Rebels
An Old Friend
Chapter 2
The moon of Nur hung in orbit around the volcanic world of Mustafar. Opposite the fiery, lava-covered rock, Nur was one giant ball of water, with no visible landmass, and that felt cold. Though different in climate both planet and moon carried a strong connection to the dark side of the Force. The source of Mustafar's was its burning dark core beneath the fortress of Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. Whereas the moon housed the headquarters for the Sith's servants, the Inquisitors. Though not full masters of the dark side, they were still strong in the bitter part of the Force and understood enough of the Sith to carry one of their masters' legacy of pain and suffering as they purged the galaxy of its most renowned light side users, the Jedi Knights.
In the old days, they would say that the Citadel prison on Lola Sayu was the place where Jedi were sent to break. Now it was the name Fortress Inquisitorius that struck terror into the hearts of the galaxy. Any surviving Jedi who heard the stories of this fortress would rather choose death over being sent there.
The former Jedi youngling Sammo Quid, having gone by the alias Triss Gotan for over a decade could agree. Heck, he'd take the Citadel over this hellhole any day.
He was tired, but the torture device he rested in would either continually inject him with drugs that kept him from actually resting or snap him awake with pain. Every part of his body ached so, so much. The Jedi had taught him to resist pain, however, he hadn't been a Jedi in years, nor had he practiced the lessons he'd been taught growing up. His resistance had faded long ago, as he broke down and told the Grand Inquisitor everything he knew about the Jedi; specifically, his old childhood friend Caleb Dume who'd been causing problems for the Empire as of late. It was because of Triss' old ties with the surviving padawan that had resulted in the Twi'lek being hunted down, and imprisoned along with his wife and son.
He hadn't seen his family since they were forced to come to Nur. He knew nothing of their whereabouts or if there were even alive. He couldn't use the Force to sense them, one being he was in too much pain and exhausted beyond belief to do so; as well not having practiced the Jedi teachings in years made him rusty. All he could do was hope that as long as he cooperated and told the Inquisitors everything he knew, then maybe they at least let his family go free. Though Triss knew that this was unlikely, as dark siders were known for their cruel behaviour and were merciless to even the most innocent of beings. Still, he had to do whatever he could to protect his family, even if the chances were slim. Even if it meant betraying his old friend.
"For the last time, I haven't seen Caleb since he left the Temple with his new master Depa Billaba to fight in what would be the final months of the Clone Wars. He never returned to Coruscant since. I haven't spoken to him once via commlink either. Figured he was killed by the clones alongside his master when they turned against the Jedi. Wasn't until you showed up and told me he was alive that I knew he'd survived the Purge. Believe me, I'm not affiliated with him or his band of rebels, or any known enemy of the Empire to speak off.
He'd said this repeatedly to the Grand Inquisitor, leader of the Inquisitors; the cruellest, most menacing, and ruthless of them all. He was in more ways than imagined, a true Sith Lord. While Triss hadn't yet had the pleasure of meeting a dark lord, he'd heard enough stories to picture the Pau'an, who'd imprisoned him and his family and tortured the life out of him, as one of the ancient, dark enemies of the Jedi.
The fact that he survived showed that either this inquisitor was actually slightly more merciful than the Sith, or just as cruel as the dark overlords. Triss suspected the latter considering that the pain he was in was worse than death.
"Tell me more about Caleb Dume," the Grand Inquisitor asked in the subtle, yet demanding tone Triss was used to by then.
"Doesn't the Empire have all the Jedi archives after the clones took the Temple? All the info on Caleb will be in there," Triss replied, his response getting him another round of painful electroshocks.
"Oh, I already checked those archives after I met him on Stygeon Prime. Of course, I didn't know right away who he was, only suspected that he'd been trained under Master Depa Billaba given how he used the same fighting style as her. Once I confirmed Kanan Jarrus was Caleb Dume I read everything I could about the padawan from his recruitment into the order as an infant, all the way to his final mission before Order 66. Records revealed to me a great deal. They showed me details about his health, his education, and his preferred strategies used during the war, but that wasn't enough. That's why I sought you out. You were his friend. You know things about him that those measly archives can't tell me."
"Augh! What. Do. You. Want to know?"
"What was he like as a person?" the Grand Inquisitor demanded. "Tell me about his personality."
"Agh, he was annoying. Never shutting up. Whining whenever we didn't play fair. Always asking questions, very stupid ones, and like every single time someone spoke up. He was so eager to get into the war, he didn't care that he'd die; that the master he so badly wanted to take him on as a padawan got most of her men killed in battle."
The Grand Inquisitor grinned in response, appearing to enjoy Triss' frustration recapping his old friend. "So you had problems with him. Yet you don't deny having once been his friend."
"Well yes, he was annoying. But… augh, no one's perfect. I'm more surprised that he's alive than the fact that he's leading a rebellion against the Empire. Believe me, I'm not- ARGH!" Another round of electric shocks erupted throughout his body, sending ripples of pain.
"Tell me why are you so willing to give up your friend?" the Grand Inquisitor demanded. "Why have you fallen so low as to abandon the principals of the order that raised you?"
"Argh, be... because after the Purge began I gave up the Jedi life," he said, still feeling ripples of electricity coarse through his veins. "To survive I needed to change. Because I found something more important than being a Jedi, or even the Force."
"What?" the dark sider asked. Raising his hand to use the Force further break open Triss' mind to learn his secrets. "What did you find?"
"Agh... I... I found something more important to me. I found love. Genna... she introduced me to a life full of happiness. One where I could be who I wanted to be without feeling pressure to live up to anyone's standards. She saved me from becoming what I could've been, what you are now. "
"And what am I to you?" the Grand Inquisitor asked, leaning closer to Triss as he spoke.
