Chapter Six

"Come on, damn you!" Argyle growled from under the control panel as the ship groaned to life for a moment before going silent again. It had been almost a week since the attack, and in that time, the only thing that the three Twi'lek had managed to bring back to life was the lights and the life support system. The ship had taken a beating, and yet Argyle had not lost hope that he could bring her back to life if only to send out a message for help. Argyle sat up and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a sigh of annoyance. He had been on his back under the control panel for over an hour, trying to pull power from everything that wasn't needed. STILL, the ship refused to cooperate. As he got to his feet and reached for a bottle of water, a shriek split the air, making Argyle pause for a moment.

"Guess he's awake," Argyle thought grimly, placing down the bottle and walking down the hallway to one of the nearby rooms.

After the battle, he and Terra had begun to jettison the bodies and found that one of the pirates was wounded but still alive; Terra had locked him in one of the empty compartments while they tried to repair the ship once they had achieved basic life support, she had left the rest of the repairs to Argyle while she 'questioned' the pirate on where his crew had taken Killian.

As another wail echoed down the hallway, Argyle winced in sympathy. He knew how ruthless Terra could be when pushed to it, she didn't like to inflict pain unnecessarily, but if it came down to it, she could be as ruthless as a Sith.

As he came to the door of the room, Argyle saw Aola sitting in front of the door throwing a ball at the opposite wall; he frowned in annoyance at the sight and quickened his pace,

"Aola, what are you doing out here?" He asked as he approached, "I thought I told you to help the droid get the hyperdrive back online."

Aola looked at him, and for a moment, he could feel her sorrow, which quickly took away his annoyance and replaced it with shame,

"she blames herself." He thought sadly as she rose to her feet,

"Sorry, papa," Aola said in a sad voice, her lekku sinking in distress, "I wanted to be here when he finally gave up where they took Killian."

Argyle bent down to one knee and placed his hands on her shoulders, "And he will tell us, Aola, I promise. But this is not the place for one as young as you. You're not ready to witness this, so go and help the droid repair the ship. That's how you can help Killian. And when it's fixed, we'll go get your little brother, okay?"

Aola's look of sadness was slowly replaced with one of determination at her father's words, and she nodded her head before turning and hurrying away, just as another scream rang out from behind the door.

Argyle watched her go with a sigh before rising back to his feet and entering the room; when he did so, his breath caught in his throat at the horror that lay before him.

Tied to a chair in the center of the room was a pale male human with sandy blonde hair streaked with dirt and sweat. His clothes were equally dirty and were covered in dirt and a large amount of blood that came from the numerous cuts across his chest and arms; the largest bloodstain was centered around his right breast from the blaster wound he had received, which Terra had roughly dressed to keep him from bleeding out before she had time to question him. His face was a wreck from the damage Terra had done to it with her fists over the last week, and judging from the shape of it, Argyle guessed that at the very least, his nose was broken.

Terra was standing in front of him and holding a lethal-looking knife; she was dressed in her armor, minus her helmet, and had an expression of pure rage upon her face. Blood ran across her chest and arms, and Argyle winced as he saw the pirate was missing his first two fingers on his right hand, which lay on the floor at Terra's feet; around her leg was wrapped a bandage, a wound from the battle. Yet, she stood tall despite the injury.

Terra turned briefly to see who had entered before returning her attention to the sobbing pirate tied up in front of her,

"You still have eight more fingers for me to cut off, scum!" She said in a harsh growl, "And then your hands come off; after that, we can see what other pieces you no longer need. So, let's try this again. Where is my son?!"

Argyle looked on without pity at the wretch that sat before him; he was amazed at the scum's fortitude, truth be told, after nearly a week of being used as a punching bag, the pirate had said nothing, perhaps holding onto the mistaken belief that his comrades would return for him. Nevertheless, he understood his wife's rage, having heard what Killian had called her before he was taken, and knew that she would not stop until she got the information she wanted; the only question was how much pain she would inflict on the man before he gave it to her.

"Your crew left you here, scum," Argyle said softly, as he took his place next to his wife, "You owe them no loyalty, and the longer you hold out, the more pain you suffer. Just tell us what we want to know, and we can end this without further bloodshed."

"You'll kill me no matter what, so what reason is there for me to tell you tail heads anything?" The man cried, squinting at them through his black eyes as tears flowed freely, "If I'm to die here, then at least I can make sure you never see your little brat again!"

