Caught

Part 3 : Challenges

By mireille 1998-2001-2009

Disclaimers: Nothing in the Star Wars Universe belongs to me; everything belongs to George Lucas. I'm only writing stories for fun.

Warning : this new part is the reason why I rate this fic R as Vader doesn't kid around when he interrogates Luke. I tried to soften the blows compared to the original version by removing some of the more cruel details, but it is still a defintely r-rated part. Just keep that in mind whenever Luke is conscious.

Other than those parts, though, the rest should be for those who just like ESB-like conflicts and challenges fics :) Enjoy!


Back on Kadara, Han left the small fresher and Chewie whuffed in surprise at his changed appearance. Instead of his usual dark-brown bangs, the pilot now sported a russet mop of unruly hair that stood straight on his head. As for his trademark corellian stripes, his white shirt and his black vest, he had traded them for body-tight supple leather that looked somewhat out of place on him as those clothes were more expensive than anything he had ever been able to afford in his whole life.

Not that the long trench wasn't his style, though.

"The crawlers will wash out in a few days," the equally disguised assistant explained as she studied his transformation. He notice that, she had changed her usual looks for that of a more regular citizen, and her hair was now a dull raven black instead of the brilliant blond of before.

Both humans had also changed eye color, had added facial prosthesis whenever possible, and Han had completed his look with a single earring on his left ear and a refined true moustache.

Growth agents were so useful when one knew how to use them, he reflected as he ran a fingertip over the new facial hair.

"So can we have the Falcon's codes already?" the bossy woman asked, extending a demanding hand toward him.

Chewie woofed his unease with this part of the plan while Han, who patted his new pockets to make sure that he had all his identity cards with him, took a moment to consider the plan anew.

He finally closed his fist around his back up code card but didn't produce it yet. "What guarantee do we have that we'll get her back?"

"Who'd want to pilot such an identifiable ship besides you?" the other countered, resting her hands on her fabric-covered curves. "Come on, time is money, and we've already wasted enough of it as it is."

With a last glance of uncertainty at his co-pilot, Han made his decision and gave her the precious back up key that gave access to their priceless baby.

Everyone was spurred into motion after that.

Even as Han watched her give the key to a Talz and a Bimm, he and Chewie were ushered toward the various means of transportation that were parked in the adjoining shielded landing bay. While Chewie was directed toward a secret compartment that was located inside a closet-like space of a small transport ship, Han was shown the piloting seat of a luxurious speeder.

Several unfamiliar faces, including one of Roko's bodyguards, then took place in the back of the speeder and opened a bottle of spirit. So, Han surmised quickly, he would pretend to be a hired pilot for a relatively-rich and lazy bunch of off-worlders.

As per agreement, his group was among the first to leave, along with Chewie's.

Their two vehicles took different routes, successfully went through a few controls each, and eventually filed up in the spaceport's access lane with other stranded travelers .

While Han did his best to keep his mind on the ongoing game of deception that had been so craftily set up by Roko's group, his thoughts kept drifting to his missing friend.

He simply couldn't help but wish that Luke's circumstances were not as he feared they were.

Forcing himself to refocus on the present moment – and the raucous laughter that came from his disguised passengers - Han longingly gazed up as ships roared by overhead after getting their final clearance to leave.

He felt his heart clench as he watched his beloved Falcon take to the skies without him. She was safe, of course, but would he ever see her again?..

He then held his breath as he watched the stormtroopers inspect and search the transport that carried Chewie; he let his breath out only when it, too, got the all clear signal, at least as far as the defense perimeter was concerned.

Then, at last, it was up to his group to tackle the control point of the defense perimeter. He assumed the attitude of a professional hired driver/pilot. "Sightseeing the bars and drinking all day, officer," he answered the imperial question as to their recent activities. "I stayed with the speeder throughout their visits."

"Yeah!!! Definitely a great spot for the booze!" one of his temporary allies slurred as if he were thoroughly inebriated, which was an excellent comment from his part as there was little more to do than drink and work on this backwater of a planet. However, local offworlders who couldn't afford long-distance fares were known to take advantage of the local resources when they wanted to unwind from their regular lives, hence their cover story was more than realistic.

"Where are you off to?" the imperial asked, non-committal.

