Detainment 101

[AltaVista]

''Detainment 101'':
''Or, How I Learned to Stop Asking Questions and Love the Cage





RP Type: Cut-scene Story. Note: Non-impact/Non-canon story for the Saints universe.

Content: Jaxs' aversion to asking questions and taking responsibility eventually grants her freedom from an Ord Mantell cellblock

RP Status: Closed

Cast:
Skye Jaxs
NPC: Sgt. Tyre Marcus

OOC Side Information
This was a writing exercise in response to Antara Redlance's RP Prompt.
Skye Jaxs is a character I will be playing on a different server, but I thought it might be fun to post this previously written tidbit whilst I continue writing Aicha’s stories. ^.^

Disclaimers:
Please do not assume that I, the player, am anything like the character being portrayed. WARNING! Skye is not a nice person and has a complicated past: she is no white-hat hero type. In fact, I wrote a lot of her background to explore the experiences and mindset of a fallen away Christian (with the hopes and plans of having her be “redeemed” at a later date). But as such, she is extremely cynical, disillusioned, catty, and dishonest.
I also hold the very highest regard for our American law enforcement. This portrayal of the Ord Mantell security force is entirely based on the presupposition that BioWare will follow through with their claim that the Ord Mantell government is extremely corrupt. Jaxs herself was in training to become the Star Wars version of a “cop” when things went haywire and she went AWOL. So her opinion of law officers is, to say the least, skewed.
There is a short mention of a Star Wars related illegal substance near the end story.
Since this character will be on a different server, what is canon for her is not canon for the Saints. For her, there is no Jedi enclave on Ord Mantell that is helping the smugglers help the Republic win a Cold War. Everyone around her is trying to stab her in the back- sometimes even literally.

If the story content and tone of this short snippet is deemed unfitting for the roleplaying boards, I will remove this forum ASAP, i.e. Please tell me if you are offended.

With all those disclaimers out of the way, *smirk*… here’s the story:


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The soft buzz of Jaxs’ force cage had faded into a calming whitenoise hours ago. Her slip into unconscious slumber had happened quickly. Even peacefully. The soft white glow from the energy pulses, the lack of distractions or the awkward smells of the scouting camp. If it were not for the fact that she was forced to sit crosslegged, she might truly be enjoying her couple hours of rest.


Still, those lower lumbars would feel it in the morning.


She had long since learned the danger of sprawling on the floor in the tight circle of the containment field. One little wiggle and your kneecap’s fried. At least sitting up like this, with that first little bob of the head you’ll wake up before you fall into the force field. Usually. Besides, she wasn’t some probie. She’d been here before.


Sschfftk. The door to the cellblock shifted upwards into the archway and allowed entry to a silhouetted man before closing just as quickly behind him. Sschfftk.


“How are we feeling today? Are you more inclined to talk… now?”


Jaxs slowly lifted her chin from where it had rested on her chest as she glanced up at the voice. “Ah, Sgt. Marcus. Still being trained for prison watch, huh? Tsk. Now that’s a misuse of talent.” Jaxs’ voice cooed along, as she pressed herself up and off the ground and onto her feet. She tapped a single finger to the force field, letting the sharp snap and consequential zing bring her to full consciousness. She never had been a morning person and she suspected that they just might not be serving caf to the overnight prisoners today.


Sgt. Marcus winced unconsciously when the force crackled at her touch. So she offered a smile and a wink; he returned her thinly veiled insults with a cool gaze of his own.


Lt. Tyre Marcus was, on the whole, quite average. The cropped hair, the clean-shaving jawline, the even and confident stance he took as he stood just inside the door: everything about him just screamed Ord Mantell Security.


Somehow, it felt like just some kind of sick joke to Jaxs. Sure, the Ord Mantell government might look like they were above-board, but their decision to remain loyal to the Republic after their cop-out peace with the Sith Empire was hardly noble. This way they could continue their dirty dealings without the intervention of the Sith or any particular notice by the Republic. The Rep’s had bigger problems on their mind than dealing with some crooked politicians and their flunky police force.


No wonder she’d joined up with the Separatists…


After a minute of silence that Jaxs could only assume he meant as intimidating, he continued. “I’m going to ask you a couple questions. If and how you respond will determine if you get to spend another night in that cell or not.”


