Chapter Nine
" Two and Three clear?"
"Rogue Two is clear, Lead, but I am not sure about Three."
"Three is clear, too, Two, Lead!" Wes growled through gritted teeth in his comlink. Could they get this over with any slower?
"Someone shove you out of bed today, Wes?" Tycho's voice- cool and collected as always.
"No! What do you-"Wes sighed and collected himself. "Look, I am sorry. I am just in a foul mood." And that he was, but Tycho did not deserve to be the one to face his wrath; he'd spare that for the ones who had captured their number four.
"We are all in a foul mood," Wedge replied eventually. He sounded strained. "Keep it civil you two, alright? Arguing isn't gonna help Hobbie."
"Sorry, Lead," the two replied in unison.
Wedge did not reply to them, but instead hailed Control: "This is Rogue Leader with Rogue Two and Three, standing by, waiting to be cleared."
Control's voice crackled to life- it was a Twi'Lek who went out for drinks with Rogue Squadron sometimes. "You have a go, Rogue Lead, Rogue Two, Rogue Three. Clear skies and good hunting."
"Thanks, Control," Wedge replied evenly before changing back to the Squadron Channel. "Are we set?"
"We are. Let's go get our Number Four back," Tycho replied seriously and the three X-wings rose in the air, soared out of the Squadron Hangar left Coruscant's atmosphere behind and finally headed toward the stars.
The crowd cheered as Janne stepped up.
"Hey everyone! I have an announcement to make."
"Hear, hear!" everyone, who was already a bit pleasantly buzzed, shouted.
"Would my dear friend Hobbie please come here?"
Hobbie came forward and hesitantly stood next to his friend.
"Janne…" he whispered, embarrassed.
Janne, whose dark eyes burned with excitement under his black fringe of hair just laughed.
"Oh, come on Der. This is your last evening here, it won't matter if you act a little crazy today."
Hobbie eyed him doubtfully. "Hello-"his voice cracked.
"Go on Der," Janne whispered.
"I am leaving for the Academy tomorrow and-"
"Oh my, we'll miss you, Derek," a drunk, but pretty girl suddenly shouted and launched herself at him.
Hobbie blushed furiously and Janne on his right side just laughed.
The second time Hobbie awoke he was in the same room he had been in before. He groaned and focused painfully back on his surroundings, almost wishing he had not woken up because the pain was as bad as before and the dry taste in his mouth was back.
Hurried footsteps approached his door- of course, they kept him under supervision and would know when he woke up. Hobbie took a deep breath, remembering what he had found out about his captor's identity and just as he was about to think of the recent developments, the man he had thought about came through the door and looked at him.
"Janne." His voice came out as a hoarse whisper and Hobbie hated it.
Janne looked only remotely like the boy Hobbie remembered. The years had left their marks on his face- life had not been kind to the man. His eyes, though, had stayed the same. Those were still the eyes that had persuaded Hobbie to steal apples from Mister Tonino's garden- and boy had he gotten in trouble for that one- the same eyes that had laughed at Hobbie when they came home one evening completely wasted holding on to each other for balance- he had been seventeen, the first time ever he had touched alcohol and the first time he had also been really drunk- and the same eyes who had nodded a solemn goodbye to him when he departed for the Academy. Now the eyes were looking at him coldly but they were the only thing Hobbie could look at because the room around him was spinning gently. He blinked and Janne was there twice. "Hobbie," Janne acknowledged, but did not say anything else, just gave him that same cold look.
The door opened again and a group of people entered. To his great amusement, Hobbie recognized the group of thugs he had evaded a few days ago. Up front were the human male- who scowled at him- and the Zabrak, whose scowl was even fiercer.
Hobbie turned to Janne, which was not an easy feat considering the way the room was still merrily spinning. At least he did not feel as feverish anymore. "What are these jokers doing here?"
Before Janne could answer, the Zabrak advanced. "We want revenge for what you did to us," he growled.
"What did I do to you?" Hobbie mocked. "Give your frail companion over there the headache of his life and hurt your pride, Mister? Are you so much like your sisters that you can't take being defeated like a man?"
It was hard to tell with his blurring vision, but Hobbie thought that a smile hushed briefly across Janne's face.
The Zabrak yelled in anger. "You are the one lying bleeding in the corner, Rebel! I would consider my words more thoroughly, lest I don't anger my captors!"
The human male took a menacing step forward, but Janne held him back. "We want answers and you surely have them, seeing where you have been captured," he said coolly, Commander Mode firmly turned on.
Hobbie laughed weakly, although he felt like crying. "I have answers to many things."
"We just want to know where the Ralltiirian Rebel Intelligence Cells are hidden," the human male told him aggressively, fists quivering in badly-restrained rage at his sides.
Again a laugh bubbled over Hobbie's lips. "First, it's called New Republic, the legitimate government of the galaxy, you nerf-herder. Second- Intelligence Cells? I am just a pilot, people tell me that we are not big on intelligence, let alone intelligence cells…Well I don't know about that…but…" and he made a stilted pause, "I know that I am really clueless, mate."
For a while no-one moved while Hobbie chuckled softly in his corner, although laughing hurt. They weren't going to get anything from him.
The Zabrak also took a step forward. "We have ways of making you talk," he snarled.
"Oh yeah? What'cha got?"
"I have a blaster," the Zabrak replied plainly.
Hobbie gasped out a laugh. This was like Coruscant Comedy Weekly, only that the holoshow usually had better endings. "Well, I am happy for you, Mister," he replied. "I didn't think you had evolved to that stage yet, so congratulations."
The Zabrak roared and wanted to charge forward, but Janne with the help of some Stormtroops, who had been standing at the back of the room, restrained him.
