AN: Last chapter for today - back to Luke. Thanks for sticking with it this far...
Missing
XX.
Captain Piett stood outside the Dark Lord of the Sith's personal quarters waiting nervously until the call to enter was given. He swallowed, cleared his throat and scratched his top lip while he rocked on his heels with impatience. He tapped his fingers rhythmically on the data pad he was holding wondering what was so important about the information that it couldn't be passed to Vader via the com channels. He glanced briefly at the contents again frowning as he read the details; what was so important about a captured Rebel, they were ten a credit these days.
He sighed, glanced up and down the gleaming corridor at the personnel passing; his anxiety and irritation growing with each passing moment. It would appear that the Dark Lord enjoyed these little mind games with his staff, enjoyed the fear and trepidation that perpetuated around him.
The door slid open before him, sending a twist of terror shivering through him, but he squared his shoulders and entered to find Vader standing in front of his hyper baric chamber.
"What is it, Captain?" Vader rumbled, his voice seeming to resonate the air around him.
"A report from a Captain in the Medical Corps stationed on Irlam, My Lord," Piett informed him quickly. "He believes a Rebel they have in custody there may be Luke Skywalker." It may have been Piett's imagination but he was sure Vader's breathing had quicken for just a second.
"And his basis for this belief?"
"He states that he grew up with Skywalker on Tatooine."
"Did he?" Vader sounded thoughtful, the helmet tilted slightly as though the Dark Lord was considering the ceiling.
Piett remained silent waiting for his Lord to announce his verdict on the med-corps captain's claim. He didn't have long to wait.
Vader turned to the com screen and it flickered to life bringing the bridge and Admiral Ozzel into sharp focus. "Admiral," Vader wasted no time with pleasantries. "Set a course for the Irlam system."
"At once, My Lord," Ozzel acquiesced, sharply bowing his head and then he turned to relay Vader's command.
The screen went blank and Vader turned back to Piett. "You are dismissed, Captain."
"Yes, My Lord," Piett performed the same per functionary bow as Ozzel and sharply turned on his heel relieved that his encounter with the Sith Lord had been mercifully brief.
The huge Super Star Destroyer slowly, majestically, turned in the depths of space. It hung for a long instant then, in the flickering of an eyelid; it was gone, swallowed by the swiftness that was hyperspace.
ooOOoo
Within his private quarters Colonel Dassu relaxed in his recliner and sipped at his drink. He unbuttoned his restricting jacket, and let his middle-aged spread breathe. He yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes tired from his day even although he didn't feel as though he had achieved very much as he had been confined for much of the day to his office while concentrating on his administrative tasks.
He had visited the cellblock only once to check on his rebel prisoner and had been aggrieved to find him sleeping peacefully, his wrist wounds dressed and a fluid feed still attached to his arm. He had immediately ordered that the boy be wakened and had smiled at the startled look and fearful cry that had followed the blaring lights and noise. The youth had pulled himself into a corner and shivered, staring expectantly at the door.
Dassu had turned to his two technicians and barked; "He may not be questioned for several hours, that doesn't mean he sleeps for all of them!"
The colonel took another sip at the sharp whiskey, feeling it sear his throat. The boy was an enigma. On one hand he seemed a callow youth; too young and too innocent to be in the position he was. However, he was proving most difficult to break; the mind altering and pain inducing drugs he had been fed had almost killed him rather than broken his mental shields. There was something sustaining him and Dassu knew he had to find that something and remove it.
He sat his glass to the side and picked up the latest communiqué and read it quickly. He smiled at the news of the capture of another Rebel outpost; even if had been a small one like Ahana, it was nevertheless a victory for the Empire. It was a pity that Leia Organa had once more slipped from the Empire's grasp and the news that the Alliance was planning a high profile attack did not please him. It was disturbing that there was virtually nothing known about it.
Leia Organa?
