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After Kanan suggested that we should depart on our own since we were a threat to the crew and Tseebo, I was utterly enraged. I mean, why should I risk my life and my safety for Tseebo? What has he ever done for me? He abandoned me when I needed help the most and he let my parents down! He doesn’t deserve my help! After all those years, I owe him nothing!

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be only his life in danger if we didn’t leave the ship, the crew would be at great risk and I couldn’t let that happen. That’s what I say to myself over and over again when I start questioning Kanan’s decision. He said that the Inquisitor could sense us and I have no doubt that he is correct. I felt it. That’s why Kanan and I are sitting in Phantom ready to detach while being still in hyperspace. How ridiculous is that?! We are in hyperspace, there is no way we are gonna make it out alive. Sometimes, I loathe my newfound compassion and willingness to sacrifice myself for others. For real, what happened to ‘everybody fends for themselves’? Thanks a lot, Ghost crew. I’m blaming you for this one.

Miraculously, we did not die after the detachment in hyperspace. But what followed was, in my humble opinion, even worse. We landed on a planet with my great pals, the most feral creatures in damn space – fyrnocks. I admire Kanan’s confidence in me since he sincerely believes that I am capable of connecting with these beasts. If Jedi training involves making myself an easy meal for fyrnocks, I might as well just quit while I still have all limbs attached to my body. I’m sure somebody else will gladly pick up the burden of saving the galaxy.

“What’s taking you so long?” Kanan’s voice just makes me madder for some reason.

“Well, if you are an expert on these absolute abominations, please be my guest and connect with their murdering minds yourself.” I snarled in response.

Kanan just sighed. “Just let go. Don’t be afraid.” Easier said than done. Those fuckers tried to bite my leg of couple of seconds ago. However, it seems that Kanan isn’t handling them very well either so if I don’t help him soon, we are going to end as dinner.

“I’m not even afraid of them.” And it’s true. It’s not them I fear.

“Then what?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.” I’m sensing a slight panic from my master. We are not going to last much longer. Maybe it’s time to face the truth.

“Ezra, what are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid of…I’m afraid of knowing, I’m afraid of the truth. Sorry. I forgive you, Tseebo” With those word, I let go. I let go of my anger and focus solely on the force surrounding me.

I was so deep in the meditative state that I almost missed the arrival of the Inquisitor. I noticed that Kanan got up, probably exchanged some sarcastic remarks with the Inquisitor and that there is currently a fight going on. What makes me anxious is how close the fight is getting to me. At least I think so, with all the concentration on my connection with fyrnocks, I’m not able to tell very accurately what’s going on.

Suddenly, I’m pulled out of my meditation, both mentally and physically. There is a hand wrapped around my neck keeping me upright and unable to move. I notice too late, that the hand belongs to the Inquisitor. He must have redirected the fight so he could get an easier access to me. This is going splendidly. Exactly how I planned to spend my day. I don’t suppose my sarcasm is going to help me out of this situation.

“Drop your weapon, Jedi.” Why does the Inquisitor always have to spit out the title so it just sounds like poison? “Or your precious padawan is going to get hurt. Quite badly, I’m afraid.”
Just to prove a point, he gets his lightsaber closer to my throat. I gulp. Mark me officially terrified.

“I’m not gonna listen to the likes of you.” I barely hear Kanan’s words. The beating of my own heart is getting increasingly louder. Am I panicking? Oh fuck, I’m definitely panicking. Please, I don’t want to die.

Apparently, Kanan’s reply wasn’t what the Inquisitor was after because as soon as he heard it, he lowered his lightsaber directly on my skin, successfully burning my throat. It was just a light contact, nothing that would leave permanent damage, he did it just to prove a point, but I couldn’t keep myself from screaming. The pain was excruciating.

“Are you sure about that? He screams lovely but I doubt that’s something you would appreciate. After all, Jedi were never able to grasp the beauty of pain.” At this point, I was desperately trashing in the Inquisitor’s grip.

I didn’t need the force to tell me that Kanan is absolutely horrified. His expression speaks for itself. His eyes are wide and solely focused on me. The fear behind them is so intense, it’s going to send me directly into another panic attack. Please, tell me Kanan has a plan. He always has one. I would do anything to just be back on the Ghost with the crew, away from the danger that’s currently holding me hostage. But it looks like Kanan is as lost as me. This time, there won’t be any great escape plan to get us out at the last possible minute. I can feel it.

