Chapter 25: Consequences
Ilyana slowly opens her eyes to find herself lying on the floor, surrounded by stark, featureless metal walls. For a moment she has no memory of how she got here or what she had been doing. But as her vision comes into focus she sees her ruined arm stretched out on the floor in front of her. Eighth Brother's lightsaber had cut through the bones in her wrist and tore a huge gash up her arms to her elbow. Thankfully it had cauterized the wound as it went, keeping her from bleeding out, but when she tries to move her fingers they do not respond. Her arm is useless.
"I must admit," comes a cold, familiar voice that echoes as if two voices are layered on top of each other. Ilyana quickly pushes herself up with her good arm and turns to face the direction from which it had come. Seventh Sister is standing near the entrance to the detention cell on one of the steps leading down into the room. "I am impressed," the Inquisitor continues. "Were you able to use the force when you first came to us?"
Ilyana rises to her feet, trying her best to hide the disorientation and stands tall and composed. Gripping her ruined arm close to her body, she hardens her face in order to give nothing to the Inquisitor.
"I think you did," the Inquisitor sneers. Eighth Brother, on the other hand, doesn't care one way or the other. He just wants to kill you but I want more. I want answers and only when I'm satisfied will I let you die.
Seventh Sister laughs, then continues speaking at a more rapid pace. "Before we get to my questions, however, I want you to understand what will happen if you do not answer," and she waves her hand to the Purge Trooper guard standing just outside the door. The trooper understands the unspoken command and presses a button on the outer control panel.
Suddenly all of Ilyana's joints lock up and she falls hard onto the floor of the detention chamber. Now she understands why Seventh Sister had been standing on the stairs and not the floor of the cell: the floor is electrified. The current shoots through her body, locking her joints while causing her muscles to convulse. It takes all of her will to deny the Inquisitor the satisfaction of hearing her scream.
Despite the floor being active for only a moment, it feels like much longer than that to Ilyana. When the current finally ceases and her muscles are allowed to relax again she immediately forces herself back to her feet despite the lingering convulsions. The clenched muscles have caused blood to ooze out of several points along the wound on her arm, but she is unwilling to show weakness in front of the Inquisitor and she takes up the same posture and expression as before the floor was activated.
Seventh Sister laughs, "You are stubborn! Fantastic! You will be so much fun to break."
Just relax and listen. Let the Force focus your mind and help you find the answer. The words Cal had said back in the cantina on Savareen echo through her mind. That's where I'll find the answer. She takes a deep breath, calming herself, and allows the ripples in the Force form in her mind. But as soon as they start to move out from her she is thrown back against the wall of the detention cell, breaking her focus.
"Oh, no, no," Seventh Sister says while the force of the impact rings through Ilyana's ears. "You will not be using the Force here. We have made sure of that. In truth, we were not at all interested in the pathetic little skirmish on this planet until we received reports of someone using the Force."
This planet? Ilyana wonders. We must still be in orbit around Abednedo.
"I thought it was a Jedi. Imagine my joy when I learned it was you," Seventh Sister says as a wicked smile plays across Seventh Sister's face. "I will return tomorrow to ask you some questions. In the meantime be sure to get plenty of rest," she smears.
The Inquisitor steps out of the cell and presses a button to activate the laser gate to the cell but as she does so several other systems Ilyana has never seen before are also activated: the light level intensifies, high pitched noises blare over the internal comms, and the floor becomes electrified. The intensity of the electric charge is much less than it had before and is not as painful, but it is just enough to disrupt her thoughts, her ability to stand or move normally, and any chance for her to use the Force.
Seventh Sister smiles from the other side of the laser grid and walks away as Ilyana falls to the floor.
With the ship hidden by Merrin's magick and as many systems shut down as possible to hide their approach, Greez carefully maneuvers the Mantis into position near the cruiser's belly. Using only the maneuvering jets, he aligns the airlock on the lower deck with the hatch on the cruiser so that the two ships are positioned with their underbellies facing each other.
Cal waits in the airlock wearing an EVA suit and BD-1 situated on his back as Cere seals the inner hatch, then signals to Greez that they're ready by turning the comms button on and off three times. This close to the other ship, any voices over the comms would be immediately registered by the cruiser but switching them on and off would just look like background noise to anyone not looking for it. Greez, however, is looking for it and confirms they're in position by also turning the comms on and off three times. Cal pulls the lever to open the outer door and kicks off. At the same time Greez counters the air released from the airlock with delicate pulses from the maneuvering jets to keep the ship completely still as Cal floats away from the Mantis. Greez was able to get his ship so close to the cruiser that it takes less than a minute to traverse the distance, however the disorientation and uncertainty makes it feel like an eternity.
