The Silencer
Carth awoke abruptly, eyes snapping open only to be blinded by a bright overhead light. He squinted, throwing an arm over his face, and groaned as a dull throbbing in his head finally penetrated his new awareness. He shifted experimentally, immediately recognizing the familiar feel of a starship's med-bay mattress. But his limbs also felt stiff, and he stretched carefully as his eyes finally began to adjust to the lighting.
It was then that he remembered what had happened. He sat bolt upright in the bed, his hand unconsciously reaching for his blaster, but it wasn't there. He looked down to his waist, realizing with dismay that all his weapons were missing. His clothes were gone too. He wore nothing but the form-fitting jumpsuit meant to be used as the underlayer of the more respectable armored suits.
"Exclamation: What a surprise! Statement: I had not expected you to become conscious again so soon, meatbag."
Carth jumped around at the words, knowing who he would see before the profile of the HK-47 assassination droid came into view. Again his hand fell to his hip, instinctively searching for the weapon that just wasn't there. He swore under his breath, clenching his hands into fists, and stood facing the taller droid, feeling uncomfortably vulnerable and distinctly naked.
HK-47's yellow eyes blinked as he spoke. "Statement: You were not supposed to regain consciousness until I had deposited your useless organic body into the slums of Nar Shaddaa."
Carth glanced around the med-bay briefly before bringing his eyes back to the droid. There was no one else in the room. But then… to take on an assassin droid unarmed would be like putting a blaster bolt in your own head. He frowned, only vaguely having heard what the droid was talking about. There was a more important question he had to ask.
"Where's Revan?" he demanded hoarsely, then winced as the effort of speaking strained his bruised throat.
The droid gave what sounded like a noncommittal grunt. "Answer: Not here. Woeful Statement: You are no longer important enough to deserve her personal attention, which is why she has assigned the dreadfully boring task of disposing of you to me, her loyal assassination droid…."
Carth's eyes flicked to the massive repeating blaster rifle the droid clutched in its mechanical hands, wondering if Revan had given it orders to shoot him. But if she had wanted him dead, why hadn't she killed him herself? He put a hand absently to his throat, thinking of how close he had come to death...
"Why didn't she kill me?" The question had left his lips before he could stop it.
HK-47 uttered a weary sigh. "Answer: I do not know. Observation: However I have noticed that my Master shows a rather unusual tolerance toward you over the other meatbags that once followed her. Theory: Perhaps it is because of this most unfortunate patience with you that she was reluctant to end your life."
The droid's eyes brightened suddenly, his tone becoming eager. "Hopeful Proposal: Or perhaps my Master simply meant to prolong your existence so that you could suffer a more horrible death." HK-47 tilted his head slightly to the side. "Statement: I am fully capable of administering several most painful tortures. Question: Perhaps you would like to try and escape so that I may perform such painful tortures on you? Encouragement: I will of course allow you to have a head start. Exclamation: Things are so much more exciting when there's a hunt involved!"
Carth stared at the droid, feeling his insides twist in growing dread. He most definitely did not want to give HK the chance to practice any torture techniques. He had seen some of those techniques at work before, back when he and HK had been on the same side… before Revan had revealed she once again belonged to the Dark Side. He could still hear the screams of HK's victims in his nightmares, and he had no desire in the least to put himself in that situation. He would have to wait… wait until they got to wherever they were going… only then might he have a chance to escape, to go back and find Revan…
"Where… where are we going?" he asked huskily, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.
HK's eyes dimmed; the droid was obviously disappointed that Carth had not wanted to accept his offer of torture. "Weary Answer: As I have told you, meatbag, we are going to the moon of Nar Shaddaa. Threat: If you are not going to provide me with any entertainment by attempting to escape, then I must insist you cease your interrogations before I become irritated and accidentally set off my neural pacifier in your direction."
Carth sent the droid a vicious glare but fell silent, resorting to pacing the length of the med-bay. HK watched him, the blaster rifle always ready, the soft whir of the droid's neck servos the only sound in the quiet.
But Carth could not take the silence for long. The frustration gnawed at him like a living thing. "Why Nar Shaddaa?" he blurted suddenly, swinging around to face HK.
The droid's eyes flashed. "Warning Statement: You just asked another question."
"Does that mean you don't know?" Carth grunted, shaking his head in disbelief. "Revan didn't tell you much, did she?"
HK straightened. "Indignant Exclamation: I am no common information terminal, meatbag! Statement: And I am not required to answer any of your questions… you should consider yourself lucky that I have humored you thus far. Statement: But since you are so insistent on getting answers, I will give you one: Revan has ordered you dumped on the smuggler's moon of Nar Shaddaa so that you may live out the remainder of your inefficient organic life in misery, haunted by the things you should have done and didn't, watching as your precious Republic crumbles around you. Statement: Now you know why we head for Nar Shaddaa. Snide Question: Do you feel any better?"
Carth said nothing. It didn't matter whether he was going to the slums of Nar Shaddaa or the richest sector of Coruscant, he wasn't going to stay put there long, no matter what Revan had planned. As soon as his feet hit the ground he'd be off again on the first ship out. Revan wouldn't be hard to find, not now that she had an infinite fleet at her disposal. HK interrupted his thoughts.
"Statement: Of course, I may have forgotten to mention a few conditions of your release…"
Carth had a fleeting notion that something was about to go wrong, but he had not so much as flinched when a narrow blue beam shot from one of HK-47's forearm casings, striking him full in the chest. Every muscle in his body seized painfully, and he dropped unceremoniously to the floor. He lay still, unable to move, and watched as HK's feet approached him. The pain in his muscles began to fade, leaving behind a complete numbness. Had he been able to speak, he would have called the assassination droid a great number of foul names in every language he knew. But his tongue was useless, so he settled for a glare of utmost hatred.
The droid ignored his look, speaking most pleasantly. "Statement: I'm afraid I can't have you conscious when we land, meatbag. Statement: I believe we are on the final approach to the moon now, which means it is nearly time for me to render you insensible once more. Thought: However, I do think there is enough time for me to experiment with a prototype torture device Revan has just recently upgraded into my system. Statement: I have lovingly dubbed it "The Silencer", as it tends to cause pain above the normal human tolerance level, rendering the victim blessedly mute. Statement: My audio receivers are sometimes overloaded by the volume of the human voice, especially when involved in screams of agony, and that is such a disappointment to me. Statement: I'm sure you will understand my desire to test it adequately."
Carth's glare did not waver, but he vowed at that moment he would see HK-47 a smoking pile of scrap before he died.
TO BE CONTINUED...