Apparently, Han reflected in relief, the imperial was like his colleagues in the barrages that they had faced already and didn't suspect them of any foul play. "Rialteer aboard the yacht Felicity," he answered out loud, "docking bay number 598." He fished in his breast pocket and produced the chip that Roko's spaceport spies had delivered to them earlier. "Here, it's all on this."

Apparently under the order to be thorough in their search, the officer put the chip in its viewer and downloaded its content while his underlings opened the trunk of the speeder and inspected its content before they asked all the passengers to step out so that they could inspect the rest of the vehicle.

At long last, they gave the all clear signal to their superior and authorized Han's group to reintegrate the speeder. Roko's employees made a show of being too drunk to get in without incident, much to the imperials annoyance.

"All right, you're clear to pass," the officer clipped at Han. "Wait till you get clearance codes before lifting up or you will be detained for questioning."

"Don't worry, they don't pay me enough to take that risk for them," he slurred, pointing a derogatory thumb at the drunken bunch seated behind him.

Already focusing his attention on the next vehicle, the officer signalled them forward while the troopers in front of them temporarily cleared off the driving lane.


As per agreement, Han and his group boarded a non-descript luxury yacht berthed in bay 598 while others boarded other deceptive-looking ships, and then they all patiently waited for their clearance codes like the law-abiding citizens that they were pretending to be.

Felicity's clearance came only long after Executor, the Empire's latest behemoth, had cleared the system, much to Han's disappointment.

Indeed, he had watched, feeling thoroughly helpless, as Vader's ship had left, taking its precious Jedi captive away and out of immediate reach. Then, while they had waited for their turn to leave, he had tried to extrapolate where the Executor would head next, but he had concluded that there were too many possibilities and too little information to determine anything useful.

His only hope, he reflected as he was finally authorized to initiate his lift-off procedures, was that the cruel monster would not use Luke to find the rebels like he had tried to do with the princess.

The princess..., he paused as a mental image of the radiant young woman floated up in his mind. He would be cursed if he ever let Vader touch a hair of her head ever again!

He also couldn't delay telling her about Luke's current predicament, yet at the same time, if he returned to the Rebellion's rendezvous point after recovering the Falcon, he would be that much later to help Luke.

On the other hand, he reminded himself, he had no idea where Luke was, let alone what he could do to help him...

"Set course 5-7-2," he finally instructed his co-pilot as the unfamiliar yacht took off and quickly broke Kadora's atmosphere.

It was time to recover his ship and first mate before leaving Roko's gang to their well-organized business.

Then, he promised himself, he would turn the whole galaxy upside-down if he had to, but he would find and rescue his friend before Vader could fulfill his evil plans with him.

Whatever his plans would be.

Somehow, though, he knew that the Emperor's henchman would not kill Luke as he had meant to do with Leia, and it wasn't a very reassuring prospect.

**********************************************************************************

"AAAAH! Pleaaaase!" Luke begged desperately, trying yet again to wring his body away from the shocking rod's lava-like touch.

How long would it take before he died, he whined at the unseen Force. He didn't know how much longer he would hold his tongue, as Ben's voice had begged him to do just before this new round of torture had begun.

"What's your name?" Vader demanded for the hundredth time since they had begun their talks.

The trooper in charge of the interrogation device gave the youth a few seconds to answer, and then shocked him again.

Please, Luke begged the Force anew while he shrieked yet again in torment. 'Please, let this kill me.'


"For the last time," the dark lord warned ominously, feeling his patience grow thinner by the second "who are you?"

The young Jedi only screamed again in reaction to the trooper's action.

Vader indicated to the trooper to increase the intensity of the shocks as he could feel that his captive's resistance was lessening.

At last, he thought in annoyance. He had been wearing him down for almost a week and a half now - with two eight-hour long sessions per day - relying exclusively on the physical kind of torment as the strong child had demonstrated his ability to resist the suggestive/pain-inducing drugs that were now the norm with prisoners.

All this, yet he hadn't given any sign of weakness yet.

Soon, though, very soon, he would break him.

"Who are you, rebel? Tell me," he growled, taking hold of the youth's hair and pulling his head backward to force him to meet his gaze. "How are you related to Kenobi?" He asked as he tried once again to understand why he had felt the impossible presence of the old traitor around the child before the other's spirit had sought refuge inside the young Jedi.