"These jokers are the best, Janne," Hobbie told the man across him in a hoarse voice. He tried to sound as firm as possible. "That the best you can do?"
"Now wait!" the human male interjected. "We can torture him better-"
"That won't be necessary," Janne interjected smoothly. "You have done the Empire a great service by alerting us to his presence here but I granted you enough of a favor. You had your chance to get your revenge, now let us deal with the situation."
"But we didn't get to hurt him!" The Zabrak yelled, sounding honestly insulted. Through the darkness clouding his mind, Hobbie nearly laughed. It wasn't really amusing, but it was so macabre that it still was almost amusing.
"That man," Janne said and took a few steps forward, "is a trained military officer. He has learned from the best at the Imperial Academy on Prefsbelt IV, graduated among the best of his comrades and let me tell you, his graduation class was legendary anyway." Was that pride in Janne's voice? "Then he defected to the Rebel Alliance and rose through the ranks. Now he is a Major. And you can think about our enemy whatever you want, but we have to respect them and being a member of the Rebel Alliance is not easy. They run a very tight ship over there. So you can imagine what kind of man he is- and you jokers think you can get anything from him with your laughable methods? You should consider yourself lucky that I let you see him! He, although being a Rebel, is worth ten of your kind. Now get out of my sight before I teach you about mutual respect!"
Hobbie was surprised, to put it mildly. Janne was defending him? Respected him even?
When the door had closed behind the thugs who had made a quick retreat, Hobbie finally ventured wearily: "I had no idea you think that highly of me."
Janne turned to him, a crooked smile on his features. "Of course I do, Hobbie. I would never underestimate you- and I see that you need more to make you talk. You know the question- and now I will introduce you to Ambor."
Cold shivers raced down Hobbie's spine and he squeezed his eyes shut as Janne spoke in his comlink, telling a Lieutenant to pass on to Ambor to get ready. Don't panic, he thought. He had been in this situation before and he knew that when it got worse, he would be hard-pressed not to talk, would be tempted to sob and plead with them to stop—but he knew they would never stop until they had the answer. And he wasn't about to tell them a thing, even if he didn't know anything that he could tell about the New Republic Intelligence Teams on Ralltiir in the first place. That didn't matter- even if he would know anything he wouldn't let them know a thing. The nausea and dizziness returned full-force and the throbbing in his head increased. For a second he hoped he might simply pass out before they could get to him.
But no such luck. First they dragged him back to the chair and tied him to it. Then: enter Ambor, a 6'6''something guy with a red face and small grey eyes. He was bald and he had large callused hands and a ring on one finger. His demeanor was purposeful, cold, unfeeling.
"Now, Hobbie," Janne said coldly. "What is the answer?"
"You will get no answer from me," Hobbie stated grimly.
Janne sighed. "I thought so." He nodded to Ambor who stepped forward. Hobbie felt how his heart started to beat faster and how his hands started to shake. Icy shivers raced down his spine. Ambor came closer, still closer, raised the hand that held the ring-Hobbie squeezed his eyes shut again.
When it started Hobbie bit his lip until he felt blood and recited again and again:
"Major Derek Klivian, Starfighter Command, Rogue Squadron, Serial Number R-22-44-784-209-4…"
And through the pain, the haze, the ever-repeated question he still kept reciting stubbornly, even when he had no voice anymore:
"Major Derek Klivian, Starfighter Command, Rogue Squadron, Serial Number R-22-44-784-209-4…"
He was still reciting it when he fell into dark oblivion.
Janne had forced himself to watch through the whole thing, keeping the detached façade of Commander Malnys up. "Stop," he said sharply, when Hobbie slumped forward. "Go."
Ambor nodded, left. For a moment Janne was nearly tempted to pummel the guy until he looked like Hobbie who didn't move. But then he knew who had ordered Ambor here in the first place- it had been him. It was the right thing, he reassured himself. He was fighting for the Empire, the only legitimate government this galaxy would ever have. Every means was alright if only to achieve the revival of order and civilization in the galaxy. Many beings would benefit from that. It was the right thing to do.
Still…and he looked at Hobbie. Stepping closer, he carefully cut the ropes tying him to the chair and caught him when he slid toward the ground, groaning a little due to the sudden dead-weight in his arms.
He got him settled in the corner again and opened the package he had brought with him, applying bacta plasters to the new injuries. They were not meant for the use on prisoners, but his status as Commander granted him certain freedoms. Having finished, Janne regarded Hobbie's sad state bitterly. It occurred to him- what if Hobbie didn't know? But why would he be here then? Mere coincidence? It couldn't be. Had he met that sad excuse for Imperials fully through coincidence? Maybe. But then, he had obviously seen Moff Tarl Morth somewhere too and decided to pursue him. Too much of a coincidence.
Janne could not sit still anymore, instead he took to pacing up and down the length of the room. "Sith,Derek," he choked out. "Sith. Why did this have to happen? If you had stayed true to the Empire in the first place, the legitimate government, this would have never happened. Instead we'd all be together, happy - you, me—Rhana…" He paused briefly, thinking of her. But no, he could not afford to be distracted.
"It would have been wonderful, Hobbie, and then you had to go and destroy it all? Do you know how devastated I was when I heard of your defection? You, who had always been so steadfast, lured away by the promises of a terrorist group? Didn't you remember what we said that day - that we'd always stay true to the Empire and remain friends for life?"
He stared at the motionless form, the pale face underneath the sandy hair and the closed eyes. He remembered those same eyes wide open and laughing "You are my best friend, too, Janne", casually said on a summer day lying in the meadow by the river.
"Hobbie," he whispered. "What on Coruscant happened to us? What did life do to us?"
Hobbie didn't reply, lost in unconsciousness and dark oblivion- and he, Janne, had done that to his best friend. Choking on his guilt, he quickly exited the room.