#erris

A glimpse of a young Erris when she was a Navigator in the Chiss Ascendancy, before her rise to power as a Sith Inquisitor (SWTOR era).

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Chiss Force-sensitives are almost always female and are screened from a young age to become hyperspace Navigators, allowing the Chiss to traverse the gravity anomalies of the Unknown Regions faster and safer. Their very existence is a state secret, known only to the military and upper levels of government. But their powers of precognition invariably fade by the time they are teenagers. Up until then, they are denied childhood and are pressed into service with the Defense Fleet, where they sit in a sensory deprivation visor, hooked up to the ship's computer. When off-duty they are ushered away by their Caregiver, who looks after them in their own separate dormitory and rest-room.

Erris was 16 and already old for a Navigator, and could feel her abilities becoming less reliable. She hated the cage around her life but at the same time took great pride in being something different.

The ship's Mid Captain was a charming, roguish sort, who often broke regulations to secretly visit Erris's Caregiver. To keep Erris quiet, he would bring her smuggled datapads, collected from the ship's liaison missions in the wider galaxy, as she was a voracious reader and constantly asked questions about the worlds beyond Chiss space. Fortunately for her, he struggled to keep his mouth shut, revealing just what goes on in the Sith Empire and how Force users there wield significant power and influence. Erris came to realise just how naive the Ascendancy was about the Force, to the point where they cannot comprehend that abilities other than precognition even exist. And it's a great relief that such individuals don't hang on to their power, for an adult with such abilities would present a severe risk to the stability of the Ruling Families.

Reaching out beyond her very narrow training, Erris began to discover there were other ways her powers could be harnessed. However, it was a slow, frustrating process but after a time she learned to create sparks, mask her presence and move small objects. Curiously, they were more effective during times of heightened emotions, yet she could feel the golden thread of her Force connection fraying day by day, drained by the crude exertion of Navigation.

Little by little, she put together a plan for the ship's next liaison mission to the Sith Empire. Command knew that her abilities could soon fade, so she would be working in rotation with another Navigator. This would give her less oversight by the crew and more time to skulk around and set events in motion. It would only require a little medical incident to declare the strict Senior Captain unfit and get him replaced by the Mid Captain. They wouldn't even suspect her, such is their ignorance. The Mid Captain was well-liked, but his discipline and attention to protocol was slack, as evidenced by his affair with her Caregiver and rumoured fondness for human women. When they would next make landfall on a populous Sith planet, she knew he'd soon let his guard down, giving her the chance to slip away.