Vader now understood that it was Kenobi's spirit, and not the child, who was shielding the Jedi's mind from any probes and thought manipulations that Vader could attempt. However, even if the child was untrained, he was still very strong in the Force and it was his strength that was manipulated by the ghost to produce the impenetrable barrier that protected the rebel's thoughts and secrets.

The youth shrieked yet again in agony as the trooper once again touched his back with the shocking rod.

The prisoner begged for mercy at this.

Vader motioned with his finger; the trooper left the child alone.

"Whenever you surrender, boy," the dark lord said magnanimously in the ensuing silence, and then indicated to the trooper to resume the torture.

The beleaguered young man writhed anew even as he howled in excruciating pain.

The dark lord of the Sith could feel that it was only a matter of minutes before the boy would finally put an end to his stubborn resistance and become reasonable. He knew it, could almost see it happening---but instead of giving in, the young Jedi slumped in his restraints, falling unconscious as his body finally gave up for him.

Vader watched in utter disbelief as the youth's head slumped down to his chest while his muscles relaxed until he simply hung limply from his restraints.

"What?" he finally roared once he recovered from his uncharacteristic shock; he violently backhanded the boy, to no avail. The youth was out cold for real.

And so much for pushing his physical limits, the dark Lord seethed at both himself and the unconscious boy. He had been so certain that he would break him before the end of the week...

Kreth! He swore. To be bereft of such victory after investing so much time and calculated efforts in the fight, it was just… It was just… Aggravating, he relented, and then focused his annoyance on the nearby trooper and thoughtlessly pushed him backward with all the strength of his frustration and anger.

The other crashed against the back wall and crumpled to the deck, unconscious, perhaps dead.

He didn't care.

The only thing that mattered to him now was this young Jedi and how to break him into submission while shooing Kenobi's spirit away from him.

He had brought him here with the Emperor's benediction, intent on breaking him and executing him afterward, or so the Emperor thought. However, Vader didn't plan to kill the boy and had chosen that base – the dumping ground of the Empire – for its ease with which he would be able to hide the continued survival of the boy… but only once he would be broken.

He gazed once again at the unconscious and frustratingly stubborn youth who was dangling from the ceiling.

Twenty physical sessions in ten days, he reflected in awe, yet he still hadn't broken...

It was also the first time that he'd passed out because of the pain, which meant that they had only begun to find his physical limits, but not his mental ones.

Not by a long shot, he reluctantly admitted, but he still had to break him. He had to make this strength his, not to mention that he had to drain Kenobi's ghost from whatever power he still held so that he wouldn't be able to channel the youth's Force shield and kinectic skills so efficiently.

Then, and only then, the boy's power would be his, and he would finally be able to defeat the Emperor and rule the galaxy.

He studied his captive yet again. The child's bare torso now bore countless marks of burns, his right arm was tracked from all the shots of pain-enhancing drugs that he had received, his skin was discoloured by ugly black and blues, and his features were slightly gaunt from both sleep and food deprivation.

Anybody would have given in long before reaching this state of grave injury, Vader knew from long experience, but not this mere boy.

As soon as they had arrived at the outpost, he'd raised the level of pain that was inflicted on him, but his resistance had only increased.

And here he was, he sighed in annoyance, planning to increase the level yet again by adding other forms of torment to his strategy. It was a shame, though, as he couldn't say that he relished the pain that he was inflicting upon his future apprentice. However, the child just wouldn't surrender, thus left him no other choice but to rely on those cruel methods of coercion.

Still, he wanted to keep this Jedi alive for his plans, and for that, he needed some measure of moderation in what he did to him.

As he followed with his eyes the path of countless and criss-crossing burns on the child's exposed back and arms, he made a mental note to check on the results of his DNA test.

Last time that he had checked, the medics aboard Executor hadn't managed to break his code, the regular tools turning defective whenever they had input the new samples in them. Kenobi's channeled powers at work, no doubt, he groused in frustration.

While he had no grasp over that enemy anymore, he promised himself not to give up and to wait for as long as necessary for the ghost's powers to fade to oblivion. After all, he had once read about the Jedi's powers after they transcended this life, and what he had gathered was that their abilities weren't limitless, let alone endless. Hence, no matter what they did, it always drained them of their spiritual energy, which they couldn't recover afterward. Consequently, it was only a matter of time before Kenobi's interference disappeared like so much smoke and for the child to be on his own, at last.