Dassu frowned and rose from the recliner, crossing the room to his desk. He quickly powered up his personal computer and called up the star charts. There was Ahana where Leia Organa had hidden, and there - with less than a days hyperspace travel between them - was Irlam.
He lifted the prisoner's holo of the Princess Organa from his desk top as he keyed his com studying the woman's image as he spoke. "Sergeant Thaler? Meet me at the detention block and have that medic join us. Tell Jared and Kasden to prepare; we're going back to the boy."
He terminated the call before Thaler could answer and lifted his glass once more, downing the rest of the spirit in one swallow and then buttoned his jacket.
The boy was about to get another rude awakening.
ooOOoo
The forest was cool, green and peaceful. He drew in a long breath, allowing the clear, fresh air to fill his lungs. He walked on slowly, his feet sinking into the mossy ground and cracking dry twigs that littered the floor. The sun's light and warmth broke through the branches of the trees, shattering into millions of glittering pieces, which rained upon him. A small tree-myre scampered out from the undergrowth and skipped in his path, chattering as it ran. He laughed at its comical face.
Overhead, a burning X-wing exploded.
He pulled the girl closer to him, turning her chin toward him; they kissed lightly. They parted, and he brushed her hair back from her face. She smiled.
"Why don't you tell them, Ryder?"
A large black cloud passed over the sun, plunging the forest into near night. Coolness shivered through him, and once more he could smell the rotting stench of death. He frowned at her question. "I can't," he answered.
"Oh." She turned from him and giggled. The sun pushed through the gloom, and the forest was warmed, the air fresh. She grabbed his hand and ran, pulling him through the trees, laughing.
"Where are we going?" he asked happily.
"You'll see," she sang.
They ran through a clearing, ignoring the Rebel transport that was revving up for take-off. The sergeant waved to him, and closed the hatch. Imperials spilled into the area, as they disappeared back into the woods. At last she slowed, and together they walked back to the house, both marvelling at the twin suns as they set behind the dunes.
Entering the house, they passed the kitchen and threw quick greetings to the woman who worked there.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hi, Aunt Beru."
A shadow was cast over them; his happiness faded. He glanced fearfully at the girl; but for her, nothing had changed. A figure emerged from the shadow. As he shrank back from the man, trying to pull her with him, he backed into his aunt.
"Hi, Dad," the girl said gaily. "I've brought him back."
An awful understanding grew within him as the three closed in, as their eyes studied him, as their hands reached for him, as his uncle spoke.
"Lieutenant, you have information we need.
ooOOoo
Something was squeezing his upper arm, something was shaking him and with a start he opened his eyes and immediately shrank away from the large guard's impatient face, his body tensing with sudden apprehension. He relaxed briefly as the guard moved back and stood with his partner at the cell door; but his muscles clenched once again as Dassu stepped into his field of vision with the droid just behind him. Instinctively, he drew his legs up, folded his arms around his body - making himself as small a target as possible.
Dassu silently studied Luke. He noted the pale, sick face, the dried blood around his nostrils, the large frightened eyes surrounded by tired shadows, and the small tremors of his body. His fingernails were rough, jagged, due to agitated chewing; the skin around the nails was ragged, bloodied, dug out, a result of nervous picking. The colonel wrinkled his nose at the stale, acrid stench of terror. The boy now stank like the scum he was.
The colonel cleared his throat and came straight to the point. He was tired of the resistance and he was determined that this time the boy would yield whatever information he held. "I have no need to repeat my request; I am sure your memory is as clear as mine."
Luke's cheek twitched; one eye blinked in a reflex action. The silence that followed amplified the tension within the confines of the cell. Solid consternation blocked the back of Luke's throat, making him want to gag. He hung his head.
Dassu bent slightly, trying to catch Luke's eyes. Quietly, simply, kindly, he said, "Then you remember the droid?"
Violent tremors shook Luke's body; he'd lost control. He nodded; he remembered the droid, remembered the drugs that hurt him, confused him, remembered a familiar voice and he remembered…
Tank?
