Even before I peeked through the peephole in the cell door I knew that my newest slave, her name was Jessita, had aawoken. I knew from expanding my connection to the Force and using it to sense her state of mind. I could feel that she was awake and embarrassed at being naked.

How does one describe sensations gained through the Force? It was like trying to describe the feeling of finest silk to a protocol droid, or any droid or being, without tactile sense. Though one might be able to convey words that have meaning, a lot would be lost in translation. Describing the Force, and especially the insights one gains with it, is like that. Even when both people are using Galactic Basic Standard a lot was lost in translation. Without giving Jessita any indication I was there, aside from a low chuckle, I walked away. Before walking away however, I focused on her mind and projected a sense of tension. This was a lot more effective than one would think. Sure the Jedi could bend people's mind in all kinds of useful ways, but it was always transitory. My purpose here was to put her on edge, or further on the edge than she already was. By being more subtle in the way that I used the Force I could produce more lasting effects.

That done I walked back to my quarters. On the way I passed one of my alpha slaves, Nadia. Nadia, like me was Corellian. She was rather short, fiery red hair and green eyes. She'd been with me for several years by that point and had served me well. She had been born a slave, and had been unlucky enough to of been owned by a rather unsavory character. No doubt due to that, and to his practices, she was the most enthusiastic when disciplining a new acquisition. She always played bad cop to my good cop, she was just a little too sadistic to be able to bring all of playing good cop. I let her know my plans for the first stage of the initial training I would give our newest acquisition. Then I told her to wait a half a standard hour from now than she was to, introduce, herself to the young woman. I laid down firm rules. She could do what she liked with the girl up to certain points. No penetrating the young woman vaginally, no permanent injuries or marks, no drawing of blood and if she chose to put the girl in a particularly stressful position it would not be for more than a standard hour.

Once I got back to my quarters I quickly commed Petra on the bridge. Currently, Petra had the bridge watch. I insisted on military discipline onboard my ships, even the personal ones. This is why there was always at least one person on the bridge at any given time. Petra confirmed our arrival time at the first waypoint for the journey back to my base. While my choice of bases was at times inconvenient, the rest of the House agreed that splitting the military and intelligence forces between Wild Space and the Unknown Regions greatly enhanced our security. Simply put, only someone very desperate or unbelievably insane went to either place.

About one quarter the House was living openly in the galaxy, they funneled everything we needed to the rest of the House. Of the three quarters of the house in hiding, the main portion was in Wild Space. This was where most of the civilians lived. The portion hiding in the Unknown Regions was mainly the military and intelligence forces. We were headed for the Unknown Regions, our first stop was to dock with the Katarn. The Katarn was my mobile headquarters, and slave trading center. She was a Corellian Veloc-II Bulk-Freighter extensively modified to my specifications. The skeleton crew on board her now consisted solely of sophisticated guard droids.

Having tended to the minutiae, at least for the moment, I dressed in my full formal uniform. Though I had hardly ever worn it, it fit perfectly. The main cloth was sort of blackish red. One of the first things I had done on taking command of the House Security Force was to institute a number of changes. The first was to institute a new uniform and insignia. On the outside seam of the trouser legs was something reminiscent of the Corellian Bloodstripe. On our uniforms it was known as the Memorialstripe. It was in memorial of the near-total destruction of House Konham. The stripe itself was made of emerald and black material. The colors were interwoven in the computer generated random pattern to symbolize The Destruction of the House. As this was my formal, but not my full dress uniform, I wore the ribbon bars for the medals and decorations I had earned in my career with the HSF. On my collar were the diamond of four stars, in silver, the insignia of director of the HSF. On the right shoulder was a black and gray representation of the Old House crest. On the left shoulder was the same black and gray representation, saved that it was split in half vertically. These halves were separated and rotated ninety degrees out word so that they formed two semicircles flat side up. Perched acrossed the tops was a representation of the dark green and dark gray Katarn.

To the military belt overtop my uniform I added the holster that held one of my whips and a pouch containing a binder set, a slave collar, a sonic silencer gag, a length of light but very strong chain and two small biometric locks. I set my peaked on my head at the proper angle, the one demanded by regulations, and walked back to the cell holding my newest acquisition. Placing my hand on the control panel for a palm print allowed me to access the controls. I flicked a switch which opened a large horizontal rectangular opening in the door at about waist height. I flicked another switch to open another rectangular opening at eye height, this one smaller. When I spoke, it was with my command voice. That is with the voice I used when issuing commands to my HSF troops.

"Stand slave." I barked at her.

She looked at me with bewilderment in her eyes. I quickly flicked an eye to the side of the frame of the doorway. A steady blue light indicated that the holo- vid had been played for her. Normally with my slaves I'm a little bit lenient during the first interaction. However this one was different. This is not just any slave, she would be my personal slave. Then there was the added fact that she was of House Mecetti. I didn't want to just enslave Jessita, she would also have information that might be valuable to me as head of the HSF. Some of that would be time sensitive. I quickly used the Force to read her mental state. What I got on the surface was mostly bewilderment. Under that was anger, I guess from the fact that she had been kidnapped, and a kind of hot but slow burning rage, no doubt directed towards Helena, I also detected fear, and despair. I projected onto her a sort of calm, not reassurance but is sort of interest in finding out more about her situation.

