Look Down

[Sabetha Tag]

Undisclosed Alliance Asteroid Prison​

Before the events of Endgame​

Something Sabetha had figured out, was that if she threw it just right- not hard enough to shatter it, not soft enough to stay where it landed- She could make the rock bounce. Sort of. The particular make up of the asteroid combined with the slightly too low gravity made it feel like that anyway. So she practiced making it bounce where she wanted it to go. Seeing how many times she could make it ricochet before landing on the cot, or in a circle she'd scratched into the floor, and then later the smaller circle. She was getting pretty good.

Look, they were short on entertainment here.

Don't judge, you'd find anything you could too.

Tak tak tak- "Yes- nooooooo."

Sabetha didn't get up from where she was sitting. Back pressed against the wall, she gave the stone, which had bounced one time too many and ended up outside of the circle, a sour look. She stared at it for a minute through the halo of wild red hair.

"Yah, well, kark you too I guess."

The sound of the door at the end of the hallway brought her attention up.

She knew from experience that there was no craning her neck or looking hard enough to see who was coming down that hallway, so she didn't get up and try. Instead she listened. Three sets of feet. One the short, shuffling walk of someone in ankle cuffs. Sabetha had been the only person in this area for weeks now- it hadn't always been that way, but a couple transfers, one release, and one death had cleared out the area pretty thoroughly. It had been the particular sort of quiet that echoed in the mind for too long. She listened, waiting. Speaking up before the guards were gone was a good way to end up getting hosed down with cold water, so she kept her mouth shut.

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

"She bites, so keep her face away from ya."

"Anything else we need to know?"

"I headbutt like the best of 'em." The lady in between piped up as they walked into the corridor filled with cells. Most of them were empty from what she could sense, pitiful things too (heavy duracrete with just one set of doors made out of reinforced metals, a pair of thick bars and a small gap shielded by a sliding cover. Presumably to push in food and the sort). As a retort the one to the left paused them, then smacked her in the face. Hard enough that it made her world spin.

A wheeze escaped the lips.

"Ya don't punch like the best of them though." Hira supplied after the fact with a bloody smirk right in front of her cell. That got her a punch in her gut which made her double over. More wheezing, gasping as the air was thrown out of her lungs.

Door pulsed open.

As they pushed her in Hira whirred around and her elbow connected with the lefty's nose hard. There was a satisfying crack there. Blood everywhere. It was fabulous. What was less fabulous was the beatdown she got out of it. Seconds stretched into minutes before the two guards shut the celldoor and left Hira in the corner. "Some more training an' you guys will get there." The yell didn't get a response this time. Besides the closing of the second set of doors they had come through.

"Feth, think they got a tooth of mine tho."

More to herself than to anyone else.

 

[Sabetha Tag]

Sabetha listened to the exchange, hearing more than the words. Wasn't hard to form a mental picture of just what was going down. She waited until the second door closed, and there was no longer an echo of foot steps before speaking up.

"Didn't hear it hit the ground, but then, wasn't listenin' for a *tooth*."

The voice was low. It seemed to come through the wall. Upon a close inspection, Hira would find a small hole, about as wide as her pinky. A little dot of dim light showed where the other side let out- in the cell next to her.

"You know they don't get tired of throwing chitty punches. One of 'em does, the other takes over."

Sabetha tipped her head back against the wall on her side.

"They're easy to provoke into using ya as a punching bag, but not easy to provoke inta making a REAL mistake, if ya feel me. Believe me, I've tried."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

Her breath was ragged and she touched the tooth with her tongue.

It definitely waggled a bit, but didn't come out.

Balance be praised.

"S'okay, still in, just feels weird." Hira didn't seem entirely confused or even disturbed about the voice suddenly popping out next to her. A quick glance to her right showed the smol hole. Barely enough to press her pinky too and the duracrete too thick to make it to the other side anyway. Shame. "Ya right, was about to grab the key, but the chit yanked it away at the last second." Hira moved to shrug and then realized that it wasn't like the voice on the other side could see that.

So she stopped.

"Was still worth a try tho, broke his nose, felt good." And honestly in situations like these it were the little victories that kept you going. A broken nose, the little rebellions that reminded you that your spirit was yours and only yours.