He looked at the dressings on his wrists, the re-hydrate pack on his arm; there had been a medic and he had looked like Tank. But that was impossible. Tank couldn't be here. Tank was…
"Lieutenant?" Dassu called seeing Luke's attention wander and he wondered momentarily about the youth's emotional and mental state; not that it mattered. The colonel smiled compassionately and continued, "You don't want the droid again do you? It has other rather unique skills that we haven't tried yet, perhaps one of those would loosen your tongue?"
Luke shook his head, unable to stifle a moan of fear. No, he didn't want the droid again. He didn't want any more drugs in his body to confuse him, to muddle his mind, to burn in his veins.
Dassu waved the droid back. "But we have decided against the droid, for now."
Luke didn't glance up or show signs of relief. He struggled to swallow. He didn't know how he could do this. He didn't know how he was supposed to resist anymore; how much more pain he was expected to endure. He just wanted this to end, to be finished.
"You have a strong mind for one so young." There was a hint of true admiration in Dassu's voice. He nodded to the guards.
Luke didn't resist the hands that reached for him, or struggle as they pulled him to his feet. Thaler produced a pair of binders, the second guard tore the dressings and the fluid pack from his arms and Luke's hands were firmly fastened behind his back.
Dassu sat on the bunk; watching and speaking as a corded durasteel line fell from the ceiling, as Luke's binders were attached to it and as he was drawn off his feet; his whole weight pulling on his shoulders and wrists. The Rebel groaned, biting back a cry of agony. "Harsh, physical, violence should not be necessary, but I'm afraid you leave us with no alternative. You will tell us what we want to know—eventually."
The guards drew their batons.
ooOOoo
In the observation chamber, Byron flinched at the heavy thuds and piercing cries that echoed in the confined space. He glanced behind him at the medic Dassu requested be present. Bower was pale, sick.
"Luke," Tank whispered to himself.
ooOOoo
Luke hung helplessly, unable to protect himself from the beating. His breathing came in short hitches, and gasps punctuated with tight cries. His twisted shoulder joints were in excruciating agony; pulled by his weight. His battered limbs stiffened, his flesh bruised and split. His body jerked with each strike, the movement sending spasms of pain through his shoulders. A baton struck a glancing blow across his temple; colours danced briefly, blood dripped into his eyes and he almost passed out.
Groggily he heard Dassu question; "What was that?"
He was hit again and again.
"Wait! Dassu barked.
There was a sob of relief from Luke as the battering ceased.
Dassu stood and leaned into Luke, their faces inches apart. "What was that you said?"
Slowly, Luke shook his head; everything was fuzzy, everything was pain. He didn't remember saying anything.
You said a name," Dassu told him, lying, watching Luke's reaction closely. "You said Ahana."
Confusion shook Luke. "No, I… No… Ahana… " He sobbed, he couldn't have said anything. He couldn't have - but how else could they know, if not from him.
"Yes, Ahana," Dassu agreed readily. "Is that your base of operations?"
"No," Luke forced out. He was sick, dizzy. His thoughts in disarray, his head pounding from the blow. He couldn't have said anything.
Dassu paused, pursing his lips; then he nodded angrily and stepped back. Thaler' s baton fell once more, and the staccato flogging resumed.
ooOOoo
Tank turned from the observation screen, unable to watch.
"Tank—don't leave me!"
ooOOoo
"No more, please—" Pain loaded the quiet words, barely audible over the grunts of the labouring guards.
"Help yourself, Lieutenant," Dassu told him. "Tell us about Ahana."
"Please…"
"Is Ahana your base of operations?"
Thaler's baton struck Luke's left elbow in the same instant as his defeat. He'd taken enough, suffered enough, and finally his resolve had been broken. His will to fight on shattered much like the bone in his arm. He had already told them; he had betrayed his friends. What did anything matter now?
"Yes…."
Everything suddenly stopped. The battering ceased and the guards moved back. Allowing Dassu to step close to Luke once more. He placed his lips close to Luke's ear and whispered. "I'm going to check this out, boy, and if you are lying you will suffer the consequences."