From beside the door to the cell I drew from its bracket shock-rod. The thing was brutal and simple, designed for administering electroshock with the aim of inflicting pain. I flipped another switch and the cell door opened. Striding into the cell I flicked the shock-rod to on and a blue electric current arced between the six points. The crackling of the current seemed loud in the small cell.

"I know you saw my holo- vid so you know you are my property slave." I growled in a low, menacing tone. "There are three very important rules you need to learn right now. Disobedience or defiance will be punished, as will mistakes in compliance. That is rule one. Rule two, at all times will address me as Master in my slaves, who will outrank you, as Mistress. Rule number three is that hesitation counts as disobedience. Do you understand slave?"

"You know who you think you are…" She began, but the rest of whatever she was going to say was cut off in a soft scream. The shock rod was not designed to cause permanent damage, nor excruciatingly severe pain, however it was painful. The pain would be intensified I knew, shock did that, by the sheer fact that I had actually shocked her. House Mecetti was arrogant and warlike, but aside from the duels of the Sabre rakes, direct physical attack was seen as gauche and uncivilized.

After her scream she started to glare at me, then she started to take in my uniform. When she saw the Old House Crest on my left shoulder, and the modified version on the right, I thought she'd faint.

In the other Houses of the Tapani Sector I knew that the names of two Houses were never mentioned, the House that was destroyed and House Konham, instead they were referenced as the Rogue Houses. On Tapani day, the celebration of the Unification of the Sector, on every world of the Tapani Empire part of the festivities included burning replicas of the banners of the Rogue Houses. This was the only time at which the insignia of those two Houses is ever displayed. Jessita was intelligent enough to realize the full symbolism behind the dark colors of their depiction on my uniform. We hid in the shadows until ready to strike. I also knew that should be intelligent enough to know what a Katarn was.

Having designed the insignia myself, I knew exactly what one was. I also knew what it represented. On the world of Kashyyyk they were one of the most fearsome predators, to the point where even Wookies kept their distance from them. Part of their fearsome reputation was their intelligence, and patience. They had been known to stalk prey for days at a time, waiting for the right time to strike.

Returning my thoughts to my captive, I sensed that she was in a very different frame of mind. Her father was one of the most powerful scions of his House. Therefore due to the internal politics and machinations she would naturally feel both protected from and a target of plots. It is a curious sort of dichotomy. Within their House it was standard practice to test one's meal before they ate it. Poisoning was a time-honored tradition in that House. She was suddenly finding herself in a new kind of game. Played by a wholly different rules, with wholly different equipment.

"But, I mean I thought, we were always told," she was stammering, a good sign.

"Very nearly slave. Only 1000 survived, and to the best of my knowledge the other was totally destroyed. Seeing as how having a House Defense Force for a house without territory is pointless, I am head of the House Security Force. That is my rank. However to you I will always be Master. When the time comes I will have to have a nice little chat with Helena. She gave me such a nice little bonus without intending to." The last sentence I delivered a nice softly mocking tone. Touching a control on the chronometer I was wearing, the same one I had wore the night I met with Helena I played the holo-vid I recorded for Jessita.

When the recording was finished I regarded Jessita. I used not just my eyes but also my Force senses. Rage was back in spades, but then that was the point of the exercise. Right now I was just trying to get her as off-balance as possible, to get her as confused as possible. Doing so would allow me, and my other slaves, to more easily break her down. That was the first part of her training. That was standard practice with any slaver, however in this case part of the braking her would involve a thorough and very detailed interrogation. I would squeeze every last fact about the entire House Mecetti she knew out of Jessita.

"However you need not worry about seeking your vengeance. In a way that will be handled by me. So that you know your entire House will be humbled. Since your House was the one that had the most direct role in destroying the Old House they will have to pay a price, both in terms of credits and territory. But that is a concern for after you are fully my slave. After your training is complete. Now stand slave." That last I can growled, low and menacing. The way it came out sounded a lot like a Corellian Sand Panther's purr. She slowly stood, careful to keep the sheet wrapped around her.

"The next rule you need to learn slave is that you are not allowed to cover yourself in any manner, ever. Unless you are given clothing by me or one of my slaves you will remain naked and exposed at all times. Now, turn around and place your hands behind your back.”

As she turned around and placed her hands behind her back the sheet dropped to the deck. I snapped the wristbinders around her wrists. There were two metallic bands welded at ninety degrees to each other. They feature the locking mechanism opened by a thumbprint scanner. They would only open with a recognized thumbprint. I fixed them around her wrists so that her wrists were crossed palm to palm behind her back. While she was faced away from me, I slipped the sonic silencer guide into her mouth. At first she didn't want to open her mouth for me, but a sharp slap to the ass made her squawk. While her mouth was open I slipped the gag in place.