Terra issued a roar of rage at that and brought the knife down in an arc right through the prisoner's right hand, causing him to shriek in agony and thrash against his bonds.

"You WILL tell us what we want to know, you bastard!" Terra said, twisting the knife cruelly, causing another wail from the pirate, "The only question is how much pain you have to go through before we get to that point, now where are they?!"

With a jerk, Terra ripped the knife free of his hand, showering her armor in fresh blood that dashed down her chest in long red lines.

The pirate sobbed pathetically, and Argyle shook his head in disgust at it; he had no sympathy for this man who had dared to attack his ship and steal the boy whom he had begun to look at like his own, "Tell us what we want to know, and I give you my word that we will not kill you,"

Argyle said in a low voice, making Terra look at him in shock at the words.

The man looked at Argyle in desperate hope at his words, his breath ragged as he tried to form words, "Why should I believe you?" Then, finally, he gasped from swollen lips, "How do I know that once I tell you, you won't just kill me anyway?"

Argyle growled at that and threw a hard punch across the man's face, rocking his head to the side,

"I am a Mandalorian, scum!" Argyle roared in anger, "When we give our word, we do not break it!"

The man spat a wad of blood on the ground before turning back to Argyle as blood ran down his nose in streams, "I've dealt with Mandalorians before," the man said between gasps, "Your word means nothing!"

Argyle shook his head slowly for a moment before turning his back to the prisoner, "Then what happens from here is on your head, you damn fool."

Nodding at Terra, who was twirling the knife in her hand in expectation; Argyle exited the room, sighing as the door shut behind him with a hiss, as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and closed his eyes, he tried to remember when the last time he had gotten any sleep, it had been a long time, and his will power was slowly giving way to his exhaustion.

With a sigh of frustration, he walked back to the cockpit to try and get the ship working; again, perhaps there was somewhere he hadn't thought of where might draw some more power before he had made it halfway; however, the screaming began again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"How many days has it been?" Killian thought as he fixed the floor in front of him with a deadpan stare; in truth, he had lost track of how long it had been since the battle aboard the ship.

When he had awakened and realized he had been captured, he had at first been afraid that the pirates had captured Aola as well; when it became apparent that they hadn't, his relief had turned into fear at what was to become of him. The Devaronian, angered at the fact that he had been forced to run and denied any profit aside from Killian, had viciously beaten the boy, seeming to revel in the cruelty he was inflicting. After that, he had been locked in an empty room for days on end, his hands handcuffed above his head and his feet dangling a few inches above the floor. Then, at last, they had arrived on what he could only assume was the planet that held their base, as he was released and dragged out of the ship and into the sunlight, as he looked around, he saw only grassy plains as far as the eye could see before he was ordered to move toward a large stone building nearby that resembled a large two-story house. Since then, his life had become a living hell; that was the only proper way to describe it. After being told by the Devaronian captain that there was no point trying to escape, as the nearest settlement was on the opposite side of the planet, he had been stripped of the new clothes that Terra had bought him and given a plain dirty tunic and leggings in their place, they had even taken his boots so that he was forced to walk barefoot, the crew had stared in shock at his scars, and a few had even looked at him with pity. Still, the captain had sneered at them, saying, "I had hoped you would earn me a profit on the slave market, but who would want to buy someone as disfigured as you, brat?!"

So instead of being sold at auction, he had become another slave of the pirates, one of the dozen, bringing them drinks and food as well as cleaning the endless mess they made throughout their unceasing drunken party. Occasionally he would be forced to hold bottles over his head which the pirates would shoot at, laughing as he shut his eyes in terror that they would miss and hit him instead. The building was impressive in its size, with the entire first floor having been remade into a bar with tables strewn throughout and a large stage in the center where a scantily clad green Twi'lek danced for the amusement of the pirates, after a while, she would be replaced with another Twi'lek, this one dark blue or a dark-skinned human female. The top floor was comprised of bedrooms, where the crew would go to sleep off their drunkenness or retire with one of the pleasure slaves; the largest room at the end of the hall belonged to the captain.