As for the said child, he was a truly powerful Jedi-to-be as it was the only way that he could have resisted the physical torture for so long.

Now, he mused grimly, if only he could find a way to seduce him into cooperation,... but he had yet to find anything useful about him. Indeed, the only thing that he knew about the youth was that, other than death, he didn't want anything.

Of course, Vader shook his head, he couldn't - wouldn't fulfill his wish for death and would instead continue to search for his limits, but... There really seemed to be no limits to what the boy could bear, he admitted as he took hold of the youth's chin and tilted his head backward to study his features yet again.

Like the strongest Jedi of old, he thought seriously.

And the child might just be the strongest of all times, he realized as he felt once again the untapped powers that radiated from his very core. Power that was completely different from the diffused presence of Kenobi's spirit so that he could feel that the child's unique Force signature poured both from and into him.

He had rarely encountered this much raw potential, if ever, he conceded as he tried to remember who might have been the other Jedi. He couldn't put a name on him just now... Who was that child? He queried to the Dark Side. Who were his parents?

It was almost a miracle, he then thought in near child-like wonderment, to find such a strong and untrained individual after the death of the last Jedi. In a way, it was as if he had sprung out of nowhere.

And now he was almost, almost ripe for the taking, for the forges of the Dark Side and his careful, crafty moulding into a secret ally.

The moment that the boy answered even one of his questions, he would know that he had broken him despite Kenobi's Force shields; he would thus pounce on him and finish him, gaining yet another victory over his archenemy while finally putting an end to the sickening torture sessions.

He was wasting his precious time with those cruel procedures, especially since the end would still be the same: the young Jedi would be his.

Considering that the Force and Kenobi's spirit was sustaining the youth, though, he knew that the end wouldn't happen right away, but... he'd break them all in time, and sooner than later now.

*********************************************************************************

For once, Han's misgivings about the resolution of their situation proved to be unfounded. Roko's group turned out to be honourable enough to give the Falcon back to him and Chewie in exchange for helping them pull off their escape without any mishap.

Even better, the contract between them and the Alliance still held despite everything that had happened, or was it because of the role that he had played in their escape?

Whatever it was, Han was glad for this turn of events and didn't waste anymore time regarding Luke's predicament.

The first thing that he and Chewie decided to do was to report the situation to the Alliance... and to Leia.

So it was, thirty hours later - and nearly two weeks after leaving for Kadara with Luke - that the Falcon reached the new rebel rendezvous point.

The moment that the ship settled down, the tan-fatigued, petite form of the last princess of Alderaan hurried closer.

Leaving the ship on stand-by, Han told Chewie to reload the hold with enough supplies to last on their own for a while, and then stalked toward the already lowering ramp.

"Han!" The beautiful young woman sighed in relief when he sauntered down the landing ramp of his ship, "you're safe." She hugged him to herself. "When we heard about the imperials' operation on Kadara, we feared that..." The woman's gaze searched for someone behind him and failed to see the one she was obviously looking for. "Where's Luke?" she inquired with growing concern, pulling away from the older pilot.

"He's... I think we should discuss this aboard the Falcon, princess," he offered her glumly.

As if aware of what he would tell her, the young brunette nodded once and hurried up the ramp, closely followed by him.

Once she had accepted to sit down at the holochess table of the lounge, he sat across from her and shared what he and Chewie had figured out regarding Luke's predicament.


When Han finished his accounting, Leia was glad that she was already seated or otherwise, she wouldn't be standing anymore. Her knees simply felt like jelly as she mentally pictured once again her dear friend in Vader's clutches...

Not Luke, she prayed the Force in despair. Not her dear, innocent, and naive best friend... And all that because of Han Solo!

Her anger flared, pure and unrestrained as she understood that he had abandoned their friend in order to save his hide, looking out only for himself!!! Cursed, independent scoundrel!

Finding a recipient for her strong emotions, she unleashed them on the poor man who had delivered the bad news to her. "How could you leave him behind?" she asked, outraged.

She had thought that Luke would be safe with Han; had thought that the older man would keep the younger one out of trouble.

