still do not understand. Time has passed and no great alternative has risen in the alliance’s place. Did your plan fail so spectacularly? Or did you foresee something we did not; that the alliance was doomed from the start? Perhaps this child, stolen from your bed at birth, was your long-laid plan.
“I have heard of playing the long game, but the game is long, indeed, if it hinges on the birth of a child, no matter how powerful her parents.”
A shake of his crimson head.
“Perhaps you were the one who arraigned her to come to me. It sounds unlikely but I would not put it past you.” A sigh. “I suppose it doesn’t matter. I never could see the whole of your plans until they had come to fruition, so it boots nothing to try to guess at your game now. I have your daughter; I shall mold her in my image.
“What say you, child? Did she give you a name? I bet she did. Let’s see…nothing on the record. Well, if I know my little sister – and no one knows her better – I am guessing she named you after the person she hates most in the universe. Having to hear, let alone speak, that name every day would be just the sort of…what did she call it? Ah yes, just the sort of ‘bite sized fuel’ she filled her days with. Like a rock in your shoe, the constant irritation gives you microdoses of anger on which to constantly feed, like a nerf chewing its cud.
“Not something I cared to do myself. Perhaps that’s why she was always stronger. I do not know.” A sigh. “Well, I shall follow my assumption and call you the same – welcome, Samantha. Your namesake was our mother, and a more hateful wretch you will never wish to meet. Although once I am through with you, no doubt you will feel the same about me.” A smile. “I look forward to seeing the hatred in your eyes.”
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