He tuned on his heel and strode from the cell, followed by Thaler and his partner leaving Luke alone and still awkwardly suspended from the ceiling.
Tank met them in the hall. "Sir, I'd like permission to check his injuries."
"Denied," Dassu turned his back on him.
"Sir! If he has…"
"I am not leaving him for long, Captain, just enough for him to think that he has betrayed his friends and then I shall finish this. "
Panic traced a cold line down Tank's spine. He knew he should tell the Colonel about Vader; knew he should tell him that Luke was needed alive; but something stopped him. "You already knew about Ahana?"
Dassu smirked. "It fell to us several weeks ago, but the boy may know more. Now that we have succeeded in damaging his spirit I'm sure he'll easily capitulate."
Tank suppressed his revulsion and fury at the callous words. "Sir, I…"
"If you are concerned, medic, then you may stay. However, you enter his cell only if his condition becomes fatal. Understand."
"Yes, sir," Tank conceded, quietly. He stepped back allowed the Colonel and guards to pass. Troubled, he turned and entered the observation room to wait with Jared and Kasden. He avoided looking into the view screen, avoided looking at Luke's despair. But he could not shut out the sounds; the quiet groans of agony, the sobs that wracked a broken body.
ooOOoo
Tamara lay on her bed, listening to her parents' muffled conversation, as her own mind played and replayed Brett's innocent words, and her parents' words - words she hadn't been meant to hear. Confusion added to her frustration, robbing her of sleep; she turned on her side, burying her head under the pillow, trying to silence the voices in her head and to release the pressure in her chest.
"...And it may save him from execution."
Why had her mother sounded so sad at the same thought that lifted Tamara's heart and gave her hope?
"...And it may save him from execution."
Tamara threw back the covers and rose from the bed. Quickly, she padded over to her window and stared at the stars.
"It's where I belong."
At the echo of Luke's words the girl reached for her clothes and quickly dressed, her sudden decision galvanising her actions.
Alex and Mhari were asleep when their daughter slipped from the house.
ooOOoo
There was no sense of time. There was only pain. It beat in his brain, throbbing mercilessly behind his eyes. It pulled and stretched his shoulders, bunched his muscles. It made drawing breath difficult forcing him to pant shallowly. Sweat ran from his brow, mingling with blood before dripping to the floor. His body shuddered, the tremors purling over his nerves endings, igniting them, searing them, making him gasp and cry.
There was no thought but one; he'd failed. He hadn't been strong enough and he'd failed. The Imperial Colonel would come back with more questions, and if he didn't answer the pain would go on until he did. And Luke didn't believe he could keep his wits about him long enough to resist. Not now, not any more. Not when he had already given them Ahana.
He didn't hear the cell door open once more; wasn't aware of there being anyone with him until Dassu spoke in his ear once more.
"Ahana has fallen, and the Princess Leia is dead."
"No…." The denial was quiet, pitiful; grief stricken and Dassu smiled in response. "Leia…"
"It was a small outpost, hardly worth our notice if it hadn't been for the renegade princess. The Empire is grateful to you for your co-operation, Lieutenant."
Luke choked back his anguish, a spark of anger flaming within at the taunt. "Go to hell." Then he howled, his back arching, as the control device embedded in his neck pulsed in response to his impudence. Dark blood trickled from his nose as his head fell forward.
ooOOoo
"Did you have to do that?" Tank burst as Kasden lifted his hand away from the console. "Can't you see he's in enough pain?"
The intercom on the console in the observation chamber took Kasden's attention from the Medic's caustic words. It buzzed loudly for attention. Impatiently, he opened the channel.
"Yes?"
"We have picked up a local farm girl; she's asking to see Colonel Dassu."
"Ask what she wants," Jared ordered quickly, monitoring the prisoner's unsteady bio-signs.
Kasden relayed the question.
"She says it's about the Rebel."