"Didn't you hear what I just said?" the man seated across from her retorted, equally losing his temper thanks to his worries. "We lost track of him."

Still not ready to listen to him, Leia pounced in further, glaring daggers at the Corellian. "And how could you let that happen?" she growled menacingly. She had always considered that Han had been more than he seemed; that even though he didn't openly show that he cared about their friend, he would never let down the farmboy from Tatooine.

She had been wrong, she thought as she continued to glare at the smuggler.

"Look, Princess," Han glared back, "we wanted to help him. The Imps came down on Roko's group and we couldn't do anything for him at that time. Then, we had to collaborate with the rest of the gang merely to escape the enclave, but I did see Vader's ship leave, and Luke was aboard it... No one knows where they headed, let alone where they are as of today."

Not that he had tried to find it, she thought in disgust, and then stilled her thoughts when she noticed how Han cast down his eyes, his anger apparently giving way to grave concern.

She dramatically mellowed at that.

"I don't know where to start," the older man admitted more humbly, his voice gentled by his grief.

Leia's anger finished to cool down as she became aware that she had once again misjudged Solo. He hadn't abandoned Luke, but he had known that he couldn't do anything for him if he stayed with him or tried to rescue him from early custody. Luke truly was---

Her eyes suddenly became misty even as her whole body turned to mulch as her temporary strength dissipated once again to be replaced by numbing grief. She cast her gaze down. "Then Luke... is as good as dead," she breathed in heart-rending acceptance.

Her words struck Han hard, offering her one more proof that he cared about their friend.

"Hey", he admonished her, looking up once again. "Let's not give up so fast. Luke is tougher than that."

Leia raised her head, glaring anew at the smuggler. She didn't want or need him to give her false hopes, let alone try and cheer her up. Luke was as good as dead, and she knew it. "You have no idea of what Vader can do," she stated with finality. "If he finds out that Luke destroyed the Death Star, he'll kill him, and he might even just kill him for being a Jedi descendant."

"Well that won't happen cause I'll find him," Han countered adamantly.

The princess gaped in confusion at that. "What?" Had she heard right, she wondered, gazing up in the hazel eyes of her unpredictable friend. A smuggler yes, but with so much more to him than grit ...

"I will find that ship and what they've done with the Kid," he promised. "I'm a smuggler with contacts," he added confidently. "I will find Luke."

Contacts? Had she heard right? Han Solo, famous loner and 'I'm in it for the money' smuggler was going to use his resources for their friend? "You would do that for Luke?" she queried in bemusement.

"I got him in this jam," Han explained almost contemptuously to himself and her, "it's only fair that I get him out if he's alive."

Suddenly sorry to have taken her fear and concern out on him, the princess touched his hand with hers, and then locked her eyes with his. "Then May the Force be With You, Han... and luck," she added as if in afterthought. She knew that they would need both to find Luke.

"I'll find him, Leia, or I'll die trying," he promised her, his gaze never straying for hers.

Even though she saw his grim determination to see this through, she knew that their chances of success were very slim. She remained silent however, unable to take away the hope that she was seeing in Han's normally cool eyes... but chances were that Luke was already dead.

Besides, she admitted to herself, a rescue plan to take him away from Vader would be suic---

She stopped her train her thought as a cold shiver of dread ran down her spine: if they failed, Han might die in his quest for Luke. That thought wrenched her guts even more than when she had heard about Luke's capture, moments ago. She simply couldn't imagine not seeing Han again! "Don't die on me, Han Solo," she reflexively warned him, and then quickly added mock-seriously: "or else we'll never get Luke back to tell you that it wasn't your fault."

As she did so, she slightly pulled away from him, purposefully letting go of his hand. She hoped that it would cover her feelings for the man, but the bemused gaze that he gave her made her doubt the success of her latest emotional masquerade.

Lately, she had become more and more aware that she had strong feelings for the irritating Corellian, but she didn't want to face those feelings just yet. After all, she didn't need love to complicate her fight against the Empire and what Life had done to her, not to mention that she didn't want to hurt Luke's feelings by choosing Han over him... Yet, she conceded, the damage was already done in her heart as she already cared very much for Han --- but for Luke as well, she quickly added, and she wanted both young men back at her side, bantering like their usual selves, and safe once again.

