SPACE – THE VAIKEN
Malavai Quinn tasted the coppery taste of his own blood as he swallowed hard. Spitting, he watched the pinkish blood stained spittle hit the deck plating that he was getting a very good close inspection of. He noted the two white teeth that sat there as well, knowing there were gaps in his mouth where they had come from. Glancing up he received another punch from the black leather gloved fist. Quinn groaned and then spat another mouthful of blood back to the deck. He had lost count of how many punches he had taken, it was blurring together into one long beating.
"Anything to say for yourself, traitor?" The Imperial officer demanded.
"Yes." Quinn growled out with as much force to his words as he could muster. "You hit like a twi'lek dancer."
Another quick succession of blows about the head followed and Quinn clenched his jaw and grunted through it, refusing to give any satisfaction of him crying out to his tormentors. The two troopers, one on either side of where he knelt shackled drew back and the officer once again stepped forward to look down on him.
"A ten year old twi'lek dancer." Quinn threw out before he was cuffed upside the back of his head hard.
Quinn had been enduring such beatings since he had been captured and dragged aboard the Imperial ship. He had lost track of how long he had been here. It felt like forever, but Quinn doubted it had been more than a day, maybe two at most. Stripped bare save his briefs, he had been shackled and tortured, yet to date the Imperials had not broken him. He knew they had just begun however. Soon they would come with the interruptions to his sleep, then the probe droids and medical experts with their serums. Quinn knew their tactics, knew what he faced. It made it no less daunting to try and endure.
"Iron cross this traitor scum." The Imperial officer demanded before moving back away from him.
The troopers moved to obey, heading to opposite walls of the room and working controls. The chains attached to the cuffs about his wrists were drawn in, pulling his arms up and out to either side. Quinn groaned with the strain on his shoulder joints, the bite of the cuffs into his wrists. Suspended and stretched until the chains were taut, he hung like a slab of meat before them.
The officer returned before him, driving a gloved fist into his taut midsection. The glove was lined with metal sewn in place under the fabric making the gauntlet far more effective. A dozen more blows fell and left Quinn grimacing in pain and wheezing for breath. Couple ribs broken there, he figured, feeling the burning pain in his left side.
"Not so arrogant and self righteous now, are you Malavai Quinn?"
Quinn raised his head and forced his eyes open to stare at the man before him. He did not recognize him, though it seemed that did not hold true the other way around. The man grabbed the blood and sweat soaked hair on Quinn's head, snapping his head back and up as he glared at him.
"You don't know who I am do you?"
"The long lost love child of a wampa and tauntaun?" Quinn threw out only to have his head snap to the side as he received a backhanded fist across his face.
"My name you piece of filth, is Egan Broyce."
Quinn almost laughed, but the pain that came with trying stifled that. Moff Broyce had a child, what were the odds of that, Quinn wondered? It seemed like the galaxy was playing a cruel bad joke on him. If the circumstances had not been so grim, he could have seen this as some sort of prank Vette might try and pull on him. In the end Quinn did what he had been doing all along, channelling just a bit of the twi'lek he knew to get through.
"Like father, like son then!"
Egan Broyce made to strike Quinn again, anger taking over and written all over the young officer's face. Quinn's words had pushed him over that ledge. It had been all too easy. Quinn prepared for the rain of blows he knew would follow, part of him hoping he at the very least would wind up unconscious and get a respite out of it.
"Stay your hand!" The female voice growled out.
Pyrannus stepped into the room fully, eyes looking over the officer and two troopers before falling on the captured man. Oh this would be fun, she knew. The cathar sith ignored the officer's glare at her, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to the open door.
"Get out." She stated, her tone leaving no doubt there was no debate or arguing with her. "Now!"
Quinn looked at the sith, taking her in and knowing things had just gone from bad to worse. So much for a reprieve, he mused. The woman was slightly shorter than Vette, an hour glass figures with more curves too. The black outfit showed off the lean muscles of her stomach and gave teasing flash of the underside of large breasts. Hood drawn up, Quinn could not see her face, but could see the glint of those cathar eyes as they peered at him.
"So this is the great Malavai Quinn, hmm?" Pyrannus purred as she walked about his bound and hanging form, ducking under the chains as she made two full circles around him. "I offer you one chance, here and now, to spare yourself from the pain that will come."
"Really?" Quinn said in mock surprise, determined to continue his flippant defiance in the face of his captors. "You mean you might feed me grapes, bathe me, and tuck me in at night?"
Pyrannus rolled her eyes before slowly removing one of her gloves, then extending the sharp claws from her fingertips. In one quick swipe she made Quinn scream and jerk in his bindings. Four thin deep gashes crossed over Quinn's back and he could feel the warm flow of his blood as it wept from the wounds. Pyrannus moved about before him, hooking a claw under his chin and forcing his head up to meet hers. Quinn stared into the soft brown eyes of the cathar and saw only cold cruelty in their depths.
"Time to begin, now that we have reached that understanding." Pyrannus whispered to him, face close to his. "Where are your friends, Quinn, where are the members of the Darkstar family?"
"Blow me, bitch!" Quinn growled, spitting into the cathar's face.
Pyrannus grinned, enjoying the fight the man was showing. Yes, he would be fun to play with. All that pride and inner strength, it was going to take some time to break him, but she had no doubt she would. After all there were many ways to bring pain, and all she had to do was ensure he did not die. The sith had no doubts in the end Quinn would give her what she wanted, and do anything she asked.