When he is finally close enough, he reaches out his hand and grabs the handle next to the cruiser's hatch, then activates his magnetic boots and connects to the outer hull. BD-1 knows what to do next and climbs down Cal's arm as he reaches his other hand toward the nearby scomp port that controls the hatch. BD-1 connects his scomp link to the port. It spins for a moment until the lock disengages and the hatch opens silently. BD-1 returns to Cal's back as he deactivates his boots and maneuvers them into the cruiser's airlock, closing it behind them.
Each time she would begin to grow accustomed to the current levels, they would shift and she would have to acclimate again. The intervals between were so irregular there was no way of knowing when the next change would come. For the first few hours she tried to focus on using the Force, hoping to concentrate just enough to press that button outside the door or interrupt the circuit somehow, but eventually she gave up and just tried, unsuccessfully, to get a few minutes of sleep before the next interval.
Ilyana has no idea how many hours passed in that cell before she became aware of someone standing outside the cell. How long has she been there, watching? The Inquisitor deactivates the laser gate and with it the pulsating lights, sound, and current. This time Ilyana does not even try to stand but lies on the floor breathing deeply with relief.
"PT-152," Seventh Sister says slowly, making sure to clearly enunciate each sound. Hearing her designation again after so long makes her feel sick. Or is that just bile working its way up after the long night?
"Or should I say TK-274, or is it STE-274?" The Inquisitor continues with a smile as Ilyana pushes herself up to a seated position against the wall. "Or perhaps it should be something else entirely. What was your name before? Do you even remember it?"
Ilyana looks away. This is her chance. With the Inquisitor in the cell, they will not activate the floor. She closes her eyes and reaches out to the Force but nothing happens, she can't connect to it.
"Are you having trouble?" Seventh Sister asks, noticing the concern on Ilyana's face. "You can't connect to the Force can you? Do you know why?" she asks, stepping closer to Ilyana and crouching down only a few feet in front of her. "Because you belong to the Empire, PT-152. You always will.
"After you defected," Seventh Sister continues, standing up and taking a few steps back, "I was given access to your files, all of your files. I have to say, that was a brilliant experiment: turning an entire planet into an army of loyal and dedicated soldiers. Truly inspired! It is a shame it was deemed too costly to continue. I wonder how many others survived?" She lets the question linger in the air for a moment. "One thing I found interesting was a note that said you had a companion when you were taken. Do you remember him?"
Ilyana leans forward and rises up to her knees. Reliving those events, digging up those memories causes a gnawing, a scratching in the back of her head and the thought flutters through her head: If I cooperate will Seventh Sister tell me more? Will I finally learn what planet I'm from, what became of it, who I am, and what happened to him? The questions come rushing through her mind and with them his face: the friend she had lost so long ago. "Jon," she whispers.
"So that was his name?" says Seventh Sister. "Our records only include his designation, just like you. You'll be happy to learn he also survived the campaigns in the outer reaches and went on to have an unremarkable career, unlike you. Most recently, however, he was dispatched to help quell an uprising," she pauses then drops her voice lower, "on Abednedo where he died in the line of duty, his heart stopped by the energy of an electrostaff."
Ilyana's stomach lurches as if the floor suddenly disappeared from under her feet and she leans forward, dropping her head to the floor of the interrogation chamber. Her face contorted with pain as she stifles back a cry.
"How very callous," the Inquisitor continues, "killing your own friend. But then, you always did have a singular focus. Your mission was all that ever mattered and you went through anything and anyone that got in your way. It's what made you such a good Purge Trooper."
"Liar!" Ilyana shouts and glares up angrily at the Inquisitor. "You can't know he was there!"
"Oh but I do and it is precisely the reason why I've had a change of heart. I heard many accounts of your performance during the battle and killing your friend without hesitation, well that shows true potential. I would like to offer you a deal."
Ilyana looks up at her trying to control the shaking in her limbs. So many hours subjected to the sensory overload of the detention cell has left her body so exhausted and her nerves so raw she cannot will her body to be still. Seventh Sister reaches down and roughly grabs Ilyana's face by the chin.
