This might be the last post on Fanfic.net for this story as it is very long (about 87 chapters) If you would like to read more of it, please go to my page at www.geocities.com/rehn_gade/
The men had burst into her room and had shackled and blindfolded her before she'd had a chance to react. She had been sleeping, and their entry had been so stealthy she had not even heard them come in. Despite violent physical protest, Rehn had been transported to the garrison where she was dragged to an exercise yard by the three troopers. They threw her to the floor and two of the burly humans held her down while a third removed her restraints. Rehn bawled angrily in protest, same low-pitched, hollow chested sound rusty durasteel beams make while being bent and twisted. When the restrains were unlocked, Gade thrashed violently as the two men holding her down grabbed her muscular arms and hauled her to her feet. The trooper attached to her left arm slid his right one around her throat, using his elbow to squeeze her windpipe like a vice and Rehn gagged as her throat constricted from the pressure. The other trooper, a sergeant, pulled off his helmet and tossed it to on the ground and approached the blindfolded captive. She bared her teeth threateningly and snarled, sounding like an angry jungle cat as she heard him approach. Her wide chest heaved appealingly as she breathed. Unable to see, she had to rely on her acute hearing, and her ears flicked almost frantically.
"Looks like we've going to have some fun after all boys." He said, his eyes sliding over her body, it's shape not at all concealed by the thin, tight clothing she had been forced to wear. He smiled cruelly. Gade struck out blindly with her left leg in a vicious kick, intending to disembowel the sergeant. The strike was awkward and well off the mark, giving the man ample time to dodge. Using two fingers to deftly jab a major nerve high on her inner thigh. The agony was instantaneous and severe, the muscle twitching and spasming painfully. She screamed in pain and her anger and fear were replaced by panic. Her left leg refused to support her, leaving her almost defenceless.
Drakahn watched, his powerful arms folded across his armoured chest. Sergeant Temblin was playing his part of the 'sadistic Imperial trooper' admirably. Probably because he's had a lot of practice, he though offhandedly. He could feel the young warrior's growing terror and he smiled.
For some reason, Rage found it hard to watch. There is nothing even sporting about this she thought to herself. Had Gade been pitted against regular troopers, she probably would have mopped the floor with their entrails. These men, however, where different. The Royal Guard routinely rotated it's troops to combat units to keep their skills honed. These three where ending their tour, ready to rejoin the scarlet ranks, and due to the lack of action on Cey'lon, were starved for it. Rage watched as the sergeant stroked the side of Rehn's face with his hand and it then trailed down the young prisoner's neck to her breast which he palmed and squeezed none to gently. The audio pickups caught Rehn's terrified squeal with gut churning clarity. Rage shot a sidelong glance at Drakahn, who had been watching intently. His ears flattened, his nostrils flared and a possessive snarl touched his lips when he saw it happen. He just as quickly regained his composure.
Rehn's skin crawled as the trooper squeezed her sensitive flesh and she gave a squeal of both pain and terror. She had heard stories of what often happened to female prisoners in Imperial facilities, and the prospect of begin raped had been something she had tried not to think about. She lunged forward suddenly, desperate to escape, teeth snapping, hoping to catch a piece of her tormentor. A male voice laughed and she doubled over as a knee was driven into her belly, forcing the air from her lungs. Rehn coughed as bile was forced into her throat by the power of the blow and she tried not to be sick.
"What's the matter, shrag? I thought you'd like it rough." Temblin growled into her ear. Rehn's head would have hung as she tried to regain her wind, had it not been for the arm around her throat. She trembled visibly and it was giving him a serious hard-on. The General had been adamant - she was only to be humiliated and beaten. Anyone who decided to use her a an outlet for their sexual frustrations would be harshly dealt with. Despite the threat, Temblin and his men were having a hard time restraining the urge to throw her to the ground and sample the merchandise.
