Country in depression, nation in despair. One man seeking reasons everywhere
Location: Naboo Global Penitentiary (35 Miles/56.33 Kilometers North of Theed)
Objective: Stop Prison Riot
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The low hum of the dimly lit interrogation room echoed against the cold, sterile walls. The flicker of a single overhead light cast long, jagged shadows across the table, making the figure of the Jedi seem even more imposing. She sat upright, her posture unyielding, her deep green eyes unblinking as she observed the hulking inmate across from her. The man—if one could even call him that—was massive, his body riddled with tattoos and scars, his face an expressionless mask of violence and indifference. His presence was suffocating, like a storm waiting to break.
Her name was Jedi Master Katarine Ryiah, and she had faced far worse than this man, but even she could not deny the unsettling aura he radiated. His mind was a tangle of dark thoughts and fragmented memories, twisted by years of crime and cruelty. He had been brought here for questioning after being caught in connection with a series of highly organized attacks on several systems, and she had been assigned to extract the information needed to stop him from causing anymore bloodshed. Deep down she believed him to know the location of an escaped inmate from
Black Marsh Prison, but without answers she could not continue her ongoing investigation into that case.
The room was heavy with silence, save for the sound of his breathing. She studied him carefully, her deep green eyes narrowing as she used the Force to probe the edges of his mind, searching for even a hint of vulnerability. Yet the walls he had built were formidable—too much anger, too much hatred. He was a creature of sheer force and rage, but Kat knew how to unravel that. She had done it before.
"You've been through enough torment to make most men break," Kat spoke softly, her voice carrying a calm assurance.
"But I know you want something more than violence. Answers, perhaps. A way out." She leaned forward, her tone still even but carrying a subtle undercurrent of power.
"I can give you that. But you have to help me first. Tell me what you know about the attacks. Where are the others?"
The man's lips twisted into a grim smile, a look of disdain flashing in his dark eyes. His hands, large and scarred, were cuffed to the table, but Kat could feel the tension coiling in his muscles. She knew the game he was playing—a dangerous one—but she had played it before, and she was not afraid. Not even of him. The Force would be her guide, and as long as she kept her focus, he would not escape her grasp.
Just as she felt she was beginning to break through his silence, the shrill, blaring sound of an alarm sliced through the tension, vibrating through the walls like the screech of a dying animal. Katarine's eyes snapped to the door.
"Lockdown initiated" A harsh, mechanical voice echoed from the intercom. The lights flickered as the sound of steel doors slamming shut filled the air. For a moment, she felt a pang of uncertainty. The Force whispered a warning, but she couldn't yet discern the source.
The holoscreen in the corner of the interrogation room suddenly blinked on, revealing the chaos unfolding in Theed. Kat's heart sank as she saw the unthinkable—a dark, swirling rift in the sky, a tear in the fabric of reality itself. It pulsed with an unnatural light, flickering with shades of violet and black. From it, monstrous forms began to spill into the streets—hulking creatures with too many limbs, serpentine bodies, and eyes that gleamed with malevolent intelligence. The sky above Theed seemed to crack open, and the earth below began to tremble.
"The Netherworld has opened," the terrified voice of
Holly Starstorm
from the holonet broadcasted.
"Monsters are flooding the city—civilian evacuation in process, but..."
Kat's mind raced. The dangers of the Netherworld had been rumored for centuries, but no one had expected it to breach the boundaries of their world again, especially not here, not now. Naboo was still recovering from the cataclysm only three years earlier. That very event was the reason Katarine was in this time period to begin with. She'd been a prisoner at Black Marsh and her carbonation chamber was released during the crisis. Now she was here trying to track down the rest of the inmates who had escape. The holobroadcast continued to blare and the sirens wailed. In the chaos, a different kind of danger emerged—something much closer. She could feel it, the shift in the air as the prisoners around her began to stir.
The broad prisoner laughed, the sound dry and filled with venom.
"Looks like your precious city's about to burn, Jedi," he mocked, his voice suddenly more confident.
"Doesn't matter how many of us you lock up—soon we'll all be free."
Kat's gaze hardened. A prison riot. Of course. As if the threat of an otherworldly invasion wasn't enough, some of the more ruthless inmates had decided now was the time to rise. She reached out with the Force, sensing the dissonant waves of rising anger, fear, and confusion. Shouts echoed from the adjacent cells as the prisoners began to rebel, using the chaos outside as a perfect cover for their own violence.
One of the guards' voices crackled over the intercom, barely audible over the growing din.
"The prison's been breached! We need reinforcements!"
Katarine's mind snapped back to the present, her body coiling with instinctive readiness. She knew what had to be done. With a controlled, deliberate motion, she stood from the interrogation table, her cloak swirling behind her like the calm before a storm.
"You'll get your chance to speak," she said, her voice now ice-cold.
"Make no mistake, I will be back and you will talk to me."
The door to the room slid open with a hiss, and Kat's senses exploded with urgency. She could feel the disarray around her as the prison began to crumble under the weight of the riot and the terrifying truth of what was happening outside. Her mind sharpened as she reached out with the Force to steady herself, preparing to confront the chaos both within and beyond the prison's walls.
The Netherworld's creatures were spilling into Naboo, but Kat had one focus: To survive, and to stop the riot before it spiraled out of control and the city of Theed had to deal with the monsters within these walls as well as the ones roaming the streets.
Lily Decoria
,
Valery Noble
,
Brandyn Sal-Soren