Tank looked back into the cell, at Luke hanging, pain wracked and helpless. Then he glanced at Jared. "Tell them I'm coming up for her."
"Yes. Sir."
Tank quickly left the room, relieved to be away from Luke's pain and curious about the girl.
ooOOoo
"But we have a few more questions for you, Lieutenant," Dassu continued, he walked around Luke as he spoke, hands clasped behind his back. "Since Ahana was so small, it begs the question as to where the rest of your Alliance is. Where the main base is?"
"No… Leia…" It didn't matter now, nothing mattered now. "Leia…" The agony of her death seemed more real than his physical pains. His chest was clogged, his throat closed and a whirlwind tore through his mind. Leia was dead.
"Lieutenant?" Dassu repeated. "Your main base?"
"There's… no main… base…" Luke felt his mouth moving, heard a tired voice whisper. "Just lots of small - units."
"Name them."
Luke shook his head, the movement making him nauseous. "I can't."
Thaler took hold of Luke's fractured left arm and pulled sharply down. He shrieked as bone grated on bone. A hand took a handful of his hair drawing his head up to face Dassu and he glared at the Imperial through tear-blurred eyes. "Only the higher…ranks know more… I don't. Narra… he will; not me -not me."
Both guards raised their truncheons.
ooOOoo
Jared jumped quickly for the com, shouting into it. It no longer mattered if the prisoner knew he was being monitored. "Colonel - it's the truth; he doesn't know!" He watched the guards look to Dassu with expressions of disappointment, and he watched with relief as Dassu took his word.
ooOOoo
The colonel leaned back against the blood-splattered cell wall and studied Luke carefully. The boy was his, now; if he knew what Dassu asked, then there would be no holding back. The smile once more curved his lips, and he spoke again, softly and friendly. "I only have a few move questions for you, and we can end this. We'll let you down and you can rest. You'd like that wouldn't you?"
Luke nodded, loosely.
ooOOoo
Jared turned around as the door to the observation chamber opened, and Tank re-entered. The captain looked flushed and nervous. Before the door closed, Byron spotted a young girl in the corridor outside, her arms folded protectively across her bosom.
"What's going on?" he asked, puzzled by the girl's presence and Bower's agitation.
Tank ignored his question as he stared at the screen. "What's happening?"
Kasden turned to him. "He's finished," he smiled.
Jared was sure Tank reddened in anger at the remark, meant in humour during a humourless situation.
ooOOoo
Dassu let his last words penetrate before he continued. "You came from Ahana. Before she died the Princess was kind enough to tell us about the attack the Alliance had planned. We'd like you to verify what she told us."
The attack? The Minoan assault that Leia was so enthusiastic about; the assault that was to have made him Lieutenant Commander; the assault that was designed to bring others into the Rebellion. Leia had told them? They had done this to Leia and she had told them? Leia… He wept.
Dassu watched this reaction in puzzlement. Apart from the weeping, the prisoner appeared quiet, almost calm. "Lieutenant?"
Luke lifted his head and lightened the burden on his shoulders. It was a combination of elements that brought this final moment to a head. It wasn't just Dassu's torture, although a person can only take so much deprivation, humiliation and pain before they gave up the fight, no matter how strong they may have been to begin with. No, this moment occurred because all that Luke had considered important, all that Luke had struggled to protect was already lost. He had never thought that betrayal could give such relief.
"Minoan," the word was hoarse, scrapping through a throat torn from screaming, dry with dehydration. "During the Armand visit…." He swallowed, choked, gasped. "Three flight squads will attack… the munitions plant, causing a… a diversion, while the assault team will land… assassinate Amand."
"At what time is this attack planned for?"
"Twenty-one-hundred hours… Local time."
"Landing co-ordinates for the assault team?"
"I don't know..."
The baton struck him sharply across the back. He yelled, crying out quickly; "I'm a pilot… I don't know… about six kilometres… outside the spaceport… I don't know… for sure..."
