Family resemblance: The interrogation of Princess Leia
Her time had come. Vader stood before her, an IT-0 interrogation droid hovering beside him with hypodermic needle extended and pointing in her direction. For a moment, no one moved or spoke, the only sounds were Vader's rhythmic mechanical breathing and the warbling hum of the IT-0.
She knew Vader's silence was part of the theatrics. The mere sight of infamous Sith lord was enough to break some prisoners down. The same could be said of the IT-0. It's reputation for inflicting pain was known across the Empire. Having the two in the room with her was no doubt supposed to put her in a state of panic and soften her resistance. She smirked at Vader defiantly.
She had been preparing for this moment since her ship had been captured. The fact that Vader was there in person meant that the Empire was making this a priority. There was no doubt she'd break under duress, the Empire's torture sessions always yielded results eventually. She had been forcing herself to visualize the long-deserted rebel base on Dantooine, picturing it in her mind when it was occupied. She even chanted to herself simple phrases like 'I must not let them know the base is on Dantooine'. If she could make herself focus on the base's old location, make it seem real in her head, there was a chance that she'd never reveal the true location. When she finally broke down, she let it spill that the base was on Dantooine. She'd been reciting it enough that she nearly believed it herself.
"Relax, Princess," Vader said in a drawn out mechanical voice. "We will be done in a few minutes."
Vader raised his hand and brought his fingers together. Leia felt a crushing force squeeze her body, rendering her immobile. The IT-0 began to hum more loudly and it moved toward her, the needle approaching her shoulder.
"This is just a little something to make you relax," Vader said. "If you're calm and quiet, we can get through this without any suffering."
She gazed at the IT-0's needle as it pierced her shoulder and released a cold liquid under her skin. When the droid withdrew the needle, Vader released his grip and she felt the pressure on her body disappear.
"In a moment you will feel better, a bit dizzy perhaps, but that will pass," he said.
She turned away from him as the cold sensation in her shoulder faded and her body began to feel warm and relaxed. She felt slightly intoxicated.
"Gooooood," he said.
She sat back down on the edge of the bunk, not trusting herself to remain on her feet. She looked down at the floor and tried to focus her vision. She felt something growing inside her head, in her mind. There was a shadow of something bouncing through her thoughts, something smooth and dark.
"No," she whispered, realizing what it was. "You will not get into my head."
She mustered up all the strength and clarity she could manage and pushed the dark presence from her mind. She envisioned an armored chamber surrounding her mind and felt his presence pressing against the outside of it.
"Ahhh, impressive Princess," he said calmly. "I've not encountered such determination before."
He raised his hand again and made a fist. She immediately felt her heart tighten in her chest. It felt as though it had turned to stone, unable to push blood through her veins. Her eyes stared up at him as her concentration broke and he was immediately back in her head. She began to feel memories coming to the surface, memories of the Alliance.
In her head, she called forth a rhyme from childhood and screamed it in her thoughts, Don't touch the trees in the forest of Veez. Don't touch the trees in the forest of Veez.....
He lowered his hand and the pressure on her heart disappeared.
"My patience are wearing thin, Princess. If you resist me now, we will have to do this the hard way," Vader said. "I can assure you, it will not be a pleasant experience for you."
Her heart was pounding and her breathing heavy. She tried to look up at him, but found it hard to focus. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, then spit at him.
He twisted to one side to avoid being hit, then raised his arm quickly, his force throwing her back against the wall. The left side of her head struck the wall hard. She heard a snap as her alloy hairclip shattered. A long shard of it pierced her scalp and the rest of the it fell to the floor. Her long, wavy hair unwound and fell down onto her shoulder and across the left side of her face.
She raised her left hand to the side of her head as the blood trickled down behind her ear. Keeping her head bowed slightly, she glanced up at him through the curtain of brown hair that partly hid her face. It was a gesture that might have seemed coy or flirtatious under other circumstances.
When her eyes fell upon the dark mask that covered Vader's face, something unexpected happened. Vader stumbled back away from her and the lights in the room flickered. An irresistible force washed across the small room. It was not a physical sensation as before, but a tidal wave of emotion, so crushing and unbearable, she collapsed against the wall, unable to breath. She could not form coherent thoughts or even move. She let out a wail and tears formed in her eyes.
She heard a noise from across the room, but could not make sense of it. The emotional flood was changing now, solidifying somehow. She gasped for breath and tried to open her eyes as tears ran down her cheeks.
Vader was on the other side of the small room, his body turned away from her, but his head cocked in her direction. She could sense the intensity of his stare, despite the opaque mask which hid face and eyes. There was something awful in the room, a despair so overwhelming that she lost all resolve. She turned away from him and began to sob.
"Who?" he whispered.
"Please," she cried.
A dark presence slammed into her consciousness. She had no hope of resisting it. It was furious and frantic, tearing through the layers of her mind. She felt memories being dragged to the surface so quickly she couldn't keep up with it. Images of Alderaan, of her parents flashed through her mind.
"No," she said again through the sobs.
Images from her youth came to her now, her father and her mother. They began to move more slowly now, lingering on scenes of her childhood. She saw her mother, dressed in a white gown for a formal gathering of alien dignitaries. Another image appeared, her mother at home in the house, preparing a meal to celebrate some occasion she could quite remember. The next memory was one that had haunted her for years, the sudden feeling of falling from a stone wall and landing in a bay known to be infested with Opee Sea Killers. She was only seven years old and could barely swim. She hadn't been in the water more than a few seconds before she saw her mother bounding over the seawall and landing in the water beside her, still dressed in her formal black and red suit for the celebration of Alderaan's mid-year solstace. Her mother had her back out on dry land in seconds and carried her back to the nearby meeting house while whispering to her tenderly, trying to console her.
The pace picked up again and childhood memories flashed by faster than she could see. The sensation of despair was growing colder and anger was beginning to seep in. Leia could no longer take it, the emotional overload and the violatio of her most personal thoughts. She lay on the floor crying, trying to form the words to get him to stop.
"Dantooine," she finally said. "Rebel base....Dantooine......just stop. Please."
The mention of the rebel base seemed to interrupt his concentration. She felt his presence slip away and the floodwaters of emotion began to recede. She sat up and looked at him. He was still across the room, but turned to face her now. He said nothing, but she could feel his eyes on the other side of the mask, gazing down at her.
"Please," she said again, breathless.
Vader reached out and touched a switch on the wall. The door abruptly slid open. He backed out of the room and the door closed. The IT-0 lay in pieces on the floor in the corner of the room.