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LOVISA WAS DECLARED GUILTY BY HOUSE GINAZ, and later transported to Salusa Secundus, a prison planet established by the Emperor. It was meant to serve as a place to detain criminals who were guilty of violating imperial law, and faking her identity fell within that category.
Salusa Secundus was often glazed over, never brought up in conversation. Tauno never fully explained what occurred on the prison planet to Lovisa, partially because he never thought it was necessary — and partially because no one other than its rulers and inhabitants truly knew what went on there.
Depending on who you asked, Lovisa lucked out in regards to her punishment. Because of her experience with the Ginaz School, she was immediately ordered to begin Sardaukar training. The Sardaukar were the imperial military force, and despite being the only female trainee, Lovisa was seen as an ideal candidate based solely on her incredible skill set.
When she was transported to the designated training location, where the Sardaukar were raised in an entirely separate environment, Lovisa quickly learned that she was indeed an outsider, even amongst criminals. Most soldiers were taken from their families young and raised on the planet, half dying from the extreme environment before they even reached eleven years old. However, the few that did survive grew into impeccable soldiers. Lovisa's instructors said that the Sardaukar were equivalent — if not more skilled than — a Ginaz Swordmaster. Like Swordmasters, their precision was nearly mechanical. So while she would be serving a different organization, Lovisa would be achieving the same level of finesse she always intended to.
Albeit not without difficulty.
The Ginaz School seemed to be a breeze in comparison to Salusa Secundus. At least Ginaz's environment was relatively neutral; the prison planet's extreme temperatures on both ends of the scale were unbearable. One day would be scolding hot and the next would pose a risk of acquiring hypothermia. The unforgiving terrain surrounding the planet didn't do the trainees any favors either, land contorted into both risen hills and dipped ravines. A believed to be dormant volcano erupted during training one morning, and the trainees were simply instructed to carry on but mind the lava. In a sense, Salusa Secundus was the perfect training ground for soldiers since, within battle, circumstances will be unpredictable. And "unpredictable" was surely one way to describe the prison planet.
Lovisa expected her preliminary training to consist of simple conditioning and sword fighting techniques — and to an extent, she was correct. For the first week or so of residing on the planet, Lovisa felt that perhaps this training would be nothing compared to Ginaz's.
Then, the storm came.
Like her fellow trainees, Lovisa was lying on her uncomfortable cot as they were supposed to be catching the smallest wink of sleep that they could muster since they were worked to the bone the past few weeks. Ever since she arrived at Salusa Secundus, Lovisa had never slept through an entire night. Her old life occupied her thoughts: Ginaz...Duncan...Tauno...