"Nnfff."

The groan escaped between gritted teeth as Hira shifted slightly and the pain laced through her side.

Nothing broken, but maybe sprained? Would need a while to know for sure. "Got a name or should I just refer to ya as 'The Voice With No Name', eh?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"Broke his nose? Good," the voice on the other side spoke with clear satisfaction.

"He was due. Probably over due. Arseface. Gotta be careful with those two- give 'em enough time between lashing out so they aren't still mad from the time before. Push 'em too close together, well, they have no issue falsifying records, ya dig?"

First timers didn't end up here. Not unless they had done something truly heinous. No, this was where they stuck people other places weren't good at keeping down, for one reason or another. The advice was freely given- everyone in here was them versus the outside. In this case, the guards.

"I dunno, I kinda like 'Voice with no name'," she said. "But they do their best to take that from ya so, call me Tag. They stuck you in fifty-seven, so that's what they are gonna call you. What can I call you?"

Sabetha tilted her head, then reached out, trying to stretch her foot far enough across the cell to reach the rock she'd been throwing without getting up. Wouldn't be able to hear the answer if she did, but she wanted something to fiddle with. Tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth, she tried to nudge it with her toes.

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

That new information was stored silently.

Might be time to make sure they didn't have chit to push together anymore, but that would be a worry for a different time. Right now it was all about hunkering down, getting the lay of the land and figuring out what her next move would be. Passing through it was called. Didn't much matter who the leaders were, who the pain in the arses were or the ones you wanted on your side. Not when you were already planning out your next move to get out of there.

"Dig 'em, stored 'em, will watch for 'em. Tanks." Slightly muffled from the beating honestly. She tried to gently stretch- mistake, but not a huge one. So it probably meant nothing was actually broken or too hurt. That was good, the in-house doctors usually sucked arse.

"Tag."

Head tilted there a bit.

"Pegged ya more for a Dot, Spot, maybe Jolt..." Dark eyes wandered around the cell. There was some room here, enough to walk a small circle, maybe even do some stretching, but that was about it. Not comfortable, but it was miles better than her previous cell. That had been like being packed for slaughter (fattened up first, nah?), barely enough room to move a muscle without hitting your head against the duracrete. "Mmm, what can you call me... good question."

Solid question and gave her enough room if Hira wanted to lie.

"Hira, s'what ya can call me. How long ya been here?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"Oddly enough, Dot and Spot are nicknames I've had," she chuckled. Sabetha had a truly obnoxious number of freckles.

She made a soft oophing sound as she stretched to the very edge of her limits.... and toed the stone into reach. A soft "ah gotcha" filtered just barely through the hole over to Hira as Sabetha leaned over, retrieving the rock.

Turning it over with her fingers, she mulled over Hira's question for a moment. How long had she been here? Long enough to wear the edges on the little bit of asteroid she'd nicked from the exercise yard smooth. However long that was.

"Uh." She sat back again, throwing the stone up into the air and catching it again. "What's the date outside?"

Hira supplied and Sabetha grimaced.

"Two years," came the quiet response.

"First one they've managed to keep me in," she added, tone chagrined. "Good job. Where you coming in from?"

This place wasn't for first timers, after all.

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

"Ain't surprised, I am stellar with voices an' nicknames."

Sabetha would practically hear the smile running through those words. The hole between them dimmed and brightened (ever so slightly) every so often and that told her that Tag was on the move. The stone clattering on the ground on the other hand... "Don't tell me ya trying to dig your way outta here, Tag, ....I have always wanted to try that though." Just straight out of those movies. The only thing that she hadn't figured out yet was where to keep all the dirt and grit.

Eating it?

Hell maw naw.

"Was being moved from Eriadu to Fondor. Got out the convoy, escaped. They caught up with me at Anaxes..." A chuckle there, even if it was a painful one. "Figure they didn't wanna play with me at Fondor no'mo."

Two years though. Two years was a life time, no? It told her that this wasn't a place you casually escaped from. No, no, not casual. Did that mean Hira was losing hope? Not a fat chance in hell. She leaned back a bit against the duracrete and sighed, stretching a bit more. "Two years, huh? Guess ya don't know about da Sith and the beating they giving everyone 'round." In truth Hira didn't really know how to feel about that herself all that much.