It was done. There was silence, a brief pause. There was brief ratchet sound and Luke dropped heavily to the floor grating.
Dassu looked at Thaler. "Kill him," he said.
ooOOoo
Before either Jared or Kasden could stop him, Tank had crossed the chamber to the wall com and punched on it."
"Wait!" he shouted.
Jared thought he could detect a note of panic in the medic's voice, but the technician couldn't be sure.
Without glancing back, Tank rushed from the room.
ooOOoo
Luke closed his eyes as he heard the guard draw his sidearm and steeled himself for the laser bolt he knew would kill him. It was all over. The pain would end. He would be at peace. He would be with Leia. It was then he heard the frantic shout. He opened his eyes and glanced up in fearful confusion. He recognised the voice.
Thaler paused, his gun still pointing at the prisoner's head. His finger twitched eager to pull the trigger. He looked to his superior. Dassu's expression was one of pure displeasure.
Tank hurried into the room. The colonel was on his feet; "What do you think you are doing, medic?"
"Don't you realise who he is?" Bower asked breathlessly, gesturing at Luke, who was staring at him in wide-eyed disbelief.
Dassu was tired. "Does it really matter?"
Even with hands bound, Luke managed to reach out to Bower, pleading, "Tank? Tank… please! Don't!"
Luke's words were a mistake; they sparked Dassu's unending curiosity. "Enlighten us, Captain."
"Tank, no… please!"
Thaler raised his arm, preparing to strike Luke with the butt of his gun. But Tank stepped in.
"No!" He crossed the room and knelt beside Luke, pulling the young Rebel into his arms, caring and betraying at the same time. Looking up at Dassu, he said, "He's Luke Skywalker. "
At first the colonel showed no recognition of the name. Then, slowly, understanding trickled into his blue eyes. "The pilot Lord Vader is anxious to find."
Luke moaned, whispered in horror, "Vader?" But only Tank heard, shocked that so much fear, abhorrence and helplessness could be conveyed in one word. And he realised that by saving Luke's life, he was also condemning him.
"How do you know his identity?" Dassu was asking.
"I…" Bower started.
"I told him," came a whispered female voice.
Dassu turned in surprise to see the young Lasjow girl standing at the door. He stepped aside and gestured for her to enter, and giving her an excellent view of Luke. Her gasp of dismay at the pitiful sight brought a smile to his lips. "And how did you come by this knowledge?"
Tamara gnawed her lower lip, fighting the tears that were welling up, threatening to spill over in a deluge. She tried not to look at Luke, tried not to see the disbelief in his eyes, tried not to see the hurt; but something pushed her, forced her, compelled her to stare at him, as she answered Dassu's question. "He told me."
Dassu tuned to Tank. "Have you informed Lord Vader?"
"Yes, sir, I…"
"Very well," Dassu's mouth turned down with displeasure. "You have my permission give him the minimal medical treatment necessary to keep him coherent for Lord Vader's arrival. See to it that the girl is taken home. This no longer concerns her." The colonel turned on his heels and left the cell, gesturing for the guards to do the same.
Tank watched him leave. He sighed heavily, knowing Dassu would be taking all the credit for Luke's capture – and if he was honest with himself then the colonel was welcome to it. He certainly didn't deserve to benefit from his actions to date. With heavy remorse he lifted Luke from the floor and gently placed him on the bunk. He studied the boy's wounds, wincing at the strangely distorted arm, the gash on Luke's head and the bloody contusions marking his torso.
"Why?" A quiet, rasping voice asked.
Tank looked away, unable to meet Luke's eyes. He saw Tamara standing behind him, weeping. He went to her, leading her from the cell. She had done what she had come for; there was no reason for her to remain. She fought against him, tried to cross to Luke.
"Why?" Luke demanded, more loudly, his rough voice touching on hysteria. "You… you were my friends!"
Bower paused at the door, his hand still holding the resisting girl, pulling her away. He turned to the younger man. "You have no friends here, Luke."