The meticulous beating continued for almost an hour, and Rage though she was going to be ill. It had obviously been well planned beforehand, and designed to cause not only physical pain and damage, but a great deal of psychological trauma as well. Reg stood close to her, but remained silent. The two troopers holding Rehn finally released her, letting her fall heavily to the duracrete floor. Rage wanted to shake her head unbelieving as Rehn made a feeble effort to rise, her will to fight apparently having no limits. Her ribs heaved and she struggled to breath as blood flowed freely from her nose and mouth. The troopers turned to leave, but Temblin stopped to watch when he heard the Thalcein groan. He walked back to were she lay struggling to rise and knelt on one knee. Using a crooked finger under her chin to lift her head gently, he looked at her bleeding, swelling face and then punched her in the jaw. Her head rocked back, hitting the floor with and audible 'thud'. Satisfied he'd finished the job, he stood and joined his companions as they left, laughing and joking amongst themselves.
Rage closed her eyes and shook her head slightly to clear it. If she could snuff out the life of the load-lifter tech with a thought and feel nothing emotionally, then why did watching this bother her so? She looked over at Drakahn. His face was impassive as he watched Gade's image. She lay still, only the rise and fall of her chest indicating that she was still among the living. Reg tugged at her elbow and motioned towards the door with an almost imperceptible flick of his head and Rage allowed him to lead her away. Drakahn smiled as the Sith woman left and straightened his black Jedi tunic. A trauma team waited patiently nearby, speaking quietly amongst themselves until he beckoned them to follow.
Rehn vaguely hear a door slide open and a deep voice call her name. Strong, gentle hands rolled her onto her back and pulled off the blindfold. The bright light made her squint slowly, and she found herself staring into Drakahn's hansom face. His expression was a mixture of worry, concern, anger and outrage. She exhaled and the breath left her nostrils as a fine crimson mist. She felt hands run over her bruised and bleeding flesh and she tried to fight, but her body responded slowly and she was easily restrained. She tried to scream in pain, but it came out as little more than a whimper.
"I'm sorry Rehn. I only learned you were missing from the fortress a few moments ago. I will find who did this and they will pay dearly, child. You have my word." he stroked her cheek tenderly. Rehn's eyes fluttered and rolled back in their sockets as she began to drift in and out of consciousness. She coughed, choking on her own blood.
I'm so tired she thought is this how I'm to die? She was suddenly enveloped in blessedly numb blackness, and was prepared to meet death's icy embrace. The medic looked at the enforcer as Rehn lost consciousness. "Her stomach and pancreas have been ruptured, m'Lord and she's bleeding into her belly. We have to move her. Now." Drakahn got to his feet and nodded. The medics put Rehn on a backboard and rushed her to the hospital facilities down the hall.
********
Seph Gade gave a grunt as Vader drove his sabre's crimson blade through his chest and he staggered back as Vader pulled the weapon free. Seph, his dapple grey coat matted with sweat, fell to his knees, his eyes closed, nostrils flared, his bloodied mouth gaping as he pitched forward, posting his hands into the deck to keep from falling on his face. His neck was bowed in defeat, his black muzzle almost touching the deck, a blackened hole where his heart should have been. She watched in horror as Vader's sabre hover over her father's neck, then as Vader raised his weapon over his head and brought it down in a vicious arc...
"FATHER!" Rehn's eyes flew open as the hoarse, grief stricken scream ripped from her throat like a clawed animal. Rehn hung suspended in the bacta tank surrounded by the thick pinkish liquid. Her scream had broken the strong surgical tape that secured her jaw and she inadvertently spat out the breathing apparatus. Bacta filled her throat and feeling like she was drowning, panicked, her hooved toes tearing at the front of the tank, leaving deep furrow in the tough transparisteel. Her desperation seemed to draw great energy from an unseen source, and feeling the power fill her, she kicked out with both feet-and the tank shattered., spilling her onto the floor as naked as the day she was born. She snorted and coughed the bacta from her lungs in revulsion, her chest heaving. The medics and three stormtroopers in the ward just stood unbelieving. There was no was she should have been able to break the tank, especially considering the amount of sedative they had pumped into her over the last three days. Whatever power had suddenly possessed her left just as suddenly, leaving her weak and nauseous. Giving into her exhaustion, she lay where she had fallen and the troopers, shaking off their shock held her down as an MD droid sedated her.
