Star Wars rebels Abducted

Chapter 8: Showing Promise

Disclaimer: Star Wars: Rebels is not, has not, and probably will not ever be mine.

The Inquisitor stood, smiling just ever so slightly. The boy had passed his test with flying colors, not only taking out the three stormtroopers sent to his cell without alerting anyone, but also managing to avoid the knock-out gas and the body-scan. Yes, the child was turning out to be an interesting subject, all right.

Now, as he stood mere feet from the boy, the Pau'an could feel in the Force first his surprise, then his fear, and then his mental preparation. It seemed the rouge Jedi had trained him to keep his emotions under control. No matter, that would make breaking the boy that much more interesting.

"I must say, your persistence is admirable, boy." The Inquisitor watched, with interest, as the boys eyes narrowed by just a fraction of an inch. It seemed he himself was unaware of the gesture, which was... promising. Watching the child change from good intentions and un-known anger to full on dark would be, no doubt, entertaining. And once that process was complete, he would reap the rewards of his efforts in the form of a new apprentice that would take him to the next level of the Dark side. Merely being Vader's errand boy was not enough for the Pau'an. Not anymore.

"Strange, coming from you. I thought sworn enemies ridiculed each other, Baldy!" The Inquisitor gave no reaction to the comment, except to raise one of his eyebrows slightly. He could tell the boy was trying to create distractions to allow himself more time to think, to observe and analyze his situation. Much like the Inquisitor himself. He could see those blue eyes darting around the corridor, assessing his chances.

"Come now, come now... surely that attempt of a Force user taught you your manners?" Now he had his attention. Sensing his advantage, the Inquisitor allowed his upper lip to twitch slightly, as though fighting off a smile. The Pau'an had long since learned to conceal his true emotions behind an unbreakable mask, which allowed him full and unrestricted control to the rest of his face. Needless to say, it allowed for him to manipulate others to his hearts content: even without the Force.

The Inquisitor could tell, the way to get through this boy was to prey on the raw emotions his Master had yet to teach him to control. The small almost smile, along with jibes at his 'friends', would quickly encourage annoyance and anger to break through his discipline, and once that had been accomplished, the other Dark emotions wouldn't be far in coming. One small step at a time.

"Maybe not manners, but he's certainly taught me enough to stand up to you!" The Pau'an set loose a blood-curdling laugh that echoed in the deserted halls. Along with annoyance, the warrior would work on getting fear to show through the boy's shields, as fear was one of the keystone elements in turning. But the rouge knew that as well, and had probably hammered it into his Padawan that it was essential to keep fear at bay. It didn't matter much, though. Better to attack in multiple unseen ways than to go after the boy in one, predictable way.

And so, when the Inquisitor could feel the boy's uncertainty rippling through the Force, he allowed himself a small moment of pride. It would require his utmost best manipulation skills to break him, but the Inquisitor enjoyed challenge. After all, how else was he going to hone his skills? The Emperor accepted nothing but the best.

"You have a long way to go before you can even hope to stay alive for a few seconds while facing me, boy. Are you really so incompetent to think otherwise?" A spark of emotion flared through the child. But it quickly changed the Pau'an drew his lightsaber and ignited both the blades, tapping the small button that put it into intimidation mode. As the double blades spun in a menacing circle, the Inquisitor put on a feral grin, slowly advancing towards the human male. Intimidation was one of the key factors in creating fear, along with uncertainty. The Inquisitor was quite adapt at delivering both.

"Shall we see if your claims measure up to what you say they are?" Though the child put on a mask of bravado, the Inquisitor heard his voice shake slightly as he backed away from the menacing blades. "Come on, Baldy, don't I get a weapon?" Another laugh. Another step forward.

"Is that pitiful slingshot of yours not enough?" This time the boy laughed, but it was strained.

Obviously he wasn't as good controlling his emotions as the Inquisitor was, but this only allowed for more enjoyment during what was sure to be the long and interesting process of breaking him. "Come on, won't yo-"

The rest of his sentence was cut short as the Inquisitor leapt at the boy, simultaneously switching his lightsaber out of intimidation mode. While it was useful for inspiring fear, the constant spinning of blades made it difficult to fight in close combat. Of course, the Inquisitor wasn't actually trying to kill him, just to show him that there was no chance of him overpowering the Pau'an. Just a few jabs would suffice.

Aiming first at the boy's foot, the Inquisitor was pleased when the child leapt out of the way, taking his members out of reach of the deadly crimson blades swinging at him. He would be worth nothing if he could not evade simple thrusts. However, self-confidence was emnot/em to be allowed. The Inquisitor liked a challenge, but allowing his task to become harder was unacceptable. He could not be allowed to fail, not in this task, not when the fate of the Empire may rest in the completion on his task.

As such, the scream that resonated through the halls was to be expected. The boy gave a tremendous leap backwards, clutching at his left arm. The Inquisitor distinctly heard him mutter: "Why does it have to be this arm?" Hoping to taunt the boy further, the Pau'an called out to him: "Is this all you've got? Agent Kallus could do better than this... and he isn't even Force sensitive. Pity, pity..." but his taunts were fruitless, the pain generated by the quick jab seemed to have the teen focused on nothing else.

Deciding the time for his test was over, the Inquisitor stood up, and began to briskly walk over to the boy. "You know, I emreally/em hope you improve over time. Otherwise, I might just have to kill you." Ripping his gaze from his newest wound, the boy glared at the warrior. It seemed there was still a layer of spite and will that the boy had deeply ingrained inside of him.

The Pau'an felt it before he registered what had happened, nothing more than a twinge in the Force. After that, he found himself on the opposite end of the hall, supporting what he was sure to be a nasty bruise later on the back of his head. The inner Inquisitor smiled, but his visage was that of anger. Before the child could read too much into his slight victory, the Pau'an raised his right hand, lightsaber dropping to his side, deactivated.

The small child was raised up into the air, limbs flailing as they parted contact with the ground. Another gesture, and the boy was clutching his windpipe, very much so aware it had stopped functioning. The black-clad warrior began walking slowly towards the child, taking his dear time. The look of fear and slow asphyxiation was just... invigorating. Oh yes, the breaking of this human male would bring joy to the otherwise impassive Pau'an.

But, none of that showed on his face. Setting his mouth in a feral frown, the Inquisitor bore down on the child, who was now toeing the line between consciousness and oblivion. Going for the impressive scare, the Pau'an leaned in close, his face mere inches from the young boy's.

"Lay whatever hopes of rescue you have to rest. You will not escape me, and you will not defeat me. If you try escaping with your friends the way you did last time, know that everyone aboard that puny vessel will die. You. Are. Mine." And with that note, the boy faded into unconsciousness. Releasing the Force grip on his throat, the Inquisitor allowed the boy to fall, lifelessly, onto the deck.

The Inquisitor drew in a deep breath. When he finally forced the boy into the Dark, how powerful would he become... the warrior had high expectations for the boy. He would make a worthy apprentice for the Inquisitor, and would be the one on which the Force hinged upon. Whatever momentous event would occur with him, the Inquisitor would be the one to guide it into fruition, the one who ultimately brought about the change.

Reaching into his black tool-belt, the Pau'an pulled out a small rectangle of metal and activated it. "Agent Kallus, I have the boy restrained in section D-38 9. Send a pick-up crew to replace the child into his cell, and tighten the security on it." There would be no further tests of this nature.

"Send in a torture droid an hour after he wakes, and immediately inform me of when he does so." There was a phrase of acknowledgement from the communicator, but before the Inquisitor put it away, he gave the boy one thoughtful glance.

"This time... inject him with a Force inhibitor."