Chapter 33:

Lando's first sensation was a wracking headache. He opened his eyes, and winced at the brightness. "Wh- hey, what's going on here? Where am I?"

Mara leaned up against the doorway, a sardonic grin on her face. "Rise and shine, Calrissian."

He squinted up at her, and she could sense his sudden panic as he remembered what had happened. "This isn't the Falcon," he said, with perfect certainty. "Where am I?"

"Someplace safe where you won't cause more trouble for Lord Atrox," Mara said matter-of-factly. "And don't worry about your precious Millennium Falcon, it won't be going anywhere any time soon."

Leia guided the Falcon up through the swamp canopy, her face still streaked by tears. She had been searching, desperately, for Lando and Chewie, thinking maybe they were knocked out, or something, when she felt the tremor in the Force. Yoda was gone. It was afterwards she realized that someone must have been on the Falcon, and captured Lando and Chewie, and so was left with little choice. She cleared the trees, and broke atmosphere. She calculated a hyperspace jump to the most recent Rebel base she knew of, and within moments had made the hyperspace jump.

With a muffled explosion, the Falcon dropped back into realspace, and she could hear the hyperdrive whirring down. Biting back a curse, she stormed off to check the hyperdrive, fearing the worst.

It was as bad as she'd feared. The hyperdrive had blown, and it wasn't an accident, either. Sabotage. A delayed release, she guessed. Whoever had planted it hadn't expected her to come back so soon. There was nothing she could with it, so she returned to the cockpit to try to figure out where she was.

Nowhere, that's where. There wasn't a star system anywhere that she could reach in the next ten years or so, minimum. She sighed. So much for being the "last hope of the galaxy". She might as well have died trying to help Yoda. But he was gone.

"Yoda will always be with you."

Leia turned, startled. "Obi-wan?"

He took a seat in the cockpit next to her. Neither of them spoke for awhile, then Leia burst out, "Obi-wan, they… they killed him. It was Luke, I know it was. I- I've failed them."

Obi-wan looked grave. "Luke has allied himself with the dark side. He must be stopped before he has a chance to bring more evil upon the galaxy, one way… or another."

Leia's expression was bleak. "I can't kill my own brother."

Obi-wan sighed. "Then the Empire has already won. You were our last hope."

Leia shook her head. "It's too late for me to do anything, even if I wanted to. Obi-wan…" she hesitated. "Yoda spoke of another. Who…?"

Obi-wan looked grave. "The other he spoke of is your mother."

Leia frowned. "But my mother… she died when I was very young."

"To protect you, and your brother, from the Empire, it was necessary to hide you from your father when you were born. If he knew that your mother was still alive, he would inexorably hunt her, and you, down." Obi-wan's expression was filled with regret. "Anakin Skywalker loved your mother very much. If I'd known… I wanted to help him, help them both. When Anakin ceased to exist… I did what I could to make sure the family he loved so dearly was safe."

Leia's face was gentle. She was almost afraid to touch him, but whispered, "I'm sorry." No one spoke for a long while, and Leia stared down at her lap, lost in thought. Finally, she said, "Where is my mother? Obi-wan?" She turned to look at him, but he was gone.

Darth Vader and Darth Atrox walked up the boarding ramp of the shuttle to find Mara Jade and her two prisoners. Vader looked towards Mara, Lando, and Chewie. "Good work, Jade. You shall be rewarded. It's a pity that I will have to change my apprentice's punishment because of that."

Mara eyed him, suspiciously, obviously still angry at him. She looked at Atrox pointedly. "Any further orders, milord?"

"No. Leave us, Jade. Go to the cockpit and tell Admiral Solo to take us back to Imperial Center." Vader said as he turned back to his apprentice and the prisoners.

Mara glared at Vader, then said, "My lord Atrox, do you require anything further of me at the moment?"

Vader glared towards Mara and began to choke her with the Force. "Would you like me to change my apprentice's punishment?"

Mara forced herself not to bring a hand up to her throat. The hate in her eyes was evident as she gasped out, "You… will do as you choose… Vader… regardless of what I would like… or dislike. Don't bother pretending otherwise."

Vader did not release his hold on her throat. "You're learning. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith now, and I will do as I please. You will submit to my will, or I will have my apprentice destroy you."

