Jedi and Clone

Warnings

Serenno: 21 BBY
Northside Penitentiary
Commander Axe

Axe groaned and sat up, rubbing his forehead. A dull headache thudded through his temples and his throat felt swollen and bruised. He glanced around the cell and blinked against the white light. Veres lay on a bunk on the other wall. He sat up, spying Axe.

"Hey, Commander," Veres said, trying to summon a smile. He failed and hissed in pain as his arm moved.

Axe stumbled to his feet and motioned for Veres to turn. He grabbed ahold of Veres' arm and wrenched it back into place, the way Patch had shown him. Veres bit back a scream and flexed his arm. "How long have we been here?" Axe asked, moving back to his bunk.

"Almost two days, I think. I woke up yesterday but they hit you harder than me," Veres replied.

"And Meiju? Is she still alive?"

"As far as I know. I heard she was moved to an interrogation chamber."

Axe shook his head. "Our first mission assigned by the Jedi Council and this is how it turns out."

"Hey, they sent teams of six to ten men, right? None of them got as close as we did," Veres pointed out. "Besides," he lowered his voice, "R3 is still out there. Maybe he managed to contact the fleet by now."

"Ever the optimist, I see." They fell silent as footsteps clanked on the metal floor outside of their cell. The door hissed open and the bald woman entered, followed by several battle droids.

"Ah, I see you're both awake now. Good. Then we can begin," she drawled. "Let me make this simple for you. If you tell me what I want to know, you will not be harmed. If you refuse, we will be forced to take action." The woman activated her lightsaber and held it beneath Veres' neck. "And we wouldn't want that, now, would we?"

Veres spit in her face. Her eyes narrowed and she deactivated her lightsaber. Her hand clenched around Veres' throat. She jerked a head towards the droids and they grabbed Veres. Axe jumped to his feet as they pulled him out the door. "No, leave him alone!" Axe shouted.

"Tell me what I want to know, then."

"Don't do it!" Veres yelled, wisely not saying Axe's name. "I'll be fine." The door hissed shut.

The woman leaned closer to Axe. "You know he's lying. In a few short moments, your friend will be tortured and questioned. If you don't comply, you will suffer the same fate."

Axe turned his face away from her. "I will never betray the Republic."

"It's a pity. I hate having to mess up your face." She waved a hand and the droids grabbed him as well.

Axe attempted to twist out of their grip. One droid slammed a hand into his back and another launched a knee into his gut. Axe slumped in their grip and let them pull him away. This isn't the third detention level, he noted. We must be deeper beneath the prison.

The droids pulled him into a new cell. Axe swallowed hard, seeing what waited there. They lifted him onto the tilted table and strapped him in. Axe closed his eyes, preparing himself. His thoughts drifted towards Rigger and then back to Veres. He knew Veres wouldn't break. He would die before betraying the Republic. Axe let the resolve wash over him as well.

The droids closed the door. Axe let an image of Irel slip into his mind; her warm green eyes and wavy brown hair. Her smile came next. Finally, Axe heard her laugh. A new resolve came into his mind. If he broke, he would be betraying the Republic and Irel. He would not break, if it would keep her safe.