When he wasn't being terrorized or forced to act as a servant, he was locked in a small room where he would sit on the cold floor while his hands were manacled to the wall above his head. He was only fed once per day, and what they had given him could hardly be called food at all. It had tasted rancid, and Killian had almost thrown up when he had first tasted the disgusting concoction. He replayed the events aboard the ship when he was locked in the dark with only his misery to keep him company. The realization that he had killed four people in cold blood still made him sick to his stomach.

"It was in self-defense," a dark voice in his head had argued, "If you hadn't killed them, they would have killed you! So there is no shame in what you did."

And yet Killian did feel shame, shame, and horror at his actions,

"What a fool I was to think I could ever be a Mandalorian." He thought sadly, a tear running down his cheek, "Some warrior I turned out to be."

The rational part of his brain tried to make him understand that what he was feeling was normal, that no nine-year-old should have been in a position to kill someone in the first place. Yet, another part of him laughed at this and reminded him that he had been transported to a fantasy world where death was everywhere and that there was nothing rational about anything that had happened to him since that car had hit him.

As he closed his eyes and replayed the events in his mind again, he remembered something new, the power he had felt that had taken over his body so that he became just a helpless passenger, unable to do anything but watch. It had felt like liquid fire flowed throughout his veins like he could do anything; it had felt intoxicating.

"What was that?" He thought as he remembered the cold disorienting feeling that had filled him when the power left, and he had regained control at the end.

Shaking his head, Killian took a deep breath and winced as his ribs tinged in pain; fresh bruises coated his chest and stomach from his beating at the hands of the captain. His wrists screamed in pain after the hours he had sat in the room.

"Argyle, Terra, where are you?" He thought sadly, he had been holding out hope that they were coming to save him, that any minute now they would kill the pirates and rescue him from his torment, but after so many days, he was slowly losing hope, as the hunger, fear, and exhaustion gradually wore down his spirit of defiance.

"They're not coming," the dark voice whispered in his mind, "You've been forgotten and abandoned."

"You're wrong!" Killian growled back defiantly whenever the voice spoke, "They will come, they will…."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I managed to pull enough power to get the ship online long enough to send out a distress signal," Argyle said, looking at Terra solemnly, "It all depends on whether anyone is close by and heard it, now."

Terra was leaning against the door of the room where the pirate was, her arms crossed,

"And if there is no one nearby?" She asked in a similar tone.

"Then that's it; the ship doesn't have any power left to spare. The only place left to draw from is the life support, which we cannot do."

Terra grimaced for a moment in thought before nodding slowly and fixing a hard stare on Argyle,

"Then we'll have to hope that someone heard you, won't we?"

"Yeah, I suppose we will. Any luck with our guest? He give up anything?"

"He is proving far more resilient than I thought possible," Terra growled, "I thought after I took off his hands, he would be more forthcoming, but all he does is cry and scream. He refuses to tell me anything, no matter what I do to him."

"Then perhaps I should have a go at him," Argyle said, making Terra look at him incredulously,

"You? What can you do that I haven't done already?"

"Maybe we're going at this the wrong way," Argyle said softly, placing his hand under his chin and staring at the door in thought, "Maybe instead of a hammer, to beat the information out of him, we use a scalpel and cut it out."

"I have already tried that. Haven't you been listening to his screams for the last week?" Terra snapped angrily, making Argyle glare at her,

"I didn't mean literally! Instead of torturing the poor bastard, I meant let's make him a deal. He tells us what we want to know, and we won't kill him or hurt him anymore. Sound fair?"

"He and his crew of scum attacked us unprovoked, Argyle." Terra said in an angry hiss, taking a step toward him, "They tried to kill us and kidnapped Killian, and who knows what they're doing to him right now, and you want to let the bastard go free?"

"I never said he would go free," Argyle replied with a sneer, "We'll turn him over to the authorities on the first planet we come to, let them deal with the scum. Besides, if he hasn't broken yet, I don't think he's going to."

"Oh yes, he will!" Terra growled, her lekku shaking with barely suppressed rage, "There's still plenty of body part left to cut off, including the part most precious to a man!"

Argyle shuddered at the thought of such a wound and placed his hands on his wife's shoulders in an attempt to calm her,

"And if he dies before he tells us where his friends are, what then? We'll never find Killian, Terra, and you know it. So, let's do it my way now, alright?"