"Tell me where the Jedi is and I will teach you how to master your abilities. You will become powerful. You will become an Inquisitor."
That was lazy. Ilyana thinks, curiously. She knows that will never work. What is she trying to do?
"Yes," the Inquisitor continues, misinterpreting the inquisitive look. "We know you left with a Jedi when you abandoned your post. Did you think he would welcome you into his Order? No. He knows what you are. You're Imperial and you always will be. So he didn't teach you what you need to know to truly control your power and he never would. He used you. He got what he wanted from you then left you in that battle to die."
Ilyana stares defiantly back at her and watches the anger and frustration grow in the Inquisitor's face.
"Answer my questions, PT-152," The Inquisitor continues speaking but more harshly now. "Where is Cal Kestis? Where is the Jedi who the Purge Troopers allowed to break into the Fortress and steal what belonged to us?!" The accusing emphasis with which the Inquisitor spoke the words Purge Trooper made her subversive intentions all too clear. With that clarity, Ilyana is able to shake loose the confusion and calm her mind long enough to sense it, the thing that lies beneath the words; the prodding. The Seventh Sister is trying to break into her thoughts.
She's not actually looking for Cal. I'm a Force user, she can't simply reach into my mind. She has to find an opening first! Ilyana has seen her do this to others before; using Force to confuse the mind and inflict pain, but never before has she seen Seventh Sister make such an effort. Now she can see what is happening and can defend against it.
"Give us his location, PT-152," Seventh Sister continues. "Redeem yourself of that failure and you will become worthy of being one of us."
Ilyana simply smiles back at the Inquisitor but instead of frustration, aggravation or even simple annoyance the Inquisitor smiles back. Seventh Sister releases Ilyana's face with a rough shove causing her to lose balance for a moment and fall onto her damaged arm.
"Bring him in!" Seventh Sister orders the troopers waiting outside the cell and they immediately drag the body of a stormtrooper into the detention cell and throw it to the floor. Seventh Sister reaches down to remove the trooper's helmet and as she does, fear and dread suddenly bursts forth in Ilyana's chest at the prospect that this is her friend and she will be forced to look into the empty eyes of a life she cared for, yet a life she took. That fear, however, unbalanced her enough to expose the opening the Inquisitor needed. Instead of removing the trooper's helmet, Seventh Sister's hand shoots out and she uses the Force to latch onto that fear and rip into Ilyana's mind. She digs in and latches on to the things that mean the most to Ilyana and wrenches their images to the surface. Images of Jon, Lanue, Cal, Merrin, Cere and Greez flash through her mind. Terrible images. Images of them in pain, of them dying over and over again and with those images, pain shoots through her body. A pain so intense the night's torture seemed pleasant by comparison.
"What'd you find, buddy?" Cal asks the little droid as he jumps down off his back and scampers out of the corridor into a dark side chamber. Cal ducks in after him, throwing a quick glance down the hallway in both directions to be sure they're clear.
In the dark room that looks like nothing more than a small closet BD-1 jumps up at the far end, shining his light at a table in the corner. He jumps back up on Cal's back as he approaches the table to see what had caught the attention of his droid.
With the little droid shining his light over Cal's shoulder, he's finally able to see what BD-1 has found and he smiles when he recognizes Ilyana's rifle.
"Looks like we're getting close."
Seventh Sister finally releases her hold and drops her victim to the floor. The images had torn so deep that Ilyana felt each loss as if it was real. The grief ran through her as she watched the people she had come to care for killed in front of her, so horribly. She squeezes her eyes shut to stop the tears and tries to push herself up but reflexively shifts her weight onto the elbow of her damaged arm, sending searing pain up her arm to her shoulder. She collapses back onto the floor.
"Take her." Seventh Sister orders the guards outside of the cell and Ilyana is yanked off the ground by two Purge Troopers.
They drag her to a large circular room lit only in the center by a light that shines down on a scan grid with Eighth Brother standing next to it. He turns when the door opens to watch them drag her in. She tries to fight back, pushing at the Purge Troopers holding her but she is too weak and unable to stop them from shoving her into that horrific machine.
She tries to reach for the Force but it remains silent and for a moment a horrible thought flickers through her mind; What if she was telling the truth? Did Cal hold me back on purpose too? Did he leave me to die? She shakes her head to dismiss the thought as quickly as it had come. No. She tells herself. Those are lies. She wants to manipulate me, sow doubt. I won't let her.