Sure, murder and mayhem.

But the Sith took it to a whole other ungraceful end, no?

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"Nah," she responded, tossing the stone again. "Walls are way too thick. Someone tried actually. Take a look in the back corner. There's a spot where the duracrete is lighter coloured? Patch job. But they didn't get far. Not the brightest light in the galaxy."

Something less light at the end there. A pause.

"Oh hey I was at Eriadu. Was old Ali still there? She was a hard queen."

She laughed.

"Again? Same Sith or new flavor? Never falls, Jedi get complacent, someone pops their head up to kick their shebs around till they pull their heads out of their arses and kill everything while yelling 'FOR PEACE! GOTTA KILL YOU BUT I'LL CRY ABOUT IT LATER!'."

It was clear that 'Tag' didn't have a high opinion of the Jedi.

"They don't really keep us updated on current events in here. Arse end a' no where. To be honest, I don't even know where this place is on the map."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

A lazy glance to the side made note of the patch job.

"Oh yah. Huh. Shame, was itching to try it out myself." But if it was that impossible it was clearly not in the cards. Hira was a lot of things, but not someone who enjoyed wasting her time just for the sake of it. There had to be another angle. Another trick, another game here. But... what? That was the million credit question as far as she was concerned.

The fact that they had both served time at Eriadu got her interested just a bit. It was a large Galaxy after all, so you didn't often come across that sort of thing. "Still kicking down greenhorns wanting a piece of her pie, aye, last night I was there she dropped someone over the walls." Shake of the head there. "Long way down there, all I am gonna say."

The Sith were another beast. Not as much of a fixture as Ali was. Always rising up, falling down, evolving or devolving. This Empire wouldn't last either. Peacock or not. "Mhm, am sure they will get their shebs kicked soon enough, eh?"

Another stretch.

Another groan.

"Don't rightfully know actually. Close to Anaxes tho, cus the trip wasn't that long." A yawn. "Whatcha tried to get out?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"Anaxes? That jives. Hmmm. Just about everything," she said with a grimace.

Stretching her legs out, she kept tossing the stone.

"Tried stealing the keys. Lost count of how many times."

Toss, catch.

"Laundry. In the laundry and through the ducts- too small, you won't see anything smaller than an ewok here and that's why."

Toss, catch.

"Over the fence in the yard. No time to dig under, they only give each person fifteen minutes of outside time. Alone, I might add. Well, 'outside'. There's a bubble. Technically I made it over the fence, but the barrier has a HELLUVA kick to it."

Toss, catch.

"Problem is everything is low tech, ya feel? Nothing to slice, nothing to override, nothing to short out. Except that barrier that keeps the atmo in so we don't all suffocate. Guards are never alone. None of them can be seduced- I tried. My theory would be eunuchs, except that ain't the Alliance's style."

Toss, catch, pause.

"This is where they send the folks who they can't keep otherwise. People prone to.... waltzing out of lock up. They stick you here and forget about you. 'Cause it's more 'humane' than putting a blaster to your head. Pchew."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

Pchew.

Hira mulled on that one a bit.

Wasn't any prison she hadn't been able to get out of in some way, but Tag seemed to have thought of every angle, every corner, every trick in the book. That meant the smart approach was out of the question here, but there were other ways. Louder ways that had some potential. "Smart methods got their time, Jolt, but might be time for a different approach." Hira murmured in return as her thoughts went to the corridors and the hallways. How they looked, how it had been moving on them.

Every shred of information was important.

"Tried killing 'em?"

"Yep. Got three before they tazed me till I pissed and puked."

Now that surprised Hira a bit. Would have figured it was a death sentence, but apparently these people got heart or something else. So killing wasn't the most efficient route here. That left the group approach, but that would be a hard one.

Especially if they didn't share yard time.

"Remember this riot I ran on Stars' End. Piece of beaut. Hm." Then she snapped her fingers. Ow. Ugh, even her hands hurt. "What about the medical bay, how does that look?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"Good luck with a riot, Hero. Half of the people in here are so rotten in the brain you couldn't organize them if you wanted, and the other half you'll never get a chance to talk to."

