Author's Note: This chapter takes place during S7 E10: "The Phantom Apprentice," as Maul mind-probes Jesse to find out about Ahsoka. Props to my younger sister for giving me the idea to write this one-shot. I'm beginning to wonder if I should change the rating to "T," because it seems each chapter just gets more angsty and disturbing...

"Your mind will speak"— Maul's red-rimmed eyes fixed on the ARC's in an icy glare—"or it will break."

He eased closer, hand outstretched mere inches from the trooper's face. Jesse tried to pull away, but a magnetizing force drew his attention. He strained against the binders cutting into his wrists. It was pointless. A sharp pain coursed through his nerves as Kast wrenched his arm back and out of use.

Jesse reminded himself what was at stake, and who he was protecting. He remembered his commander, his brothers, his precious Republic. He remembered how much had been sacrificed, how many men had already died in defense of Mandalore. He didn't know what information Maul wanted to extract, and he didn't care. Whatever it was, he resolved that the enemy would not get it from him.

Jesse's vision blurred into a haze of undefined shadows. The room faded around him, the tunnels melting out from beneath his feet. All he could see, the only reality he could hold onto, was the menacing black and crimson face peering at him behind a gloved hand. And a voice—inaudible, but hissing from the recesses of his mind.

Speak.

Jesse was vaguely aware that every muscle in his body was quaking. His chest constricted, his lungs burning as he gasped for oxygen that would not come. His head throbbed; he could almost feel Maul's fingertips close in over his skull in an invisible grip.

"Tell me." Maul's words reverberated, cold and distant. "Who is this Ahsoka Tano?"

Jesse let out a choked cry as Maul's strangling grasp tightened through the Force. He could barely move, his body itching to escape, like a trapped animal.

It does not have to be this way. Speak, and it will end.

Jesse sensed his resistance begin to crumble. He tried to shift his focus to something, anything, that would distract him from the voice injecting fear into his subconscious. Desperation seeped in, attempting to replace his resolution. But he refused to cave in.

Very well. Then you will break.

A head-splitting pain pried into his mind. It was unlike any physical discomfort, because there was no release. Because this was every pain. A surge of memories and emotions surfaced before him. Every moment of anger, of grief, of confusion that he had ever experienced boiled over, as he re-lived each memory at an unbearable pace. His brain seemed to invert—the thoughts still his own, but now outside of his ability to control. They passed with blinding speed, his mind incapable of processing it all.

For a moment, the purple and blood-red shadows of Umbara took shape around him—the ghoulish forms of enemy tanks vaporizing his brothers. The cries of the wounded. The lucid green flash of sabers. The betrayal.

He saw only carnage—three years of violence and death, of lost soldiers and crushed hopes; and he could do nothing to stop it. All he was, all he knew, slowly handed over into Maul's possession. He was transparent, forced to confront his own unbarred thoughts; which allowed Maul to sift through as he pleased.

Jesse opened his mouth to finally answer, but stopped himself short. His words broke off into an excruciating scream.

He felt pushed to the brink of death. He envisioned his body suspended over an endless chasm, feet searching for solid earth, hands groping for a lifeline. But, when he focused, he could only hear the tantalizing voice of his captor, enticing him to give in.

"Tell me now."

Impatience flared in the Dathomirian's golden eyes. For a moment Jesse felt the soles of his armored feet scrape against the metal floor as Maul used the Force to drag him forward. Maul caught hold of the clone's jaw, jerking his head up so their eyes locked. He bared his teeth in a frustrated scowl. Jesse, in turn, managed a weak but equally defiant glare.

Jesse set his focus on his brothers, anchoring in their memory for strength. He remembered Rex, Tup, Fives. They would not have given in.

Then he thought of Kix—his best friend, the one who had been at his side since the beginning. The one he had lost. The one who was gone, MIA, with no explanation. The reminder ruptured Jesse's concentration, and he felt himself slipping.

Maul must have sensed the weakness. He latched onto the soldier's anxiety, drew from it, used it to his advantage. Jesse felt hot tears well in his eyes, realizing his raw concern for Kix was now a weapon in the enemy's arsenal.

"Ahsoka Tano," Maul probed.

Jesse tried in vain to resist. But Maul was relentless, and even now he could feel the intrusive force working its way into his mind.

He felt his conscience tear at the seams, the last shred of willpower rent from his grasp.

"Commander...Ahsoka..." he choked out.

Stop! Jesse wanted to scream at himself. Don't tell him anything.

It was too late.

Maul drew the words from him. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was spilling all he knew about his commander since her apprenticeship to Anakin Skywalker—the framing of the Jedi Temple bombing; her expulsion from the Order, then the choice to leave when the Council offered reinstatement. Everything.

Maul's eyes narrowed at the mention of Skywalker, but Jesse hardly noticed. He turned limp in Maul's iron clutch. Shame numbed his body, as he surrendered to his overwrought emotions. He had never felt so worthless.

I'm sorry, Commander.

For a moment he forgot about Maul, and the mission, and the war. He blotted out the sharp voice inflicting doubts at the back of his mind. As the room began to fade to black, and consciousness diminished, all he wanted was to feel his brother beside him.

Ni cuy' ni ceta, Kix. I failed you, too. Ner vod…

Jesse felt Maul's grip suddenly release, and he collapsed in a heap. He shuddered, struggling to collect his shattered composure. Rook Kast stared down at the trooper, eyes wide in silent horror at all she had just witnessed. Jesse looked up at Maul. Something had changed in his expression. His brow furrowed in thought, and there was a hint of surprise and confusion in his face as he regarded Jesse. The monstrous aggression had changed in an instant, almost to...sympathy?

Maul's expression hardened, regaining his elusive demeanor. He crossed his arms over his chest as he turned away and summoned the Mandalorian to his side. Jesse watched as they conversed. Their words were muffled and distant, as if he were spectating from under water.

Exhaustion soon overtook him. He could not even muster enough energy to cradle his own pounding head. Jesse closed his eyes, shivering in a cold sweat and accepting the brutal reality that he had just betrayed his beloved Republic.

Mando'a Translations

Ni cuy' ni ceta—I am sorry

Net vod—my brother

Review Replies

Cupcake Cupcake— Thank youuuu for reading my work XD and for being such a loyal subscriber! It's really fun getting to interact with you on here and on YouTube.

FleeingNose13—Thank you for the review! I tried to keep them as in-character and true to the story as possible without coming across as too shippy lol. Rex and Ahsoka's relationship is just golden, so I'm glad you liked the way I wrote it into the story! And I'll continue to add bits of Mando'a whenever possible ;)