Terra glowered at him for a moment before nodding in approval,

"I'm going to go check on Aola; you do what you need to. But if he doesn't talk, then I swear Argyle, I'll have his eyes out next." She said as she turned and stalked down the dimly lit hallway, vanishing around a corner moments later.

Argyle sighed in weariness, shaking his head to clear it before pressing the button on the wall, opening the door, and walking inside.

The pirate was slumped over; the stumps that used to be his hands bandaged in red cloth that once was white, his left ear was also missing, and as Argyle grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, he saw that a few teeth were gone as well.

"Wake up, scum," Argyle called, letting the pirate's hair go and watching as his head fell forward again, "I said wake up!" Argyle roared, slapping the human across the face hard, making his eyes snap open in alarm and confusion.

"What?" The human said softly, looking around in a daze, before finally settling on Argyle,

"Your turn, is it?" The human asked softly, his voice hoarse from days of screaming and no water, "Wife's taking a break, then?"

Argyle looked at the human for a moment in genuine confusion as he leaned against the wall opposite him and crossed his arms; he couldn't understand why the pirate refused to talk after so many days of torture, nor for what reason he endured such wounds, but the fact that he did so and still had not given up his crew astounded Argyle.

"I've come with a deal for you. It's the only one you're going to get, so listen well if you can."

The pirate glared at Argyle at the joke about his missing ear before nodding at him to continue,

"You tell me where your crew is hiding, and if we find the boy alive and unharmed, we will release you to the proper authorities on the first planet we come to. But, continue to be stubborn, and my wife has told me that the next thing she will cut off will be your manhood."

The human's black eyes widened in horror at the words. He licked his swollen lips before speaking, "So it's either spend the rest of my life in some republic prison or be turned into a eunuch? Not much choice, Mandalorian."

"No, it's not, but it's the only deal you're going to get," Argyle said softly, "My wife can be a ruthless creature when angered, and make no mistake, pirate, you've really pissed her off with your refusal to tell her what she wants to know. So, which will it be? The cell or the knife?"

The pirate was quiet for a few moments; finally, he looked at Argyle and opened his mouth to respond when the door hissed open. Terra walked in, making the pirate shrink back into the chair in terror.

Terra looked at the man, hatred and anger etched on her face, before turning to Argyle and saying in a harsh voice,

"We got company; looks like someone heard your signal; after all, there's a ship preparing to dock with us."

Argyle looked at her in surprise for a moment before turning back to the pirate who was watching them curiously,

"I'll let you think about my offer, have an answer when I return," Argyle growled as he and Terra exited the room and quickly made their way down the hall to the airlock door where a man in a wide-brimmed hat and duster was entering, slowly.

"I heard your message; lucky I did too; I don't think anyone else is out this far." The man said as the two Twi'lek stopped a safe distance from him; Argyle saw the two blasters on his hips and slowly lowered his hand to his own before replying, "Pirates attacked us on our way to Mandalore. They disabled our ship, but we managed to chase them off before they could do any more damage."

"Mandalorians, are you?" The man asked, a curious look coming to his face, "I would have thought your people could handle a few pirates, what with the reputation your people have."

"Even the best warrior can be overpowered if the numbers are against them," Terra said in an angry hiss, making the man look at her, his eyes looking her up and down, before narrowing at the bloodstains on her armor.

"True enough," the man replied, nodding his head, "So I take it you need a bit of help to repair your ship, then? Lucky for you, I have a few spare parts on board that I can sell to you if you have the credits."

Terra growled in anger at the man who was extorting them when they had no choice but to accept his offer or remain stranded in space,

"That's very kind of you," Argyle said quickly before Terra lost her temper, suddenly wishing that he had kept his armor on instead of stowing it after the battle, "We will happily buy anything you have that will help us repair our ship, as well as pay you for any additional help you can offer."

The man tipped his hat at Argyle and said with a smile, "Happy to help; it wouldn't be right to leave a couple stranded out here, especially when a kid is involved."

The man nodded his head at something behind Argyle, and he and Terra turned their head to see Aola peeking out from behind a corner at them. With a squeak of surprise at being noticed, she turned and disappeared in a flash, making the man chuckle softly.

"My name is Argyle, this is my wife Terra, that was our daughter Aola," Argyle said, turning back to the man and introducing themselves, "And you are?"

"Name's Okarr," the man said, holding out his hand for Argyle to shake, "Nico Okarr."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX