The New Adventures of Nomi Darklighter

Chapter 97 - Interrogations

Draco sat on the cold floor and stared at the door, which opened with a hiss.
He wasn't sure which of the Rendar triplets had just entered, but then he realized that it must be a different one than the one who had brought him into the cargo hold. This Rendar offspring had a scar on his forehead.
"And what do you want to do now, Rendar?" He asked with a scowl. "Throw me out of the airlock?"

Biggs approached the shackled man, crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked at him without saying a word.
"Do you think I'll tell you anything if you just stand there, kid?" The pirate asked, looking up at the young man.
Biggs gave him a mocking look, but remained silent.
It occurred to the pirate captain that this might be a tactic by Rendar to make him nervous. He shifted a little to make himself more comfortable.
The young Jedi took note of this with slight amusement. Draco had no idea how uncomfortable he was about to become.
"Oh, I'm not just standing here, Draco, and don't call me kid," Biggs finally said, breaking the somewhat unsettling silence. "What did you do to the commander?"
The pirate shrugged his shoulders instead of giving an answer and spat on the boots of the man standing in front of him.
"So you really want it the hard way," Biggs stated matter-of-factly and uncrossed his arms.
"Now I'm really scared, kid," Draco mocked the young Rendar, who was watching the older man unimpressed.
The Jedi was already preparing himself for what he was about to do.

Biggs stretched out his right hand and concentrated, while Draco looked at him in confusion.
"What are you doing?" He asked, but got no answer.
Instead, he suddenly felt a pressure in his head, as if someone was just invading his mind. Draco wanted to protect his head somehow, but his hands tied to the girder made it impossible and tears formed in his eyes. The pain in his head intensified.
He looked at the Jedi, who seemed to be standing there with only one hand outstretched. The pirate gasped for breath.
"Stop... with that," Draco's voice was almost inaudible.
His tormentor continued unimpressed by the pirate's pleas. The young Jedi dug deeper into his victim's mind, searching for the memories that would help them find his mother. He didn't care if he hurt the man who was now screaming. Draco had had his chance, now he had to face the consequences.

Corran had also entered the cargo hold and watched emotionlessly.
His brother dug deeper and rummaged through Draco's memories. There were glimpses of a joyless childhood, lost loves and successful raids. The pirate was only half conscious when Biggs finally found what he was looking for. The young man left Draco's mind and looked daggers at him before turning to his brother.
"The damn bastard turned Mama in, Corran!" Biggs shouted angrily. "They used ysalamiri to block her from the Force! She was taken by a Commodore Canady on his dreadnought, location unknown!"
The youngest of the Rendar triplets stared first at his brother and then at Draco, who was visibly in pain.
Corran took a deep breath before drawing his blaster and pointing it at the prisoner's head. His finger was on the trigger and he longed to end the life of the man who had betrayed their mother. But then an idea came to him and he holstered his blaster. After kicking the now unconscious pirate in the balls, he turned to his brother.
"He could still be useful to us, Biggs," he finally said and turned to leave.

The two brothers walked silently back to the cockpit, where their father was waiting for them.
"Mama's on a First Order dreadnought under the command of a certain Commodore Canady," Biggs said to Dash before falling silent again and sitting down in the co-pilot's seat.
Corran sat down in one of the other empty seats and stretched out his legs. His father watched him carefully, realizing how much his son had changed after the Battle of Crait, having been left for dead after the battle.
"Is there a known location?" The hero of the Galactic Civil War finally asked.
When his sons shook their heads, he groaned and buried his face in his hands, which were trembling slightly. It hurt the brothers to see him like this. Their father had always been strong and optimistic, but since his wife had disappeared, his true age was showing. The situation was taking its toll on him.
"I don't know where she is, but I have a plan to find out, father," Corran said and began to explain what he was going to do.

While Biggs was busy poking around in Draco's mind aboard the Outrider, Nomi was taken back to her cell on Canady's dreadnought.
The troopers opened the door and pushed her inside. Nomi fell hard to the floor. Bleeding and hurting from the torture she had endured, the commander slowly began to crawl to her cot.
Laughing, the troopers locked the door before making their way back to the guardroom.
It took a long time, but then the Jedi Master managed to sit up and lie down on the cot. She closed her eyes and felt exhausted. Canady had tried everything to break her, but to no avail.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open. There it was... the Force.

The ysalamiri must have fallen asleep.
She had five minutes, five precious minutes, to heal the worst wounds. She closed her eyes, summoned the Force and let her hands linger over the wounds, which began to close.
But then the five minutes were up and she lost contact. The commander felt a little better now, although she was pretty sure Canady wouldn't leave it at an interrogation. He wanted to know where her base was so he could blow it up with all the people who were there.
She needed to buy the members of the Resistance cell time to find and rescue her, or to evacuate and set up a new base elsewhere.