She simply didn't want to lose either of them.

They, she admitted to herself, were her new family.

"Keep me informed on your progress," she asked Han as coolly as she could manage given the emotional circumstances. She then slowly stood up from her seat at the holochess table.

"I'll do that," Han answered, non-committal, although she could still see confusion on his face.

Uh-oh, the young woman wondered uneasily. Did he know how she felt?

Well, she argued with herself, she just cared about Luke and him... very much,… and even more so about Solo himself, but she couldn't tell him so yet.

Solo was just too infuriating sometimes.

As if reading her thoughts, he smiled roguishly at her, and then stood up and stepped closer to her, surprising her with his brashness. She watched him, mute and still, as he raised his hand toward her, then she held her breath as he slightly brushed her smooth cheek with his fingertip.

Uh-oh, she thought dimly, this... could get quite uncomfortable and complicated if he felt the same way for her than she did for him.

"I will find him, Leia, I promise," he told her softly, gazing intently in her chestnut eyes, and then he pulled away and her internal tension ebbed, giving way to her grief for her missing friend.

As she watched the pilot head toward the nearby cockpit, she fought renewed tears of sorrow... Luke, she moaned silently in grief as she slowly walked toward the landing ramp. He had to be safe, she thought, and then prayed: 'May the Force be with us.'

Only it knew what Luke was undergoing at the moment... if he were still alive...

**************************************************************************************

For a few days now, Vader had changed the routine with his stubborn and shielded captive, submitting him to various forms of agony while not completely forgoing its physical forms as it efficiently sapped the boy's mental resistance and physical strength.

Still, despite the psychotropic and hallucinogen drugs, the boy held on, and so, they were about to put him through another round of more old-fashioned torture.

The rebel awoke with a groan and a snap of his head, indicating that the awakening agents had finally kicked in his spiced system. His pains instantly assaulted him anew even though he was still feeling woozy.

The new torture officer turned on the familiar shocking rod; the youth snapped to attention as he heard the ominous hum of the device.

"Please," he begged desperately. "Not ag----aaaaah!" he screamed in a scratchy voice and arched up in his restraints to try and escape the touch of the energy rod.

"Do you want this to end?" the dark lord half-whispered tauntingly, leaning closer to the beleaguered young man.

"Yes..." the young Jedi admitted weakly, letting his head hang forward when the torture officer released him from his torment.

"Then surrender," the dark lord said simply. "Your friends will not rescue you as I posted a substantial bounty on their heads. Han Solo and Chewbacca, is it not?"

Given his weakened attitude, Vader didn't think that the boy was still able to defy him, but he was once again proven wrong.

Slowly, the youth raised his head and his now familiar blue eyes glared hard at him. "Never----" he spat but was interrupted by another shock that drew another shriek from him.

"Such stubbornness," the dark lord shook his head in barely-contained frustration.

Meanwhile, the boy continued to beg for release... and then sagged again in his restraints as he passed out yet again.

Vader didn't give him any respite and pushed a jolt of adrenaline into his overloaded system.

"Ow!.." the Jedi groaned, and then locked his tired but far-from-beaten gaze on the dark lord.

"Now," Vader began, leaning ominously close to the youth, hoping to scare him into at least the beginning of cooperation. "Who are you?" he demanded seriously.

"Kiss a Hutt---" was the boy's answer before the rod touched him again, drawing a shriek, and then a second one from him.

"What is your relationship with Kenobi?" the dark lord queried again, this time taking hold of the boy's jaw in frustration.

Perhaps because the child witnessed his horrible grimace thanks to his faceplate, or perhaps because he was genuinely tired of being in pain, he answered him. "He... he taught me," he whispered, closing his eyes against his distorted reflection.

Although Vader was pleased to have finally pulled one answer from the stubborn child, the content of his answer didn't really offer anything of value to him.

After all, it didn't change anything for him that the boy also happened to be one of Kenobi's failed pupil; it didn't explain why his features felt more and more familiar to Vader, or who had passed such Force potential on to him.

It only explained why Kenobi's spirit was attached to him, desperately protecting him despite his waning spiritual strength.

Still, it was an answer, wasn't it? He was finally getting somewhere with the boy despite Kenobi's best efforts to keep it from happening. "You are the boy who freed Princess Leia, aren't you?" he inquired.