I have designed this gag myself. It contained a pair of small speakers within it in a watertight compartment. Through clever use of the speakers, and a microphone in the back side, they were able to nullify any sound she might make. The clever part was that it only nullified verbal sound she made, and no others. With her still facing away from me I placed a collar around her neck. It was made from the finest leather, with precious metal details and a floral pattern. It to lock with a thumbprint lock. It had a ring at the front, and another one at the back. I opened one of the small padlocks and left it hanging from the rear ring. I pulled the chain out of the pouch and locked one end to the ring at the back of her collar. I spoke a simple phrase of old Corellian and a ring, hidden behind a sliding panel, emerged from the wall. Using the chain as leash I lead her over to the wall and locked the free end of the chain to the ring with the other padlock.

I walked in front of her and freed my whip from the holster. Still holding it coiled in one hand, I used the coils to lift her chin.

"Now slave, for your defiance when I first entered this cell, you have earned ten strikes on each breast. For your defiance and refusing the gag, a further three on each. You are to hold position throughout, each time you move out of the position you are now in, you get one strike on the thigh."

While many slavers will use the latest high-tech implements when disciplining and or training their slaves, they would just slap a slave collar on the slave's neck and of the press of a button administer painful electric shocks. I was different however, sure my methods took a little bit longer and were more theatrical. However my slaves always commanded the highest prices, usually one quarter to two thirds more than other trainers could expect.

One of the reasons I have the reputation I have on the black and invisible markets is the quality of my provided wares. Part of this is due to the fact that I'm a traditionalist, of a sort. When I discipline or train a slave it is more involved. I knew of one guy, a Twi'lek, who had trained several racing slaves. The slaves did okay, they won often enough to keep their owners happy most of the time. However he had killed more slaves had he had been able to train fully. In the several years since I had become a slaver I had never killed a slave, either intentionally or otherwise. I hope that I never would have to kill one intentionally, and I knew I was too careful to ever kill one unintentionally.

I was also careful about who I sold to, at least when I was selling the living creature. I only sold to those who would be merciful in their ownership. It was a source of pride to me that of all the serious slavers in the galaxy, I had the distinction of being the one with the highest ratio, so to speak, of of slaves I had trained that eventually gain their freedom.

While all that had been going through my mind I had been running the whip, still coiled, across Jessita's exposed flesh. I did so in a manner that was almost sensuous, letting her feel the smooth fine quality of the leather. I paced back halfway to the door and with a flick of the wrist released the whip from its coil. I stretched my shoulders in my arms to limber them up a little bit and then I began. I was feeling a little bit merciful, so to speak, so I told her that we would go through some warm-up before I moved to her breasts. I struck about fifteen times on each leg gradually increasing the strength of the hit as I worked up her thighs, from just above the knee to her hip. The last strike on each hip drew a red line across her skin. She flinched a little in the beginning, but by the last strikes on her hips she seemed steady.

I gave her a few moments to rest, then I moved on to her breasts. The first strike on her left breast caused her to flinch, so I snapped the whip on the inside of her right thigh. She had flinch to the left, so to reinforce the don't flinch order, I had caused her to move in the other direction. I was satisfied to see that the linear welt on her left breast was in the direction and length I had desired. I next struck her on the right breast, and then again on the inside of the left thigh. At the end of her discipline, and five additional by strikes, Jessita had a large six pointed star on each breast. This star was divided vertically centered on the nipple. Inside the hexagon created by the lines of the large star there was another smaller one. They hexagon inside of this star just about perfectly surrounded her aerola, again centered on the vertical division line. It was whimsical, but it also demonstrated the skill I had acquired. Her breasts were large enough, though still perky, that she couldn't see the underside of the stars but that didn't count. She would certainly feel them. She was silently weeping, this was her first experience with corporal punishment I guessed. Also it must be humiliating which was part of the point. I coiled the whip and replaced it in the holster.

I came towards her and reached behind her to unlock the chain from the wall. I spoke another phrase of the old Corellian and the ring retreated back into the wall and the panel closed. I locked the lock on the and link of the chain letter dangled behind her. I put my arm around her shoulders and gently stroked her hair, speaking soft reassuring words.

"Sshhh, it's okay your brave girl. You're a good girl, a good girl for taking your discipline. Now it's over and done with. Don't have to worry about it anymore. I know it's a lot to take in, that the quicker you adapt to your new situation the better off you'll be. In the end you might even find yourself surprised, you could be happy being my slave." While I had been speaking these soothing words I had used the Force to gently calm her feelings a little bit. The calm I projected onto her was just enough for her notice of tiny shift in her emotions. Enough to get her thinking about that calm. Of course I would never tell her I was a Force user until she was fully trained. Her knowledge of that fact would undo the subtle manipulation I would be using. I could use the force well enough that I could probably mind trick her into doing anything I wanted, say give me a blow job right here and now, but it would be more effective to minorly manipulate her emotions just at the edge of her notice. While it might be satisfying to just take her and use her as I saw fit, I had to be careful in how I broke her in. After all I wanted to own her for the rest of our lives.

Jessita's weeping slowed, and once I was sure it would and pretty soon I left the cell, using spoken old Corellian to open the cell door. I walked out and locked the door behind me. I passed Nadia on the way back to my quarters. She was on her way to "introduce" herself to Jessita.