Last time: Viran apologized to Cien for now. Kyr and Viran also shared a drink.
Now: Sasha finds herself in a rough spot.
Chapter 3- The Rescue Plan
A horrible dryness in her throat awoke Sasha. That and an uncomfortable stiffness in her back as she came to realize she was lying on something cold, hard, and metal instead of the soft bed she had been using. Peeling open her eyes, Sasha could see the room she was in was a cell with dim red lighting. For some reason, she felt like she recognized where she was. This wasn't the palace, but wherever it was reeked of the dark side and she didn't need the Force to tell her that.
Speaking of the Force, she felt more disconnected from it than before. When Cien had given her more freedom and told her she was going home, they stopped pumping the Force aerosol suppressants into her room. So the Force had very slowly started coming back. She wasn't able to do anything with it, but feeling its familiarity return to her had brought her a sense of comfort. Now it was gone again and this time she didn't smell the aerosol like she had in her room which meant that the suppressant must have been injected into her.
With a groan, a pained groan due to her dry and sore throat that is, Sasha attempted to move into a sitting position. That was easier said than done. Her wrists were bound before her and she could feel bruises lining her right arm and a couple on her left side. She remembered what happened during the escape attempt with Cien. She remembered falling from the ship and barely being caught with the Force. That landing caused bruising on her right arm. And then she remembered Ikari using the Force to choke her until she passed out. That's most likely where the other bruises came from. From her falling to ground unconscious. As for her throat, it was sore and her neck felt so stiff. Other than that she felt fine.
However, that made her think of her baby. Glancing down towards her belly, Sasha could see the bump poking out from under her shirt as it was becoming more obvious. She placed a hand on her swollen belly and rubbed it. She frowned as she wished she could feel if her child was alright after everything that happened. For now though, she just needed to be a little bit more careful.
Finally getting herself into a sitting position, Sasha leaned back against the wall that the strange metal bunk/bench thing she had been resting on jutted out from. She kept her hands resting on her belly as she sat there. After a moment, the cell door opened to reveal Ikari, a droid with a tray of food, and a man dressed in a general's uniform. She guessed that was the Mendax guy Cien mentioned. Sasha narrowed her gaze at them as she remained seated on the bench.
"Ah, good. You're awake," Ikari said, a little too proud of herself. "Comfortable?"
"Not particularly," Sasha said evenly as she adjusted herself on the bench.
"Good," Ikari said with an evil smirk.
She stepped aside and gestured to the droid. The droid came forward and set the tray of food down on the bench next to Sasha before turning and leaving the cell. Sasha eyed the food for a second before looking back up to Ikari.
"Where am I?" Sasha demanded.
"Aboard the Bloodstorm," Mendax stated. "And you will show respect when speaking to the Empress of this Empire."
Sasha looked from him to Ikari. She raised a brow to her. "So you staged a coup and removed Cien from power for what? So you could rule instead? Not exactly an original idea is it? And why do you need me? I thought kidnapping me for the child was Cien's idea," Sasha asked, ignoring the man's comment about respect.
Ikari scowled at her. "Why you little..." she growled as she raised a hand and backhanded Sasha hard against the side of her face. Her head jerked to the side as she tasted blood and saw stars for a moment.
"Whether original or not, we have succeeded in taking this power from her," Ikari hissed. "And the idea to take you was mine. So you're not going anywhere until you give birth to my new acolyte and then I am going to end your life myself." Sasha wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand as she slowly turned back to look at Ikari with a glare. "You really thought that soft hearted, fool Cien came up with that idea? Please, don't make me laugh. And unlike the former Empress, your stay now will not be as comfortable as before by any means. I am not afraid to deal pain to you in ways that will not affect your pregnancy, but that will make you miserable. So I would not cross me again for your sake or else." She then pulled her saber from her belt and activated one end of it. Sasha realized what she was about to do and backed away only to hit the wall. Ikari reached out and held her in place with the Force as a sadistic smile grew on her face. She then lowered the blade, she gently placed it on Sasha's left shoulder and slowly pressed down. The tunic and flesh burned away as Ikari singed Sasha's shoulder. "Do I make myself clear?"
Sasha gasped in pain as the blade singed her shoulder and slowly nodded. Ikari then removed the blade and released Sasha from her Force grip. Sasha immediately hunched over, clutching at her now burnt shoulder.
"Good," Ikari said as she turned the blade off and put her saber back on her belt. "Now eat your meal like a good little prisoner and I will be back later to make sure that you have." She turned to Mendax. "Come General Mendax."
Together, they left Sasha alone in the cell. Sasha glared at them as they left and sat there in agony for a moment before finally feeling the pain subside enough.
Taking a glance over at the food, Sasha noticed it looked like it was just a bowl of porridge, three ration bars, and a very small cup of water. Sasha moved over toward the tray and grabbed the cup of water. She brought the cup to her lips and took a small swig of it to rinse the blood out of her mouth. She then made her way over to the hidden toilet that would appear from the wall by just the push of a button that she had noticed the last time she was in a cell aboard the Bloodstorm, though she couldn't use it last time. She spit the water out into the bowl. She then took another swig, this one to moisten her throat. However, the water went down with a nasty bitter taste. This water was not filtered in anyway, shape or form. She swallowed the water with a grimace before shooting a worrying glance over to the rest of the tray.