"Augh, you... are..." Triss grinned when he spoke again. "A blind servant to a corrupt government that would never do the right thing, even when the people begged for it. You may act all-powerful, but in reality, you are just a dog whose master is a vile beast of a Sith."
This earned a massive scowl from the Grand Inquisitor. For once, Triss had gotten a nerve under his captor and it was the first thing to happen to him since before arriving at this hellhole. It gave him a satisfied, amused feeling in his chest. Thought this feeling did not last long, however.
"Well, allow me to show you what this dog can do," the Grand Inquisitor offered as another round of immense torturing began. The pain became far worse even before.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
It had been…. Well, Triss didn't know how long it had been. He'd been in the same dark, windowless room, imprisoned within the same damn, unending painful torture device for so long with no means of telling time. He had no idea how many hours, days, weeks, or maybe even months had gone by. For all, he knew he could've been imprisoned for years. All he did know was that at that moment, a bright painful light lit the room as an inquisitor stepped in. Not the Pau'an male grand inquisitor who'd brought Triss and his family to this hellhole and constantly tortured him. No this was a female of a completely different species. Triss couldn't determine what she was exactly, just that she had yellowish-orange skin, a pair of small tentacles sticking out from the sides of her head, and grey strips surrounding them and the top of her forehead.
And she wasn't alone. Being dragged by a pair of stormtroopers two Twi'leks. One with red skin, about the same age as Triss; while the other was purple, and barely old enough to walk on his own.
"Genna. Biff." Triss groaned. His voice was dry, he hadn't eaten or drunk since before his imprisonment. The torture device he'd been trapped in ejected nutrients into his body, but yet not enough to satisfy the hunger he felt from his stomach and the rest of his body. It was like another form of torture, one he saw his family was also suffering through.
Both wife and son appeared to be half-starved, tired and covered in cuts and bruises. The sight made Triss feel way worse than he'd been in all the time he'd spent being tortured by the Grand Inquisitor. Who speaking of which, Triss hadn't seen the bald monster in some time. "Where's your master, minion?" he croaked, which earned him another shock from his torture device; frightening his family as a result.
"If you are referring to the Grand Inquisitor, he's..." the Inquisitor paused, trying to figure out the best way to respond. "Unavailable. Don't worry I am more than trained to handle what he could. Speaking of training, unfortunately, the boy you call Biff does not inherit your force sensitivity. Means we cannot take him in and train him as one of us."
"Ha! Unfortunate for you because that is a good thing to me," Triss stated. "I'm glad my son doesn't have my powers. I never wanted him to carry the burden of being a Jedi, or someone linked to the Force like I am. I'm even more glad that he can't become a cold, heartless inquisitor like you."
"Unfortunately no force sensitivity means he's of no further use to us," the Inquisitor corrected, startling both mother and father. "Ah well," the Inquisitor said while unclipping a lightsaber from her belt and positioning it in between the mother and son at an angle.
Realizing what she was about to do, Triss tried to call on the Force to stop her, but his body was too tired and weak to even move a muscle. "No. Please don't," he begged.
Having also realized what happening, Genna took the opportunity to speak, "I love you Tris-" a pair of crimson blades ignited, one going up through the red-skinned Twi'lek's chest, the other down through Biff's head.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
When he saw his family killed before him, see the red blades take the life out of them in a flash; watch their lifeless bodies collapse onto the cold metal floor, it… it caused Triss to feel a great amount of pain, unlike anything he'd felt during his time spent imprisoned. He felt so much pain, anger, hate, and misery; the emotions of the dark side. Deep down his old Jedi self knew it was wrong to embrace such emotions, but it simply hurt too much that he didn't care. He'd had a good life, a peaceful one filled with love and happiness. And it had all been ripped from him with little to no ease.
Giving into his anger Triss called on the Force in ways he'd never done so before or even knew that he could do for that matter. With his newfound powers, Triss broke the torture device he'd been imprisoned in for so long, destroying it in an instant. Then raising his arms in the air, he unleashed his powers on the inquisitor who murdered his family in cold blood, as well as the guards who'd stood by and done nothing while it happened.
He ignored the fear on the Inquisitor's face as he attacked, failed to hear the pain in not just her voice but as well as those of both the stormtroopers as the Twi'lek's agony tore up their bodies, and crushed the life out of them. When he was finished, all that was left was a pile of shredded, blood-covered, armour, tissue, muscle and bone.
At this point, Triss should've felt disgusted for what he'd done. Horrified by the sick, twisted actions he'd just committed. His wife would've been appalled by this. Then again, she was gone, along with Biff; the child they conceived out of love together.
His family was gone, and so was probably their teashop and home. All that was his had been taken away by the Inquisitors, the Empire and… Caleb Dume.
Walking over to what remained of the corpses he'd just murdered, Triss reached down to grab the Inquisitor's blood-soaked lightsaber hilt, the same one that had been used moments ago to murder his family; remembering just who it was that drove the Empire down on the Gotan family.
Caleb Dume. A reckless, irresponsible, annoying kid who Triss happened to once know. The Empire came, took away his home, tortured him, and murdered his family all because he knew Caleb Dume back when they were younglings together. Caleb Dume was the source of all of Triss' pain and suffering. Despite the price the Jedi had paid when fighting in the war and the losses they sustained when Order 66 was issued, Caleb had not learned anything at all in years since the order's collapse. He was still the same reckless, fool-hearted kid seeking adventure and excitement.
"Caleb. Caleb. CALEB!"
