Luke was staring into the ceiling. His sense of time was starting to slip, but it couldn't have been more than a week. At least he hoped it hadn't been more than a week. He was lying on the cold rock slab that was cut directly out of the wall of the cave, but he didn't mind the cold stone right now. It felt soothing against his aching skin and the angry red welts all over his body. He would probably freeze later, but right now he didn't care. Any relief was a blessing, however temporary. Of course it didn't help that the cave itself was cool and that he was only wearing a loincloth. His captor had declared as one of the first things that he wasn't worthy of proper clothes and had denied him any comforts since he had woken up in this place.
He dared move his hands a little and immediately regretted it as pain shoot through his protesting aching muscles. He had only just been through another round of 'how can I make your life hell today?' and his body was desperate for rest. Just dragging himself back onto the slab properly had been a chore. She really meant it when she said she was going to make my life hell. A spasm ran through his right arm and the chain rattled. The chains... Luke studied them in the half dark she had also decided to keep him in. They were thick and solid. Not something he would have a change of breaking with his normal strength, much less his present. They were strong enough to hold a wookiee without problems. And the cuffs weren't any different. Luke estimated them to be about two inches wide and a half inch thick, with a big solid ring welded into them that the chains were attached to. Yep. I'm still screwed. No way I'm breaking these.
He sighed. At least that almost didn't hurt.
He let his eyes follow one of the chains. The one attached to his right wrist was attached at the right side of the room just under the low ceiling, and the left was attached opposite it so that he was forced to face the door whenever he was walking around unless he wanted to get tangled up in the chains. Not that he did much walking. Whenever he wasn't being tortured, he preferred to lie down or sit on the stone slab.
A shiver ran through his body. He was starting to get cold. Luke knew he should try to heal up before she came back. He never knew how much time he had before the next session and he needed all the healing and rest he could get.
A sound at the doorway alerted him to the presence of another. Of her. He turned his head in disbelief. Hadn't she just been here?
His captor looked at him for a moment from the door. Then she wordlessly walked past the line to which he could go without stretching the chains completely and placed a plate with some food and water on the floor. "Here. Food. Don't want you do die of hunger or thirst, now do we?" She didn't smile. Just looked at him coldly and then walked out again.
Luke turned his head further and looked at the food. It looked like Lando's cooking. He hoped it was better.
§ §
A meek beep sounded in the middle of nowhere and was immediately lost in the deep, dark space. Artoo moved his mechanical arm and attached the line it was holding in a new place. Another arm held the plate he had removed and wires floated around only partly attached to the X-wing.
Artoo had been working furiously on fixing the X-wing for days, never stopping, never tiring, but he didn't seem to have much luck. First he had tried to fix the long range transmitter so he could call for help, but he hadn't been able to get enough distance. At least he could call any ship traveling through subspace within 1000 klicks, but that was about it, and in terms of space that was worse than trying to find a needle in a haystack. He had kept broadcasting a continuing distress call since he had fixed the transmitter, but with no responses so far.
Then he had started fixing the damage to the X-wing's engines and that was what he had been doing for the past four days. He knew his reach was limited, but if he could get any trust and steering back then he could steer the X-wing closer to populated space where he could alert the authorities to his master's distress. Artoo beeped to himself and continued his work. He had to help his master.
§ §
Airen Cracken was walking down one of the long hallways of the military headquarters. His destination; the Admiral's office. Coming to the door he stopped and knocked, waiting for a response.
"Come in."
Cracken opened the door and stepped into the damp office. "Good afternoon, Admiral."
"Good afternoon, General. So, what is it you have for me today?" Admiral Ackbar said with his usual humor.
Cracken didn't smile since he knew how much trouble it could possibly be. "Well, I'm not quite sure yet, Admiral, but I'm working on it."
Ackbar waved him into a chair in front of his desk. "Explain, please."
Cracken sat down. "Yesterday I had a talk with Councilor Organa, who alerted me to the fact that she couldn't reach Jedi Skywalker through any means she had tried. She also told me she had been feeling 'uneasy' for about the same amount of time since anybody last saw him."
"Hmm. This 'uneasy feeling'... you think it was the Force?"
"Possibly. We have no confirmation on it, since the only person, who might be able to confirm it – "
" – is Jedi Skywalker." Ackbar nodded his understanding. "So, you didn't come here for a social visit. What have you got, General?" Ackbar said leaning forward in his chair and resting his arms on the table.
"Not much. Basically I talked to Councilor Organa, who told me what she knew. Skywalker was last seen on Q'tar, where he checked out with the outpost there about six days ago now. He was supposed to go to the Folor base where he was to meet up with Commander Antilles, but he never arrived. These are the facts. Anything beyond that is just speculation at this point."
Ackbar slowly leaned back. "And you think Skywalker is in trouble? He couldn't just be holed up somewhere out of reach?"
"We thought about that and the answer is he could very well be holed up in a location we can't reach. But." Cracken held up a finger. "He was supposed to meet up with Commander Antilles and didn't, and there is the feeling Councilor Organa has had for a few days now. There is a risk that the Empire could be involved in his disappearing. And if they are ..."
"Then they have been or is intruding on New Republic space," Ackbar said gravely. "That would be very serious indeed. And I do not like the idea of Skywalker maybe being in their hands."