Moving back over to it, Sasha picked up a ration bar and looked it over for an expiration date. She found one and cringed at it. This bar expired before she returned from the void. Putting that back down and not risking breaking teeth, she then decided to test the porridge. She sat down next to the tray and picked up the bowl. It wasn't warm. She then grabbed the spoon and had a small bite of it. Her face twisted when she tasted nothing but cold bland, flavorless mush that might as well be mud. She ate as much of it as she could as she knew that her growing child needed nourishment. However, the mush did not stay down. Her body rejected it almost immediately thanks to her morning sickness. Rushing back over to the toilet, Sasha unloaded the contents of her stomach. Once she was done, she slumped against the cell wall in pain, exhausted, and feeling positively wretched. As she sat there, she hoped Cien made it to her family and they were on their way to save her, because this time there will be no easy way of escape.
They stood in the lounge of the Shadow Runner, the two Jedi, the Mandalorian, and the Sith, planning to rescue their wife, their little sister, their friend. Around the core of the ship, three Sith troopers with the red lightning storm emblazoned on their pauldron walked around. Kyr immediately looked over at them, they had trekked over from the cargo shuttle at their Empresses invitation.
"Hey guys." Kyr greeted, recognizing them from his own time aboard the Bloodstorm.
They nodded back. "Hey Kyr." Their captain said, as he joined the group. The Jedi and the Sith looked between them at the exchange, but said nothing. Oppie nodded at Cien.
She cleared her throat. "Sasha is most likely aboard the Bloodstorm, Mendax and Ikari always had some affection for the ship, so I presume they would have moved there while they consolidated their power. Sasha will most likely be in the brig, though I presume once they know they are being attacked she will be brought to where they are, either the bridge or the old throne room." She said. "Once we are there I will be able to sense more clearly where Sasha is."
Oppie spoke up at that. "How?"
"I recognize her in the Force, and she will probably shine like a beacon." Cien responded. She didn't add it was because she expected her to be in a great deal of distress, which is why she would stand out so well from the background of thousands of other crew and troopers. "Viran will probably also be able to find her." She added, as a peace offering, and also because she had expected them to have formed their own substantial bond.
Viran nodded in agreement to her statement. "Yeah I should be able to. My only thing is that the last time I went through the Bloodstorm I nearly got lost," he added.
"Tac can help with that." Kyr started. He nodded over to Tac, who wheeled up with a happy little whistle and started projecting an extensively detailed hologram of the Bloodstorm in the space between them.
Cien glanced at Kyr with annoyance, and her captain spoke up. "How did you get that?"
"Tac had two and a half months to get to know the ship inside out, he was bored out of his little dome and he made friends with its computer. It's what he does, his name is short for tactical, not tactful." Kyr shrugged. Tac made a rather rude noise at him for that last comment.
Oppie shot a glance over at Kyr when he said two and a half months, but said nothing. Viran had to do a double take when Kyr said that.
"Wait what? Two and a half months?" Viran asked, stunned. He then looked at Oppie then to Kyr. "Did I miss something? When were you on the Bloodstorm for two and a half months?"
Kyr looked over at him, realizing what he had let slip.
Cien cleared her throat as she looked up at Kyr and then away. "Let's stay on topic." She suggested. At that, Kyr shot her a suspicious and worried glance under his buy'ce, and she kept her gaze away. "Can we reprogram the transponder on our cargo shuttle?"
Tac piped up with a whistle.
"What did he say?" She asked.
"Tac said yes." Oppie said, casting an odd glance between her and his brother.
"So we could use it to get in the front door." Kyr suggested, liking the idea and inspecting the hologram and his own memories. "The hangar is relatively close to the throne room or the bridge, so if we can get in with a fake code, then we'll be well positioned. I don't like that for an exit though. Once we start shooting and slashing, they'll lock it down."
"What about the hatch I used the last time?" Viran pointed out. "I'm not sure how far it is from everything cause like I said I almost got lost. But could that work as an alternate exit? Like have Tac and the Shadow waiting there in case the hanger is locked down?" He suggested.
"I like it." Oppie said.
"Yeah." Kyr responded, "which hatch?"
"AS-381" Cien said, remembering when she had had to escape. The first time. "It's almost directly below the bridge and the throne room since they are in the center core of the ship. It's actually closer than the hangar to either, really, which might be better for an exit." She didn't want to add that she wasn't sure what state Sasha might be in when they needed to get her to a ship to leave.
Tac helpfully highlighted the hatch. And from it he back-projected a path, leading out into space at sharp and odd angles that would allow him to slip past the sensors of the Bloodstorm.
"Well." Kyr said, looking at the sharp zig zag leading away from the ship, then at the droid. "I guess you'll have to pilot that then."
Viran nodded in agreement to that. "Okay so we have a way in, a plan to save Sasha, and a way out," A smile seemed to come to his lips as he said that. "So who's ready to get the family back together?"
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