" I think not." Pyrannus remarked back.
The cathar once again used her claws. This time she speared her four fingers right into the midsection of Quinn. Claws drove deep through taut muscles and all Quinn could do was toss his head back and writhe in pain. He heard the scream and it took a moment to realize it had come from him. She'd managed to finally get such out of him and Quinn worried how much more he could take. Head dropping to his chest, all he could do was think of Aela Darkstar, holding onto such trying to use those memories to block everything else out.
THE FOUNDRY
Aela Darkstar had found a suitable room to call her own in the asteroid base they had taken refuge in. One of the man made tunnels had lead off the main corridor linking the docking bay with the main control room. Along the length, rooms had been made, and the group had been quick to find some comfort, be it time alone, or catching up on some needed sleep.
Sleep was not coming to Aela however, her thoughts too distant and distracting. Even meditation had not quieted her mind enough for such. Quinn kept coming to the fore of her thoughts and she had to keep repressing the well of emotion that came with it. The sith revelled in passions, it was one means of building their strength, but the connections they made with such could cause one to lose that power just as easily she had come to realize.
"Hey there!" Vette said as she leaned on the open door into the sith woman's room.
Aela smiled and waved a hand for the twi'lek to come in. Vette nodded and entered, having wanted to check on her. She still was that creepy sith to her, but there was more to her than appearance she knew. She had seen a different side of Necrolis's sister. It made her want to reach out to the woman, knowing the pain she was feeling and carrying bottled inside.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Aela inquired and Vette shot a smile back to her and shrugged.
"Necrolis is busy and somewhere." Vette explained as she sat in a small chair off to one side. "Guess I just don't sleep well in new places unless he is around."
Aela made to respond to the woman, but suddenly pain shot through her, searing from the base of her neck up through her head. The pain was so great it forced her to her knees, clutching her hands to either side of her head. Vette gave a cry of worry and rushed to kneel beside the sith, arm about her shoulders. Aela was barely aware the twi'lek was there, the pain blinding and making her eyes squint closed. It was then she saw him, Quinn, crying out in pain, hanging suspended… suspended where?
"Quinn…. Quinn where are you?" Aela moaned.
Vette looked about then yelled for help before stroking the white hair of the ailing woman. She had no idea what was happening, but she could not help but worry, as she heard Aela speaking to Quinn as if he were there. Helpless to do anything more than what she was, Vette hoped for the best and that whatever afflicted the sith would pass.
Aela groaned in pain, focusing on Quinn as best she could. Images flashed before her, a sith on a ship. A cathar who also looked sith. A female cathar, she noted, before recoiling and head snapping up as she screamed in pain seeing claws dig into Malavai Quinn's stomach. Eyes flying open, Aela fell forward onto all fours and retched, her stomach heaving with the pain that had coursed through her.
"Aela, breath, its ok." Vette said, trying to be as supportive as she could.
"Vette." Aela tried to speak, fighting to catch her breath even as she tasted the strong acidic bile taste in her mouth. "I saw him. I saw Quinn. He's alive."
Torian Cadera felt the pull and twinge in his shoulder and frowned. The time spent in the kolto tank had knit his wounds well, but his shoulder for some reason still ached. Worse he had yet to regain his strength from losing as much blood as he had. Stop making excuses, he chided himself. The mandalorian forced his body to comply, setting into yet another set of push ups. He had to get back to being battle ready, he knew.
Sweat beaded his form, slipping from his forehead to sting in his eyes as he worked out in the main entry of the StarWolf. He had set the main systems to alarm so he would have warning should the systems detect any spacecraft approaching. He was not about to let Teffa down, not again.
"You'd best go easy." Teffa's voice startled Torian, making him pause in mid-push up.
"Can't, gotta get ready for what's to come." Torian remarked back, even as he shifted about to sit on the floor, brown eyes taking in the zabrak he had chosen to follow and crew with.
"Listen, kid. What you did at the spaceport was damn gutsy." Teffa said and shook his head. "Torian you got balls, kid. Shit for brains, but you got balls."
Torian laughed at the man's words and nodded. He had to admit when they had heard they were not going to make it, they all had made the rash decision to try and join the fight. The thought had been to balance out the numbers, make sure they could all escape. It just had not worked out that way. Gault and Skadge had paid the price for that mistake with their lives.
"You know I am not going to sit on the sidelines." Torian commented and shrugged.
"I know, kid." Teffa smiled softly. "Just glad I didn't lose you too back there. I need you ready for what is coming, Torian. That said you follow my lead on this, no more heroics. Got it?"
Torian frowned but nodded, knowing the bounty hunter had the edge in skill and experience on him. He had joined him to learn and come into his own because he knew Teffa was the best. If he could not follow his instructions and his lead, he should just walk away. He was not about to do that. Teffa had been there for him, it was only right and honourable to stand with him now. In the end he considered Teffa a friend and mentor, so he would follow orders and learn all he could. At some point down the road though, he knew he was going to stop doing such, and walk his own path alone if need be.
"I got it, boss." Torian said nodding to him.
"Oh, and Torian…" Teffa added, giving the young man a hard stare. "From now on close and lock the damn door before you have fun with some sith! Poor Blizz had to listen to that, and you're damn lucky it wasn't Mako."