The group approach was the one method that Sabetha had never had the opportunity to work with. Here, like this, how isolated they kept everyone.... it made any chance at organization problematic.

Not to mention Sabetha was used to going it alone.

Don't count on anyone, people didn't have your back.

Every job she'd pulled, with or without a crew, she'd kept that in mind. Sure sometimes it had worked out. But so often it simply didn't. Someone dropped the ball or karked it up, at best. At worst?

Someone sold you out.

"Only ever been to the medbay that time they tazed me. I was pretty out of it. Takes a lot to get them to bring you there. Hmmm..... possible though, if you could fake it well enough. I dunno."

Her tone was interested, mulling.

The sound of the door at the end of the hall silenced her. The sound of something scraping against the duracrete floor would tell Hira that Tag had moved, fast, away from that hole. That she didn't want to potentially draw attention to it. Or perhaps-

"EVERYONE AGAINST YOUR BACK WALL." The guard bellowed. "CHOW."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

"Watch me. Heroic intervention is in my job description."

Lazily replied, because in truth Hira wasn't worried about it. Concerned? Maybe a little bit, but in truth the more obstacles you put in front of her the more interested she was in shattering them. So all this nay saying was doing was emboldening her to do it and actually pull it off. The moment Hira managed to prove everyone wrong and shatter this fething dog house? That would be immensely satisfying for her. If they managed to do it while karking over every arseface in this place?

Even better.

Before she could reply back the sounds made Hira look up.

The command followed up in a moment and she sighed softly. "Yeah, yeah, can't even get some rest from an unsanctioned beating." Soft enough under her breath that the guards could ignore it without being forced to act in the moment.

Different guards too, which meant there were regular switches.

It was all over in a few minutes and then the doors were locked once more. Allowing Hira to settle back down next to the hole, but this time with a plate of food. Or what they called food anyway. It was some gooby garbage, which probably had all the nutrition one needed to stay alive but none of the taste to actually feel you were eating something edible. "Yuck." Hira complained without worry now that they were gone. "I will never get used to this chit they shoveling."

A sigh there.

"Is there anything in the exercise yard? Something usable?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

Sabetha had scooted back to the hole once 'food' was procured and the guards had closed the hall door behind them. She balanced the tray on her knees, and didn't hesitate to eat with her fingers. She'd never gotten a utensil in this place and she honestly assumed no one else did either.

"It's not good," she agreed. "Just. Don't look at it and try not to think about it."

Sabetha had, frankly, eaten worse.

"Small rocks," she said around a mouthful of food. "You can ask for a ball to bounce. Sometimes they even say yes. Well, not to me anymore, apparently they didn't like how hard I go in dodge ball." There was a smirk in her voice at that. "Totally worth it."

She leaned back, head tapping softly against the wall. It was nicer than she cared to admit to have a voice on the other side of the wall again. Her previous 'friend' hadn't been too smart, but any company was better than the silence or occasional gibbered moaning that came from the other cells.

"What's out there for you?" She asked, running her finger around the rim of her plate. "I mean, I'm all for getting out of here, but you've got a fire under yer arse about it. Family? A beau?"

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

Rocks?

That was it?

That complicated the matters a fraction more. She has assumed there would be more waiting for her. Weights or anything else that could serve as a potential for her. Even something as simply as rocks or a ball would be complicated considering her first act had been punching the lights (nose) out of the first guard that came into her range. If she had known.... if she had known.. would she really have done it any other way? No, even here Hira wouldn't lie to herself.

The elbow had been earned.

Twice or even thrice.

"No weights, no nothing?" Hira asked to clarify before sighing once more. "What about toilet breaks?" There weren't any toilets in the cells compared to some other jails she had been at. It had suggested an early way out, but apparently they didn't believe in that chit.

Feth.

That is when the question was asked.

The only question worth asking as far as Hira was concerned. She mulled that one hard. The silence between them deepening out, the taste of her rock bouncing not breaking it. Until finally Hira shrugged one more time (to herself, not to anyone else around them) and answered. "Revenge, Jolt, evening the score and making things right." There wasn't any hesitation there. No wonder or consideration. No matter what else Hira believed in that answer with the entirety of her being.