"Are you done with your games yet?" Eighth Brother asks as the Purge Troopers strap her down.
"Oh, we've barely begun," Seventh Sister replies with a wicked grin.
"Just tell me when you're ready to kill her," he says impatiently and walks out of the room.
In all the years she has known him, Ilyana has never seen Eighth Brother's face. She has no idea what he looks like or even what species he is, but she cannot mistake the feeling that emanates from him. He always enjoyed being a part of Purge Trooper training, especially combat training, because didn't have to hold back against them. Many Purge Trooper hopefuls fell to his blade and now he wanted to be the one to finish Ilyana as well.
Ilyana watches him leave with mixed feelings, because if he leaves she gets to live longer but will also be subject to more of Seventh Sister's "games." The arms of the scan grid close in on her and she wishes he would return and just finish it now. The arms clang into place and for a moment, the only sound in the room is the quiet dripping of blood from her damaged arm. Then Seventh Sister activates the machine.
Ilyana feels herself being pulled down from the scan grid and dragged back through the metal halls to her cell. Her Purge Trooper guards mutter obscenities and insults as they toss her to the floor.
"Traitor," one says, kicking her in the gut, before leaving the cell. She is able to look around enough to see that the body of the stormtrooper is gone before they reactivate the laser gate. The lights, sounds, and electrical charge begin again and Ilyana can feel in her chest that this will be enough. The constant bombardment of electrical charge over the last few days is too much to sustain and her heart will give out soon.
"At least Eighth Brother won't get the satisfaction," she whispers to herself.
Ilyana could not hear the sounds of the fight, the clash of a lightsaber's plasma blade against the electrical arcs of the Purge Troopers' weapons, because the sound filling the detention cell had just switched over to a loud, low booming that drowned out everything else. All she was aware of was the sensation of being pulled suddenly from a raging furnace and dropped into a calm cool pool of water. Slowly she realizes the power was out and the room had become dark and still. She opens her eyes as much as she can to see a dark figure standing in the doorway where the laser gate had been, lit from behind by the light in the hallway. A small figure drops down from the door's control panel and jumps up onto the dark figure's back as it steps into the room.
Ilyana blinks hard hoping to clear the hallucination but it remains and moves towards her. "No!" She cries out as best she can with a dry and ragged throat but barely produces a whisper. Terror washes over her in anticipation of the next horror Seventh Sister has in store. She pushes herself up and back, away from the approaching figure until she is wedged into the corner. The figure kneels down and reaches out to her but she lashes out weakly, trying to force the hallucination to disappear. But it doesn't disappear; instead, it grabs hold of her hand mid swipe as a light shines over its shoulder, illuminating Cal's face.
"It's okay," he says, "We got you."
"No! She killed you!" Ilyana cries out hoarsely and tries to pull away not believing her own eyes. Cal releases her hand, closes his eyes and reaches out to her through the Force. It's faint at first, almost imperceptible, like a weak candle flickering in a dark room; but the feeling, the presence, his presence slowly becomes clear to her and she stops struggling.
"Cal?" she whispers as her breathing slows.
"Yeah, it's me," he smiles. "I'm here to get you back to the Mantis."
"You're not dead?"
"No. No, not yet," he says, hoping his casual reply will help calm her but inside it hurts him to see her like this. Her skin is pale, almost ashen, eyes bloodshot, lips cracked, and one arm lying useless and disfigured at her side.
DB-1 jumps down from his shoulder, scans her arm, and releases distressed sound as the light on the back of his head switches from green to red, a warning to the seriousness of her injuries. The little droid throws a stim canister into the air and Cal catches it deftly and uses it on Ilyana. Some of her color returns and the darkness around her eyes dissipates but her arm remains unchanged. The wound is too old for the stim to do any good.
Through all of this, her gaze has remained fixed on him as she tries to fully grasp the reality that he truly is here and she is not hallucinating. With the small amount of strength the stim returns to her limbs she suddenly rushes toward him, wrapping her good arm around him and hugging him tight.
"Oh, okay!" Cal says, not expecting the hug and losing his balance slightly. BD-1 chitters happily from the floor though his light remains a cautionary yellow. "We don't have a lot of time," Cal continues. "We need to get you out of here before they find us."
She releases him but keeps a firm grasp on his shirt as if he might turn to smoke if she lets go.