Mara's eyes flickered to Atrox, briefly. She wondered what he would do if so commanded, if his loyalty to his father was stronger than anything he might feel for her. Somehow, she doubted that she was valuable enough to him to rebel against his father on her account. And yet… the Emperor's words echoed in her head, as well as Atrox's affirmation of them. Much as she hated the thought of giving in to Vader, of obeying his orders, she knew quite well that she had little choice. The hate was still evident in her voice and expression, but she muttered, "I… will do as you command… Lord Vader."

Vader finally released her, and once more returned his attention to the prisoners. Lando turned pale. He already knew what it was to cross Vader, and his temper clearly hadn't improved much since their last meeting.

Mara gave Vader a stiff bow, with only a hint of mockery in it, and went to the cockpit as she had been commanded.

Vader turned from Lando to his son. "You have done well today, Lord Atrox. You have proved yourself worthy of being my apprentice."

Atrox knelt as his master addressed him. "Thank you, my master."

Vader nodded in response. "However, there are a couple things we need to finish up. Firstly, it is time to completely give yourself to the dark side of the Force."

Atrox nodded. "As you command, master." He turned his thoughts inward, and began to systematically purge any weaknesses from inside himself. The part of him that regretted killing Master Yoda… the part that was sorry for Han and Leia… He probed deeper, sensing… something else lurking in the depths of his heart.

Mara. He promptly locked down that part of his feelings, lest Vader sense how close it came to overwhelming him now that he had uncovered it. He prepared to obliterate it from his heart, but stopped himself. He couldn't do it. With just a twinge of regret, he buried those feelings as deep as he could reach, erecting all sorts of barriers around them, and after a moment's hesitation, did so for his love for his father, as well.

When at last he opened his eyes, they were burning with a sickly yellow glow. He smiled, twistedly. "I have done as you commanded, my master."

Vader returned his apprentice's twisted smile, sensing the changes that Atrox made to his mind. "Very good, my apprentice. Now there is the issue of your punishment from earlier." He paused, then continued. "Interrogate the prisoners, and then I will punish you when we get back to Imperial Center." They may know where your sister is, Vader added through their Force bond.

Atrox's eyes glittered. "Yes, master." His voice seemed colder than before. Vader nodded, confident that his son would complete his task to perfection, and stepped back, allowing him full rein.

Atrox began pacing back and forth, never taking his eyes away from his two prisoners. Lando looked away, uneasily, feeling the Sith's predatory gaze. Suddenly, before he realized what had happened, Atrox's voice was in his head, accompanied by an agonizing ripping sensation searing through his mind.

You will tell me where Leia is, or you will experience pain beyond your comprehension, and tell me anyway.

Lando felt as if his head were being split apart. I- I swear, I don't know!

The next thing he knew, he was lifted into the air, gasping for breath as Atrox's grip tightened on his throat. Tell. Me.

"I- I don't know!" His eyes were desperate, pleading.

Atrox smiled twistedly. "I'd hoped you were more stubborn than you looked. I'm going to enjoy this."

Lando's eyes widened, and he choked out, "I- I'm telling the tru-"

Lando was cut off by Atrox throwing him across the room. Lando came to a sliding halt at Vader's feet. Vader in return kicked him hard in the abdomen, making him slide another few feet. "Admiral! Get in here!" he snapped in the general direction of the cockpit.

"I don't care anymore, Calrissian," Atrox said, beginning to walk slowly towards him. He once again invaded Lando's mind, causing as much pain as he could inflict on him without killing him.

Lando screamed out with pain, coupling with his mental anguish to rip through the shuttle. At that moment, Han entered, and stared down at his former friend dispassionately. Their eyes met, and Lando gasped out, "Han! Help… not my… fault…"

Han looked down at him, distastefully. "Look, I don't have any idea who you are, and it's obviously your fault for choosing to consort with traitors to the Empire." He turned to Vader. "You summoned me, sir?"

"Yes. Observe the rebels. Tell me, what do you think of my son's… interrogation?" Vader said with a twisted, amused smile as he watched Atrox raise both of his arms, pointed at Lando and blast him with Force lightning so powerful that if it had been any stronger it would have killed Lando instantly.

Han raised his eyes to look at Atrox, and, slightly uneasily, noticed the sick, sadistic smile on his face. "He is… very dedicated, sir."

Lando's expression grew even more desperate. "Han—don't you…. don't you know who I am? We're friends, remember?" Lando managed to cry out through his deafening screams caused by the lightning.

Han looked at Lando, his expression of disgust turning to rage. He looked up at Atrox and yelled over the lightning, "Milord, make him suffer! The scum has crossed the line."

At that moment, Chewbacca was finally awakened by the screams. He let out a low moan, and then noticed Han, and gave a yelp of joy. Han frowned. He'd never seen this Wookiee before, but he seemed… vaguely familiar, somehow.

Leia was meditating, waiting for something, anything, to happen. She'd sent out a distress signal via nonofficial wave lengths, hoping it wouldn't be picked up by Imperials, and now, she simply waited. Suddenly she could hear screams, screams that sounded like… Lando. With a start, her meditation broke, and she realized that she must have been hearing what Luke was hearing. Yoda had told her a little about Force bonds, but she had to admit, the one she shared with her brother asserted itself at the strangest moments. Points of high emotion, she assumed. She wondered if Luke ever felt what she was seeing, or hearing. She sighed. So they did have Lando… and Chewie, probably. And Luke was torturing them because of her. They had no idea where she was, and she couldn't even do anything to help them. Once more, she attempted to clear her head and restart her meditation, hoping it wouldn't happen again…

Suddenly, Atrox stopped the lightning and watched as Lando fell to the ground, helpless. He could feel Leia's thoughts through a… bond that he had with her. You can sense his pain, can't you, sister. You can feel it as your own, just like I felt yours and Han's as my own. Hmm… someone is coming to answer your distress call… I will be sure to pay them a visit when I am finished with these pathetic friends of yours.

Leia suddenly felt her brother reach out, purposefully this time, to touch her mind. She frowned, confused, and stretched out her senses. He was right, someone was coming. Luke… I don't know what's happened, but this isn't you. The Luke I knew was a kind, gentle man who would give his life to protect his friends, not take pleasure in destroying them.

Atrox's thoughts darkened as he felt his sister attempt to change him. LUKE SKYWALKER IS DEAD! I am Darth Atrox. You would do well to remember it, Jedi. Atrox sent through their bond while he attempted to rampage though her thoughts, but was blocked by her mental barriers due to their distance apart from each other.

Leia shook her head, on the verge of tears. Then my brother is truly dead.

Atrox broke off the connection with Leia and smiled at Lando and drew his saber staff. "You are far from finished, rebel."

Lando, too weak to move, could only stare in growing horror as Atrox ignited one end of the saber. "N- no, you don't have to do this! Please… I'll do anything… we can work out some sort of deal…"

Atrox did not respond to Lando and continued to slowly walk up to Lando, relishing his fear as he slowly brought the tip of the crimson blade onto Lando's cheek.

Leia shuddered as she felt Lando's agony underneath the perverted pleasure she could tell Atrox drew from it. She wished she could do something to ease Lando's pain, but she was too far away, and had no direct connection to him like she did with her brother.

After about a minute or two, Atrox lifted his saber up from Lando's cheek and began to apply extreme pressure on the wound with the sole of his boot. "Here is the deal, Rebel. Tell me where the Rebel base is, where my sister is now and what she has learned here." He demanded while his burning yellow eyes buried into Lando.

Lando's voice was barely a hoarse whisper. Most of his nerve endings were raw from the agony he had endured, to the point where he barely felt anything, just a dull ache everywhere. "I swear I don't know anything about your sister, or the Rebels."

Han was unable to tear his eyes away from the awful sight. "Lord Atrox sure is thorough, isn't he?" Han muttered to Vader, quietly.

Vader was also unable to tear his eyes away from his apprentice, the sight pleasing him. "Indeed he is. He is mastering his lessons quickly." He muttered back proudly.

Atrox, unsatisfied with Lando's answer, smiled savagely. "Very well, I will get the information I want myself." He said both coldly and darkly and then forced his way into Lando's mind. He began to rip through Lando's thoughts, not caring how much damage was done, pulling what information he could from his head. When he had uncovered everything Lando knew, Atrox released him, and he immediately plunged into unconsciousness, both mind and body raw and broken.

Vader walked up to his apprentice and smiled darkly. "Excellent work, my apprentice. You have done well. When we return to Imperial Center, we will continue our previous… conversation."

With a small click, the comm system came on. "We're dropping out of hyperspace now," Mara's voice broke in, crisply. "Welcome back to Imperial Center."