"What about you?"

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"No weights. They allowed jump ropes till someone, well. I think they only do it cause they are legally obligated. To let you outside I mean. They don't give a chit about it bein' functional, ya dig?"

A pause.

"Oh hun."

The innocence in that question.

"Bucket. If you're lucky they emptied it since the last occupant. When I said low tech I MEANT low tech. It's probably under the bunk. I'd recommend moving it somewhere else."

Sabetha turned her head, resting her cheek against the wall.

"There are worse reasons."

She was quiet for a minute before answering herself.

"Nothing waiting, no. But anything is better than this. So that's a good enough reason for me."

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

A wrinkle of the nose as the edge of her heel suddenly felt the metal bucket under her.

"One more reason to blow dis joint, Jolt." Ugh. Gross. "Proper sanitation should be a sentient right." It wasn't clear how real her outrage was and how much of it was done for her own amusement. Which was fair, considering Sabetha didn't know Hira at all. She shifted and this time the groan was softer- the pain was still there, but her body was getting used to it now and knew how to instinctively shift so the largest offenses didn't hurt as much with every little movement.

Reflexes were handy like that.

"That's the spirit." Hira agreed with her and nodded. Even though it wasn't like she could see it, but it felt right to do regardless.

"What are ya in for anyway?" Some were easy about it. Honest. They done the thing, got jailed and shared without much worry. It was out there anyway, no? Others... tried to keep their innocent alive, literally, repeating it over and over again to anyone who might hear.

Would be interesting to see which one Sabetha was.

 

[Sabetha Tag]

"A-greed."

Sliding their tray away, Sabetha got up for a minute. Shifting around, she stretched out on the bunk. If she let her head tip halfway over the edge, she could still talk through the hole. It was amazing how tired you got just doing nothing with minimal caloric intake all day. Who knew. (They knew, they karking knew)

"Uuuuuh......"

There was a pause, and it might seem, for a minute, like Sabetha was the later sort.

"Kind of a long story that started with Grand Theft Starship and ended with Grand Theft Starship with a bunch of stuff thrown in between the two for good measure."

Even though Hira couldn't see, Sabetha started ticking on her fingers.

"Grand Theft Starship. Impersonating Alliance Military Personnel. Manslaughter- I told him not to open that door but hey. Uh, mass destruction of public property. Treason- what one pisses me off cause how can I be IMPERSONATING but also on the hook for treason? If I wasn't an officer what I did wasn't treason. Make up your minds ya'all. Pick a struggle. Assault. Escaping Alliance custody. More assault. Impersonating Naboo Royalty, didn't even know that was a crime to be honest, everyone and their brother is related to that mess in some way right? Assault. There's a lot of those, let's just assume assault is every other one and get on with it. Escaping Alliance custody. First degree murder, which, I guess- I hadn't planned to kill him but I had sure as heck planned to get out of there so, tomato tomato I guess." She said the word the same way both times. "Grand Theft Starship. Anyway. They aren't my biggest fans. You?"

[member="Hira Mitsae"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Sabetha Tag"]

It was funny how Hira's list was both longer and way shorter than Sabetha's.

"Done most those things. Tho. Back then it was legal, 'cus a merc gets paid to murder, steal everythin' in sight an' destroy public property." Literally. She had participated in the liberation of Corellia and the fething bodycount on that one had been crazy even for her. Then again, they had caused less property damage than some of 'em crazy Corellian protectors. How the feth they had rationalized destroying their own police station filled with political dissidents imprisoned by the Sith was beyond her.

The paycheck on that one had been great.

"Course at some point they cut ya loose an' suddenly all dem legal stuff ya did for them turns into a noose." Once her partner had gotten himself killed everything had shifted and changed. "They eventually got me on transportation of hazardous material."

Translation: enough anti-matter to blow up a small city.

Enough to blow New Sundari up into the air.

"Think they also stuck jaywalking on there tho. I dunno why they thought that was necessary after three score murder counts, aggravated assault, theft of state-property, et cetera, et cetera."