Jaxs leveled her gaze through the transparent blue walls of the force cage to lock eyes with the officer. He smirked before flicking his finger to the edge of his datapad to reiterate his point. No doubt it had bullet points for his interrogation. She conceded with a toss of the head and chuckle:


“Fire away, Sarge.”


“Were you in charge of the cargo on skiff PN-991002 yesterday afternoon?”


“For the time being, yeah.”


“Were you aware that those cargo crates contained several illegally modified hold-out blasters?”


“That’s a negative, buddy,” replied Jaxs flatly. It was the truth. Sort of. She never asked questions about the shipments she was asked to move. When she got back to the Separatist headquarters and they popped those babies open, she’d have found out what kind of weapons they'd gotten their hands on anyway.


“How could you not know?”


“I didn’t look.”


“You didn’t ask your contact?”


“Nope, never do.”


Playing the part of a smuggler was a safe bet on Ord Mantell. Whatever her future might hold, she still didn’t consider herself one of them. Nonetheless, her best guess would be that at least half of the planet’s population were smugglers, 20% were pirates, and the remainder only wished they could have it so good. In any case, the port authorities didn’t mind smugglers too much; so long as you slipped them a few credits they’d look the other way. If they got their cut, you got yours. Not a problem. No sweat.


“What do you mean you never ask?”


Jaxs gave a little sniff of a laugh, tapping her finger on the wall of field once more to make it snap and crackle before she responded. “Look, I don’t want to get caught up on the details when dealing with these kinds of... guys.” The word ''criminals'' went through her brain, but she was treading on dangerous ground already and a catch-word like that can set off a nervous officer off in a snap. “For all I know, there’re baby bottles in that crate. And, honestly, buddy. Maybe I don't mind thinking that that is exactly what was in them.” What you don’t know can’t hurt you. It was slowly becoming her new motto and effectively sloughed the moral responsibility off of her and onto someone else. She liked it that way. No way she was getting pegged for someone else’s sin… even if she was an accomplice… or an outright enabler… Same difference.


Sgt. Marcus gave a snort of disgust, “Just as long as you can sleep at night, right?”


“I do. Soundly. And I bet you do too,” she snapped, before tapping at the field once more and breathing out a stifled laugh as she rubbed her finger to her thumb. She offered an insincere, but innocent looking smile. Inwardly, she felt as disgusted of him as he seemed to be of her. Loyalist scum.


His eyes shifted to the sound and the jagged energy waves that splayed where Jaxs had prodded the force field. The zaps from the force cage and Jaxs’ not entirely subtle counterarguments were noticeably unsettling to the Sergeant, and she couldn’t help but give a little grin when he unconsciously looked over his shoulder towards the door.


Sgt. Marcus tried to ground himself as he offered another stern accusation: “So, you wouldn’t care if those baby bottles were full of Carsunum, then, would you?”


The question punched Jaxs in the face. “… what?”


“Oh! You didn’t know? Didn’t ask? Yeah, we found that too.”


This time, Jaxs’ reaction was genuine. No, she didn’t know that. And it made her sick to her stomach. Apparently someone, somewhere at headquarters was having “enhancers” brought in for the unit- and she had a pretty good idea just who that might be. Where in this whole galaxy are the snarkin' good guys?! Her head rolled back as she let off a frustrated grunt at the ceiling. “No. I didn’t ask.” She felt like she was eating her own words, and impulsively felt the need to shift the guilt away from herself once more. “Impound the beamin’ cargo, -‘kay?- and give it to your spice-head buddies up at the precinct.”


Her overt reaction was proof enough for Marcus, and he grinned triumphantly even as he hollered over his shoulder to bring two more security officers in. “Get this Lylek out of my face and slap a fine down on her record. She doesn’t know squat- but she was in possession of illegal items.”


The field buzzed loudly just for a moment and disappeared with the flick of a switch. Jaxs paused on the platform of cell as she tried to shake that sinking feeling she had in her gut. One step out of the ring and she was free to go about her business once more.


Oh, how bittersweet this victory- with a strong emphasis on the bitter, that is.