That was a normal enough question for the rebel to answer, but to his dismay, the Jedi resumed his silent dispositions.

The officer shocked him again.

"There's no need to deny it," Vader cut in. "I have seen the security footage of the operation."

The exhausted child subsided yet again, barely nodding his head in answer.

"And you destroyed the Death Star," he also stated, slowly building a complacent mood in the boy so as to be able to make his offer to him today.

He then turned to the waiting officer, who had replaced the trooper that he had killed a week ago, and motioned him out.

Now, he was going to set his true offer on the table, and it was to remain between him and his future apprentice. He belatedly noticed how the boy's eyes widened slightly in fear even as he pulled his chin out of his grasp, ignoring the pain that he thus caused himself; Vader smiled at his reaction, aware that it indicated that he was undoubtedly making progress with the trapped youth.

The Dark Lord waited for the cell door to close behind the leaving officer before he stepped even closer to the hanging boy and grabbed hold of the hair at the nape of his neck, tilting his head upward once again until they were at eye level.

"You are strong, but I can make you stronger, young Jedi" he stated, acknowledging his Jedi persona for the first time, and then let him go once the youth understood how serious he was with this. "The Dark Side can make you stronger than any other Jedi before you. You only need to join me."

"Not inter---aah!" the child began, and then yelped as Vader's lightsaber suddenly snapped into existence and, a back step later, swiftly swept in an ark that lightly grazed the length of his exposed torso.

"There is no way out of this, boy, and I'm getting tired of your defiance," he threatened the whimpering brat. "I want you as my apprentice, and I shall have you."

The panting youth remained silent, as if trying to make sense of what he had just said.

Aware that the drugs might still remain in the Jedi's system, Vader pushed the Force in his veins and brain – but not his mind - to clear the other's head further so that the drugs' side-effects would not play against his plans now.

The boy gasped as his senses finally cleared up and he locked his defiant gaze on the black mask of his tormentor. "I'll die before I ever become evil like you."

Vader glared back even though the youth couldn't see his expression. "Death is not an option here, Jedi. There is only life with pain, or without pain. Period. Besides, I am offering you a way to destroy the Emperor. Isn't that what you want? Don't you want to wield all the necessary power to achieve that goal? I can teach you all that, teach you more than Kenobi ever wanted to, and together, we can destroy the Emperor."

"Only for you to replace him while I become like you? No thanks," the boy spat in contempt.

As he became aware that the other would still not yield despite their common ultimate goal, Vader narrowed the distance once again to force the Jedi's head back up, and then spat in growing irritation: "Just save yourself the pain, you stupid brat!"

The youth flinched at the tight grip at the nape of his neck, but instead of cooperating, he gathered his strength and spat yet again in his faceplate.

That did it.

Before he could think about what he was doing, Vader pulled his still-bladed hand back --- and buried his lit lightsaber straight into the boy's left thigh.

He was going to finish this once and for all, he told himself as he avoided the boy's attempt to head butt him in reflexive defence even as the youth howled in agony.

"Kenobi lied to you, boy. The Dark Side is merely a tool to use as you see fit," he said in the other's ear, "Nothing more, nothing less. Now, do you want to feel its power?" He offered and waited for the unsaid answer. When a negative answer came clearly through the boy's glare, he ominously said: "Its fire? Really?" and then he viciously sliced down with his blade.

He then pulled away from the sobbing and nearly passed-out youth before he quietly wiped away the slight trace of saliva from his metallic cheek while he studied the fully-cauterized thigh injury. The leg was still in one piece, but the boy wouldn't be able to walk out of here anymore, his left thigh now unable to sustain his weight, let alone function in any way.

Now that was a lesson that the Jedi would not forget anytime soon.

He then jolted the other awake again through his adrenal system, much to the Jedi's torment.

"You have no concept of the power that I'm offering, child," he tried, slightly calmer than before. "Don't let Kenobi's lies limit your vision," he then commented warningly, waving his blade back and forth around his right wrist in an infinity loop. The exercise was designed to scare the youth to death after what had just happened and to finally break him into cooperation, but as it had been with all his other tactics, it failed to accomplish his goal. "Still not interested to join me?" he demanded, offering him one last chance out of the torment that he had decided to use on him before leaving.