"We just need to figure out a way off the ship. Got any ideas?" he asks BD-1.
"Tee woop," BD-1 chirps.
"Escape pods?" Cal considers, "Yeah that'll work. Can you show me where they are, buddy?"
BD-1 opens a schematic of the ship he had downloaded from a terminal when they were looking for Ilyana and projects it out in front of him, highlighting a path to the nearest escape pod.
"Perfect. It's only one level below." says Cal, coaxing Ilyana to release her grip on his shirt then wrapping her good arm over his shoulder and helping her to her feet. BD-1 jumps back on his back and they head out of the cell.
Back on board the Mantis, holding position just outside the hull of the cruiser, the others wait in anticipation. They had had to power down as many systems as possible to not be detected, which left the ship eerily quiet and slowly growing colder. Merrin is still sitting in the co-pilot's chair, focusing on her Magick that is helping hide the ship. Greez is watching the sensors for any sign that they have been spotted or any sign of Cal leaving the ship and Cere continues to monitor the Empire's communications for any sign that Cal has been captured or raised an alarm.
"An intruder alarm has been raised!" She whispers urgently, impressed that he has been able to be on board this long without any alarms going up.
"I hope they get off that thing quick," Greez whispers back. "I wish I knew what to look for."
Cere just shrugs.
A few minutes later Greez points urgently towards the Cruiser. "There!" He says quietly. "That looks like an escape pod."
"That has to be him," Merrin agrees and Greez starts powering up the ship.
"They're preparing to launch fighters to pursue the pod!" Cere reports.
"They won't beat me!" Greez exclaims as he fires the engine, launching them into pursuit.
Merrin stops trying to conceal the ship and holds onto the chair as the Mantis hurtles towards Abednedo after the escape pod. The Stinger Mantis may have originally been built as a luxury yacht but space travel always carried a level of risk, such as rogue asteroids or pirates. For this reason, the Mantis was especially designed for agility and with a pilot like Greez at the controls, that mobility is unmatched. They plummet through the atmosphere with tie fighters in pursuit, the giant fin sweeping elegantly around the ship adjusting the trajectory as they went, allowing Greez to make smooth but unpredictable course changes. The tie fighters open fire on the team but none are able to hit their target.
Greez angled the nose down further, throwing the ship into a descent more reckless than any tie fighter pilot could contend with. As the pursuers attempted to gain on the Mantis, one pilot pushed their ship too far and lost control. The tie fighter jerks then falls into an uncontrollable spin, throwing the ship off course and into a neighboring tie fighter. The two ships explode and send fragments out in all directions. One piece hits the third tie, almost sending it careening off course as well. The pilot is able to stabilize the ship but is unable to maintain pursuit and pulls up and back out of the atmosphere.
The Mantis rushes through the atmosphere, now momentarily free of pursuers and bursts out below the cloud cover.
"There they are," says Merrin, as the ship's sensors reestablish a lock on the pod.
"They've launched more fighters," Cere reports.
"Don't worry. We'll get there first," says Greez and recklessly drops altitude again, making the others' stomachs lurch. He then throws the ship into reverse and extends the landing gear and makes contact harder than any of them would have liked but none of them think to complain.
Merrin bolts out of her chair as soon as they hit land and rushes to the main door, slamming her palm into the release button. As the door opens she sees that Cal has already exited the pod with Ilyana and she rushes out to help him carry her into the ship.
"Greez!" Cal calls out as Cere closes the hatch behind them, "Get us out of here!"
But there was no need for him to say anything, as Greez had already begun taking off before the door was even shut. Merrin takes Ilyana's arm from around Cal's neck and helps to a seat on one of the sofas. Cal removes the rifle that has been slung over his back and tosses it on a bench in the holotable room as he runs to the cockpit and jumps into the co-pilot chair.
"Fighters incoming," says Cere as Cal takes control of the guns.
Greez banks hard left to dodge weapons fire as he navigates out of the atmosphere, but one fighter manages to land a few hits on the rear of the ship, knocking everyone back and forth in their seats.
"Nothing serious," Greez assures the crew, even though the fighters are still in close pursuit.
"They're launching more fighters," says Cere.
"Ready for hyperspace!" Says Cal.
Greez continues to dodge laser fire as they shoot up through the clouds. The moment they break through clouds and are free of the atmosphere, he grabs the large lever above his head, launching the ship into hyperspace.
