Ghost of a Smile

Chapter Fifteen

Nur – Fortress Inquisitorius

Ezra Bridger, former Jedi Padawan, did not like the way his future was playing out in front of him. He had been surprised when Vader saw him outside on the landing pad and he didn't kill him outright but as of yet, Ezra had no idea if he was pleasantly surprised or wishing Vader did just kill him. He had followed the Twelfth Brother down the declining ramp that led into the heart of the Fortress, not that he or any of the other teens had a choice. Now, they were in a large open room with dim overhead lights and harsher red lights built into the floor.

"Lord Vader already explained your purpose here so I will save my breath." The Twelfth Brother spoke both slowly and quietly, but his voice carried a note of impatience beneath his black helmet with the typical red visor of an inquisitor. "Once we are on the other side of the door behind me, you will be taken to your new rooms. I could say something encouraging like 'work hard and you'll be rewarded', but I think I'd rather be honest with you all. Over the next month you are going to experience the worst pain you've ever felt in your life, no amount of work you put in will change that fact or make the pain stop. But... I will also tell you if you survive that pain, you will never feel pain again, and you will be among the most powerful people in the galaxy."

Not a single one of the teens moved. Even the aggressive brown-haired boy that force choked that Imperial admiral earlier looked petrified with fear. The Twelfth Brother raised his hand and used the force to hit the button next to the door. He moved to the side and gestured for the black and slightly red troopers to 'escort' the teens to their new homes.

Then he laid eyes on Ezra and recognized him, "Leave the blue-haired one. Take the others and put them away." The others were pulled out of the room, scared for themselves but also wondering why Ezra was ordered to stay behind. The door closed again leaving only Ezra and the Brother.

"You're wondering why I asked you to wait?" The Twelfth Brother asked.

"I'm guessing it has something to do with me being a Jedi. Or maybe you're going to take revenge for me killing one of your Inquisitor friends?"

The Brother laughed under his helmet, "Quite the opposite. You see, this is not the first group of completely untrained force sensitives I've been tasked with training, but I find them... boring. They just scream and scream and eventually yell that they hate me and viola: they're ready for a lightsaber and a uniform. But a Jedi? Assuming you have the will of a Jedi, you should be a real challenge to break. Not to mention, we have a saying here, Ezra Bridger: the longer they last, the more deadly they become." He chuckled again. "I have high hopes for you, acolyte, sky high. Don't let a fellow ex-Padawan down."

"You were a Padawan?" Ezra sounded shocked. 'Acolyte?' He asked himself.

"I was. Maybe one day, I'll tell you my story. For now, though? Show those losers what it means to be a real force user." The Brother opened the door and two purge troopers pulled Ezra into the next room.

Ezra took a moment while being dragged to look around the new room. It was a prison, of sorts. There were ray-shielded cells all throughout the room. All of the cells had at least one thing in common: they had a clear view of the torture chair in the middle of the room. Ezra shuddered at the prospect of having to watch someone get tortured, especially knowing you were next on the to-torture list.

Nine of the cells were now occupied by the other 'acolytes.' The purge troopers had decided to spread the teens' cells out as much as possible, probably to avoid team-ups and friendships. Ezra was put into a cell on the second level. Directly across from his cell, he saw a human girl. The red color of the ray shield blocked her specific colors but Ezra could tell she was light skinned and looked to be about eighteen, only a little older than Ezra himself.