********
Rehn awoke a few hours later in a small, sterile white room. She lay in a comfortable sleeping position on her side, covered by a blanket. She thought of how comforting the soft, fuzzy fabric felt against her skin and realized she was completely naked. She clutched the blanket to her and sat up, shuffling back into a corner of the brightly lit, padded room. She sat trembling, her knees pulled to her chest and rocked back and forth, feeling frustrate and frightened, humiliated tears welling in her mismatched eyes. She covered her face with her arms and cried quietly, her confused thoughts drifted to Gellan, making her cry harder. She missed him terribly; his easy laugh, his cocky smile, even the brotherly tormenting he inflicted on her occasionally. She remembered the beating she had suffered with painful clarity, and the one who inflicted it on her telling her in a disgusted voice that the only reason they didn't rape her was because she was a filthy alien who'd probably already been used by half the maggots in the rebellion. It wasn't true of course, she'd never even been kissed before. The room's only door slid open with a sudden 'whoosh' of pneumatics and Drakahn stepped in. Rehn's eyes went wide and she cowered in the corner, her breaths hitched in her chest as she tried not to cry in front of her enemy. He approached slowly and knelt when he reached the middle of the small room, knowing his size was very intimidating.
"Are you all right? Are you in pain?" he asked, his expression open and compassionate, looking genuinely worried. He approached slowly and she shrank away, obviously terrified. "I won't hurt you, Rehn..."
"Get away from me!" she shrieked as he drew slowly closer. Frantically she lashed out with sharp toes, but Drakahn knew it was coming. He caught her ankle in a firm but gentle grip and she panicked, thrashing violently, though with not half the power she normally had, still weak from the sedative. She screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks as Drakahn knelt and pulled her to him. She clutched the blanket desperately, but he made no move to remove it or take it from her. He held her to him as a parent would comfort a frightened child. She fought weakly, trembling and crying. He used the underside of his jaw to pull her head to his chest and didn't make a sound when she sank her teeth into his arm as he held her. Had she not been still recovering from sedation, she would likely have torn a good sized chunk of meat from his forearm, but as it was, she left little more than tooth marks. He rocked her and shushed her, stroking her neck.
"You're all right little one." he whispered softly into her ear. The filly sobbed and cried in frustration, finally releasing his arm from her teeth. Her struggles ceased from exhaustion and she lay shaking in his embrace. Drakahn was silent for a long moment before he spoke again. "You disappoint me, child." his voice was hushed but reproachful. "There were only three of them, Rehn. I expected more from you. Perhaps you are not as strong as I previously thought, if you cannot best three humans." he said 'human' as though he were talking about a lower life form. "Had you used the Force, you would have easily killed them." The dark Jedi suppressed a smile as the seed of shame he had just planted in her mind began to sprout quickly. "I find it hard to believe you were so badly beaten why only three men."
"I couldn't see...." she stammered, trying to explain. Drakahn shook his head as though disappointed and sighed.
"With the Force at your command, you do not need eyes to see, or ears to hear. You cannot camouflage failure with excuses. The weak whine about the unfairness of a fight. The strong learn from their mistakes and make themselves stronger, so that they may seek revenge." his tone was soft but a patronizing tone creeping into his deep, almost seductive voice. "Which are you, Rehn?" He could feel the emotional chaos inside her. He was the enemy, though he was trying to help her, to comfort her. Drakahn seemed to actually care about her, and it had her terribly confused.
So far, his plan was working perfectly.