The Mandalorian Jedi

Part Two: Chapter Ten

Another trigger warning for you guys, there are mentions of animal cruelty and torture.

"Don't." My plea was a rasp, suffering from days with little water and repeated electrocution. He ignored me,
"It's wonderful, this little connection the two of you share. I can cause you all the pain in the world without leaving a single mark on that beautiful skin of yours." He spoke in a sing song voice, stroking Naakla as he did so. Her entire body was quivering in fear.

I don't remember much of what he did next. Just the pain. So much pain. I remember trying so desperately not to scream.

I screamed and screamed and screamed. I screamed until my voice gave out. I screamed, silently, until blood came rushing up my throat, nearly choking me as I spat it out. I don't remember him leaving. My head was foggy, I couldn't think. I couldn't feel anything except the remnants of whatever he had done to Naakla.

At some point Wraith regained consciousness. I stared blanky at the wall behind him as he dragged himself up. I couldn't register the movements of his hands as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

The man came back the next day. I couldn't even attempt to scream through the blinding pain this time. He was so caught up in watching me break he never noticed Wraith in the corner,  his eyes wide with terror as he watched Naakla writhe in the man's grip and my face contort in excruciating pain. He left and Wraith stumbled to his feet. How he managed it I don't know but he slowly limped his way over to where I was strung up. My eyes couldn't focus on him. I hardly noticed he was moving until his forehead came to rest against mine. It helped, that small amount of contact. I simultaneously drew me away from agony coursing through my body, yet out of the dissociative state I had let myself fall into. We stayed there for as long as his wounds would allow.

They left us there for days. Every breath hurt. When I finally recognised my own thirst I tried to beg for water. I was met with silence, not even the faintest whisper escaped my lips. It should have scared me. Should have. The attempt hurt so much I didn't bother trying again.

On the third day a guard came in and shoved a cup of something down our throats. It didn't help. It probably made it worse. The pain didn't leave. It stayed there, hovering under the surface. When I was coherent it was like a phantom pain, an itch I couldn't scratch only a thousand times worse. Something churned in my stomach when I thought of Naakla, suffering so much worse in some other room.

For the most part it felt as though I was hovering above myself. Watching my body hang like a ragdoll in the middle of the room, Wraith slumped in the corner like a forgotten toy.

No one was coming for us. They had killed the rest of the troopers the same day they captured us. I had led them straight to them. We had no one left in the galaxy to save us. We were going to rot in here. Wherever here was.  I was too exhausted to feel the fear at that thought coursing through my veins.

Two days later the man returned. He was alone. No Naakla. I should have breathed a sigh of relief but I didn't have the energy. I couldn't even raise my head to acknowledge his existence. The only thing keeping me upright were those chains. I started to say something, I don't remember what, but I was stopped by the searing pain shooting up my throat as my mouth formed the words and was greeted with silence. The man smirked and forced my head up with his hand,
"Well well, it looks as though the great Jedi Master Rhea Keldau has finally been broken. I was aiming for rage, but this will do just fine." The smile that dawned across his face that would have terrified me a week ago. Instead I felt empty.

I had nothing left to give.

He placed a kiss on my forehead and I felt my body shake at the feeling of his lips on my skin. He left the room. His gaze never once roamed to Wraith, weakly attempting to push himself into a seated position.

I didn't even hear the muffled grunts on the other side of the door until a blaster shot sounded so loudly the door shook slightly. Wraith's head shot up as the flimsy metal wobbled back and forth. He watched for the both of us with wide eyes, waiting for something. Or someone.