The Jedi remained mute in fear and defiance, but his scorn toward the Dark Side and him were crystal clear in his resolved eyes.

Still yearning for death, Vader realized in annoyance. "Then face the consequence of your choice today," he snarled in once again unbridled frustration.

The child screamed when the blade swiftly grazed his skin, leaving the charred remains of a lightsaber cut behind, which was then followed by another, and another as the dark Lord unleashed a flurry of either superficial or deeper cuts on his prisoner.

"A medical droid is waiting for you, young Jedi," he taunted him mercilessly. "Imagine, no more pain, no more torment. Say the words. Join me and together, we will destroy the Emperor."

The boy howled and shrieked, writhing in his chains to try and escape the whirlwind of vicious cuts, but to no avail.

His only escape came when his body once again gave up for him, and only then, did Vader stop his attacks.

Darn stubborn Jedi child, he cursed as he scanned the boy yet again, or at least as much as he could now that Kenobi's shield was beginning to weaken. For years, he had hunted and tormented Jedi and rebels, but he had never seen such stubborn resistance.

What was it with that boy anyway? He wondered, taking hold of his chin and lifting his head up again. Force-sensitivity aside, no one, not even the most enduring Jedi, had ever been through what he had endured without breaking, not to mention that the levels of pain that he was using on him were now astounding, close to the killing level.

Some even were past that level, but the boy had withstood those even though Kenobi's help didn't extend to this area of his predicament.

The child simply hadn't broken yet.

Oh, he had given him some information, he conceded, but nothing useful like his name or a real breach into his psyche.

Even worse, the child was still as resistant as he had been on the first day.

Just why couldn't he see the logic of what he was offering to him? He grumbled as he let go of the youth's bloodied chin. Why couldn't he see the lies of Kenobi's teachings?--- Kenobi.

He stopped his train of thoughts and refocused on his captive, suddenly seeing him under a new angle.

There 'was' something between the boy and the old wizard, he reflected as he felt an unfamiliar tug in the Force, something else besides the fact that he had trained him.

After all, the other had chosen him as an anchor the way Qui-Gon had with him until he had turned away from his teachings.

So what could there be between the Jedi and his weak former teacher?

For the sake of the Force, he couldn't figure it out.

At least, he sighed as he turned away from his frustrating captive, the Emperor still didn't know about the youth's localized Force signature, and hopefully never would.

Only he would forge the boy, turn him into his tool to take over the throne… If only he could figure out what would make the Jedi change his mind, he reflected, turning back toward his prisoner. He had tried everything: food, money, knowledge, power, medical care... nothing seemed to reach the frustrating if astounding youth.

One thing was sure, though: he had definitely captured the strongest Jedi of all times, which was probably why Kenobi was so intent on protecting his mind and identity. Still, Vader was lucky to have found the youth during his untrained years or else he didn't even want to consider what he would have to do to him to break him.

He reluctantly left the stifling cell and turned to the waiting interrogation officer. "Have him checked and fortified," he ordered. "We resume his session tomorrow."

And this time, he thought angrily as he stormed out of the cell bay, he would really challenge the boy's will.

He also wouldn't help him with the drugs.


Luke's next sessions became something of a surprise box to his muddled senses. While some involved his already inflicted physical pains, they were now mixed with psychological torments as well as other types of torture that he didn't know how to qualify.

Given his extremely painful state, he found it very difficult to resist and bear the annoying noises that he currently couldn't block out. He tried to slip free of his restraints yet again, scratching his wrists bloody in the process.

His torment went on.

As if it weren't enough already, his assigned torture droid shot him with hallucinatory spice that made him both sick and totally disoriented.

When Vader tried to play on his weakened state, though, Luke hung onto a single answer.

No.

Just like Ben's voice kept telling him whenever he felt like faltering a little further than he already had.

TBC in part 4


Well, how was that?

Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed the first two parts; I sincerely hope that you had fun once again with this new part even though it was rough for our poor favorite Jedi.

Want more? Intrigued by what I am hinting at for part 4? And what if I say that part 5 will be called Revelation... and will be composed of exclusively new material that the old Caught story never included? :)

Sure hope I managed to whet your appetite for more! But, as you know, I don't read minds, so... you know what to do!