"Neither do I, Admiral," Cracken said just as seriously. "Which is why I bring this to your attention. In my opinion neither Jedi Skywalker nor Councilor Organa tend to worry, or at least share their worries, unless they have something to have them in. And since I started my own little inquiries yesterday I've not found anything to dispel Councilor Organa's worry."
Ackbar nodded slowly. "So, I guess you are here to ask me to start a search?"
"Not a search for Skywalker per se. At this moment we can't actually justify using the resources for a large scale search, since we don't have any proof he's missing. But we can intensify our patrols in certain areas – "
" – without raising any suspicion and alerting anybody who may be watching us." Ackbar smiled slightly and nodded in understanding. "I see. You have a valid point, General. And while I organize the search and patrolling I'm counting on you to find me some more information." Ackbar looked at him with stern eyes. "There's only so long I can redirect our ships without any questions and when the questions come I need something more solid than what I have now, General."
Cracken nodded. "I understand, Admiral. I will do my best to make sure you have all the information needed."
"If that was all, I believe I have some things to do, and so do you."
Cracken nodded. "Yes, Admiral. I'll keep you posted." He rose, nodded to Ackbar, and left the office. It had gone well. Now he just needed some proof of anything happening to Skywalker or of his disappearance being against his will. It should be an interesting evening.
§ §
Leia walked down one of the many hallways in the Imperial Palace. Cracken and Ackbar had come up with a plan to discreetly search for Luke and it seemed their inquiries might have paid off. At least a package had been delivered to the Imperial Palace for her, containing a disc marked 're: L.S.'. Cracken suspected it might be news regarding her brother and had insisted on himself and Ackbar being present when they played the disc. Leia didn't mind; she just hoped it contained some good news.
Arriving at one of the secluded rooms used by the NRI, Leia pressed the code that would let her in. The door opened with a swoosh and Leia had to strain her eyes for a moment when she stepped into the somewhat darker room. Cracken saw her and nodded to her.
"Ready to see what is on that disc?" Ackbar asked her softly as he came over to her.
Leia nodded. "Yes. I just hope it has some good news."
Together they went to stand in front of the screen in the middle of the room and a moment later Cracken joined them.
"We haven't found any viruses or other malware on the disc, and the disc reader is only connected to the screen. It should be completely safe. When you are ready."
Leia took a deep breath and nodded.
Cracken looked to the side and nodded to an assistant.
The screen came to life. It was pixelated for a brief moment before what appeared to be a cave became visible. It seemed rather dark and it took a moment before Leia realized that it wasn't empty. A person was sitting on a stone bench cut out of the wall in the back of the room, legs drawn up, arms around the legs, and the head resting against the knees. He appeared to be naked. Suddenly he lifted his head and Leia sucked in her breath as she recognized him. She heard a hiss beside her, but all her attention was focused on the screen.
Luke unfolded from his position and stood up. Leia realized that she hadn't been completely wrong; he wasn't naked, but he was only wearing a loincloth. More than that now that he was moving forward and into a slightly brighter light, she could see his body was covered with little welts and marks. The heavy chains hanging from equally heavy cuffs around his wrists was attached somewhere outside of the frame, and rattled when he moved.
"He's looking at someone," Ackbar whispered.
Leia realized he was right. Luke's eyes were focused straight ahead, clear as always and alert. He didn't appear afraid.
He stopped before the chains were completely outstretched. "Don't." It wasn't begging; just a simple request.
It was ignored. A moment later Leia watched in horror as electrical blue lighting snaked down the chains and hit him. Luke's muscles convulsed under the attack and his knees could no longer hold his weight. Despite the attack Luke kept his mouth firmly closed not saying a thing while his muscles spasmed.
Then it stopped. Luke hung from his chains, exhausted.
"Why?" Luke lifted his head to look at his torturer. "Why are you doing this?"
To Leia's surprise he was answered by a hard, cold, female voice. "You destroyed my life, Skywalker. Now I will destroy yours."
Luke stared at the woman only he could see. The electrical blue lighting came again looking more violent and angry than before and hit him with a force that made his entire body tense. Luke screamed. His screams was accompanied by a cold, high laughter that made Leia's blood both freeze and boil with fury.
The recording stopped and the room fell into complete silence. But the cold, high laughter and Luke's screams still hung in the air and in Leia's head. She had curled her hands so hard into fists that they were completely white and her nails were digging into her palms. She was shaking with fury and shock.
Cracken slowly turned to her.
"She will die." Leia's voice was shaking slightly, still staring into the screen. "When I find her, she will die."
No one said anything to their Minister of State making death threats. On the contrary several heads nodded their agreement. The technicians looked shocked, but determined to do whatever they could to help Leia. Cracken's face had turned into stone and even with her limited abilities Leia could feel his determination to find Luke and his capturer. It was burning like a fire.
Ackbar turned to her. "I think we have all the proof we need for a full scale search now." His gravelly voice was as serious as his expression. He laid a hand on her arm. "We will find him, Leia."
Leia nodded mutely. Her fury was burning like a red hot fire and she didn't trust herself to speak or do anything right now, but stand there. She had never wanted to kill someone like she wanted to kill that woman right now. She was hurting her brother and she wanted her to suffer for it. Suffer and die.