The Inquisitor is getting impatient judging by the squeeze around my arm tightening even more. I whimper. This gets Kanan’s attention.

“Fine. Fine, I’ll surrender. Just please, don’t hurt him.” Kanan immediately switched off his lightsaber, put it down and knelt with his hands in the air.

“That’s better. Stormtroopers, restrain him.”

“No. Stop it – I… “ I couldn’t finish my sentence as it was interrupted by my agonizing scream as the Inquisitor’s lightsaber once again made contact with my skin.

“No! Don’t hurt him! I surrendered; I did everything you wanted me to. Leave him alone. If you want someone to hurt, hurt me. Please. Leave him be.” Kanan didn’t even hesitate to beg for me. His voice cracked a little but he put on a brave face for me. “You have me. You don’t need him. Just let him go. Please. I’ll do anything.”

“Why would I do that? You see, from the very beginning, the greatest weakness of any Jedi was their dear padawan. For someone who claims to have no attachments, you care for those little brats deeply. It would be almost sickening if they weren’t the perfect tool to get anything I desire from you. So no. I’m not going to let him go. I’m not going to let him be. And if you even so as think of refusing to comply, he is going to be the one that receives the compensation for your missteps.”

With Kanan finally restrained, the Inquisitor started to drag me to the shuttle. His grip was tighter than ever but I managed to take a glance at Kanan. He was escorted approximately 30 metres behind us by no less than six stormtroopers. Not that they were necessary. As long as the Inquisitor had me as leverage, Kanan wouldn’t risk anything. He caught my glance and shook his head confirming my suspicion that he has no idea how to get out of this mess either. So, I let myself be dragged to the imperial shuttle, bracing for the inevitable horrors that are about to come.

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I held my breath as the Inquisitor grabbed my padawan. The whole world started spinning and I couldn’t hear anything over the loud beating of my own heart. This cannot be happening. It has to be some sort of very twisted nightmare. Yes, that’s it. Just an awful, utterly horrifying nightmare.

Sadly, I didn’t wake up as I pinched myself. In fact, the feeling of an upcoming panic attack convinced me I wasn’t dreaming. No, no, no, no, no. You cannot panic right now. That’s not gonna help anyone. Especially Ezra.

“Drop your weapon, Jedi. Or your precious padawan is going to get hurt. Quite badly, I’m afraid.” Okay, I might have been impulsively dumb on a couple of occasions we crossed the path with the Inquisitor but how dumb does he think I am to believe that I’m just gonna lower my weapon and leave my padawan in this mess?

I take a couple of deep breaths just to calm myself enough to answer him.

“I’m not gonna listen to the likes of you.” In any other situation, I would have already added extra smart remarks to all of my statements but right now I couldn’t think straight enough to force my brain to come up with something. In the end, that might be better. I wouldn’t want to anger the Inquisitor when he holds his lightsaber so close to Ezra’s neck.

For better effect, the Inquisitor tangles his fingers into Ezra’s hair and pulls his head slightly up. Now, I can see even clearer the terror on Ezra’s face. Oh, how I loathe the Inquisitor for being the reason my padawan is so terrified.

Then, the Inquisitor did something that makes me want to commit war crimes against him. He lowered his damn lightsaber directly on Ezra’s skin. The scream that followed was agonizing. I’m absolutely positive I’ve never heard anything more heartbreaking.

“Are you sure about that? He screams lovely but I doubt that’s something you would appreciate. After all, Jedi were never able to grasp the beauty of pain.” No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not. Not in a million years. There is no way I get to hear Ezra screaming like that again. Not if I can help it.

I can feel the panic attack getting the better of me. No, just keep breathing. In and out. Calm down. Calm down. You have to focus. You are not going to help Ezra by breaking down. Compose yourself. In and out. In and out. Breathe.

I try to focus again on the situation in front of me. The Inquisitor is squeezing Ezra’s hand harder than before and it’s only a matter of time when he loses his patience and does something drastic to make me comply.

As difficult as it is, I decided to just surrender. There is nothing more important than keeping Ezra away from all harm. The way to achieve that is to force the Inquisitor to redirect his focus on me.
However, when Stormtroopers start to restrain me, Ezra foolishly tries to intervene. Once again, the Inquisitor’s lightsaber lands on his skin. The scream of agony that follows makes me sick to my stomach.

“No! Don’t hurt him! I surrendered; I did everything you wanted me to. Leave him alone. If you want someone to hurt, hurt me. Please. Leave him be.” The desperation in my voice is obvious and by the time I start to beg in any way I can possibly think of, it gets harder and harder to breathe. I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore, I just know I need to keep going. Need to keep pleading for all of it to stop. Tears are threatening to spill any moment but I don’t care and keep talking, talking, talking.

No, not him. Please not him. I’ll do anything. Absolutely anything. There is nothing more important than my padawan. Please, please. Let him be. Just not him. If you want someone to hurt, let it be me. Please. Not him. Just not him. This cannot happen to Ezra. No. I’ll do anything to stop it. Anything.

By the time I manage to calm my breathing down, I notice that the Inquisitor is saying something. He is not even completely focused on me. I cannot make out the words, however hard I try. Everything is too loud and I can’t focus. Breathe.

I didn’t even notice when my begging changed from verbal to silent pleading in my head. That doesn’t matter now because the Inquisitor decided to end his little speech and turn towards the shuttle. As Stormtroopers drag me forward my and Ezra’s eyes meet and for a single moment both our faces look the same. Full of despair. There is no way this is going to end well.

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They put me at the furthest corner in the shuttle they possibly could without losing sight of me. Ezra and the Inquisitor were naturally at the very front, far away from my reach. The only comfort is that I can see them clearly without any issues. The Inquisitor cannot do anything without me noticing. Not that I can stop him if he tries something.

Once again, I try to get out of my restraints but to no avail. They are too tight and resistant to the Force. Just my luck.

I focus back on my padawan. He seems less terrified than he was at the beginning, but also more uncomfortable and disgusted. No surprise, since the Inquisitor is currently holding him with one hand strongly in one place and absentmindedly stroking his hair with another. I have to turn away just to not get sick.

At last, I cannot stand it any longer. “Do you mind getting your filthy hands off my padawan?”

The Inquisitor stopped for a moment and then smirked.

“Of course, I mind. Especially now that I know how much it bothers you, Jedi.” To prove his words, he leaves his fingers tangled in Ezra’s hair. Then he suddenly jerks Ezra’s head back.

“Stop it. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Whatever I please. And you cannot do anything about it.” He releases his hold on Ezra. “Better get used to the idea.”

“You don’t have to prove anything anymore. You have us here and that should be enough. Stop with the games.”

The Inquisitor slowly walks towards me and raises my chin up so I can look directly into his cold Sith-like eyes.

“You don’t get it, do you? You have no power here. The sooner you realize it, the better for you and your precious brat. You don’t get to dictate the rules, you don’t get to act according to your own motions and certainly, you don’t get to speak without permission. How ever shall I get that through your thick skull?” He immediately lets go of me and returns back to my padawan.

“What about a little demonstration of what will happen if either of you continues with your insolent behaviour. Shall we try?” He takes a nearby vibroblade and gets closer to Ezra. No. Please, don’t.

My silent plea is not answered as the Inquisitor takes now struggling Ezra’s hand and starts to carve letters into his skin.

“No, please, I – “

“Shut your mouth or I’ll do something far worse.”

The agonizing scream pierced the silence. I glanced and my padawan and I immediately shut my eyes at the sight of blood running down his arms. There was so much of it, I feared he would bleed out. Shutting my eyes, however, didn’t prevent me from hearing the screaming. After what felt like an eternity, the screams suddenly ceased.

I hesitantly opened my eyes and felt shocked at the amount of blood on the floor.

“Oh, no. We are not finished, yet.” The inquisitor took Ezra’s other arm and proceeds to start carving another inscription there.

“Please, that was enough…. just stop,” I whispered, tears running down my face.

The Inquisitor stopped for a second. “What did I tell you about not fucking talking?”

I quieted once again and braced myself for another round of screaming. The tears didn’t stop.

When it was finally over, he tossed my crying padawan toward me. I immediately caught him in my arms and held him close.

“Shh, it’s gonna be alright. We are getting out of here. I promise. He won’t touch you ever again.” I whispered into Ezra’s ear and then shifted him so I could take a look at his arms. It was hard to recognize what the carving was through all the blood but when I finally worked it out, my stomach dropped. PROPERTY OF EMPIRE. I knew it would inevitably leave a scar, one that would never go away and be a reminder of this horrific experience. Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure about my promise anymore.

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When we arrived at the Imperial base, they threw us in a cell. Thank the Force, it was the same one. Ezra immediately sat down in a corner and hid his face. Even though he tried to hide it, his soft sobs echoed all around the room.

Slowly, I made my way to him and sat down close enough to be at arm’s reach. I gave him a few more minutes before I tried to speak to him, mainly because I couldn’t figure out what to say. How do you apologize to someone for ruining their life?

Even though, logically, I know I should only blame the Inquisitor and the Empire for all the misery that was done to Ezra but I feel like it’s at least partially my fault, too. I was the one who took him in. I was the one who decided to train him as a Jedi. I was even the one who allowed him to tag along on this mission. I am the one who was supposed to protect him. And I failed. I failed spectacularly on all fronts. Maybe, I should’ve never taken him in as my padawan. At least that way, he would be safe and sound somewhere far away from all of this.

My last conversation with the Inquisitor suddenly pops up in my mind. The accusations of leaving my mater behind. Of me being never enough. Being a bad leader. An unsuited protector. An absolute failure of a Jedi.

Maybe, he was right. Maybe, I’m never gonna be enough for anyone. My master. Hera. The rest of the crew. And especially Ezra.

At that thought, I glanced at Ezra and noticed that his forearms are still bleeding. Significantly less than half an hour earlier but nevertheless they were still bleeding.

“We should probably wrap something around that to stop the blood.” I tried so hard to say that in a steady voice but it cracked right at the end of the sentence and I was once again dangerously close to crying.

My fault. My fault. All of it. My fault.

“Yeah, we probably should.” Ezra might have given me a verbal acknowledgement but he didn’t bother to move an inch.

As the cell was entirely empty, not even a bed in here with some sheets that could be used as bandages and Ezra’s clothes being soaked in blood, I ripped some of my own shirt and made very improvised bandages out of that.

As we had nothing to sanitize the forearms with, not even a bit of water to clean up all of the dried blood, I just gently took one of Ezra’s hands and started wrapping it in the shirt sheds. There was an absolute silence as I took his second hand and proceeded to do the same.

“Thanks.”

“You should not be thanking me. It’s my fault we are in this mess,” I sighed.

“That’s not true, Kanan. I’m sure you did everything you could,” his voice sounded absolutely defeated.

“I’m so sorry, Ezra. I should’ve done more. I should’ve protected you better. Can you ever forgive me?”

“There is nothing to forgive. Besides, I’m absolutely sure you’re going to get us out of here. Like always.” He cracked a little unsure smile.

 “Yes, like always,” I said even though I didn’t believe it. This time was different. I’m afraid that Ezra’s presence in the follow-up interrogation is going to break me. I cannot watch anything happening to him and I’m not sure I will be able to stay strong for the both of us.

He is like a son to me and I can’t imagine the horrors that the Empire can put him through. I cannot stand being the reason for those horrors. This cannot happen on my watch.

I’ve already let my master down. I cannot let this happen to my padawan, too.

I turn myself in a way that I’m facing away from Ezra and I let the tears silently fall down my face.

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The first thing I saw, when I opened my eyes, was a plain grey ceiling. It was so unlike anything I’m used to seeing at Ghost that I was wide awake in an instant. Every single surface at Ghost had been painted by Sabine a while ago, in fact, she often complained about the lack of space for her artistic expression. She would never stand for such a blunt colour as grey being displayed everywhere. So where am I?

Then it hit me. The tracking device. Me and Kanan departing from Ghost with the worst plan in the galaxy’s history. Fyrnocks. The Inquisitor showing up. Our capture. My arms…

My arms!

I immediately spring up and look at them. The pain subdued significantly but somehow; they look worse than they did yesterday. All of the dried blood and dirt don’t help the overall image.

Well, there is nothing I can do about it.

I look around. Kanan is still sleeping next to me. It is a miracle that I didn’t wake him up with my sudden panic.

I check my hands again. The scraps of Kanan’s shirt are tied around them but I can recall easily what’s under them. The bloody inscription will probably haunt me for the rest of my life. Why, of all things imaginable, did the Inquisitor choose those words?!

I start tearing up and it gets harder to breathe. I don’t want the permanent reminder about the Empire ruining everything I cared for. First, they took my parents. And with them went a feeling of security, home, love, and stability in my life. There was no guarantee of staying safe or finding food and water, every injury could end up with infection and progress to something even worse and the absolute worst thing was that nobody cared. Nobody cared about a street rat. There were hundreds of us out there. Nobody noticed us, ever. The only thing that remained no matter what was my freedom. Being my own person. Now, they took away that, too. Demoted me to be just a piece of property. Their property.

Maybe, when we get out of here (and we will), I can take my lightsaber and burn those words out myself. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to handle that kind of pain again but I’ll have to try. Everything is better than having THAT permanently on my skin. At least, it would be MY decision.

“Ezra, are you alright?” I look at now awaken Kanan. He is staring at me with concern. “Right, stupid question. You are not alright. And I don’t expect you to be.”

“No, it’s fine, Kanan. And I’m as alright as I can be in this situation.”

As if the Empire just waited for both of us to wake up, the door of the cell went wide open, and four stormtroopers barged in.

Two of them immediately came to me and grabbed me by my forearms. I did the only logical thing there was to do. I screamed at the top of my lungs. It stung like hell.

For a slight moment, they backed down a little. Unsurprisingly, my screaming sent Kanan into full protective mode and the remaining stormtroopers trying to hold him down took the blow. I almost felt bad for them. Almost.

Two down, two more to go. Unfortunately, one of the stormtroopers that was near me, got a bright idea at that moment. Didn’t know they got those. He pointed a blaster at me and as he was standing really close, the end of the blaster was practically buried in my ribs. Kanan stopped rapidly. Even with the horrible aim stormtroopers are famous for, it would be next to impossible for this one to miss. Apparently, his colleague was not as bright because it took him a few solid seconds to realise we stopped struggling.

“What are you waiting for? Handcuff him!” The first one was glaring at him at this point, frustration apparent in his voice.

“Right, right. Eh, which one?”

“The child, you imbecile. The Jedi stays here. He doesn’t need restraining.”

“Of course. Sorry. Right on it.” As he started to retrieve the handcuffs, his blaster slipped out of his hand and landed on the floor. To his credit, he quickly dived to get it back. Not so much to his credit, the handcuffs landed on the floor for change. I cannot believe we were captured by this bunch of idiots.

Scratch that. Maybe, it’s just his first day. I doubt the Empire hires such incompetent ones. Or at least I doubt that they manage to stay in their position for long.

Right at that moment, two more stormtroopers appeared at the door. They took one look at the scene in front of them, shook their heads, and started to retrieve their two unconscious colleagues from the floor. By the time they pulled them out of the cell, I was securely handcuffed and they started dragging me out once again.

“Hey, where are you taking him?” Kanan chimed in.

“None of your business, Jedi.”

Before Kanan could start arguing with them, the door closed and separated us. 

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After what felt like an eternity going through the maze of depressingly grey corridors, we ended up in front of another cell. Not sure what the difference between all the holding cells is, they look exactly the same to me. Why bother moving me to this one?

My question got answered as soon as the door opened.

This was no ordinary cell. It was filled with various instruments and tools I’d never seen before, and it looked more like a torture chamber than a holding cell. Karabast. Just my luck.

One of the stormtroopers pushed me into the cell and I found myself standing exactly in the middle of the room, right under the pair of chains hanging from the ceiling.

The other stormtrooper grabbed me by my arms, which obviously caused me to cry out in pain (not that they cared), and secured my hands in those chains. My feet didn’t reach all the way down to the floor, so I was forced to stand on my toes, just to support myself. Most certainly, this was intentional. As if I wasn’t in enough discomfort already because of my arms. Guess, I shouldn’t have expected anything less from the Empire.

Then all of them left and I was alone.

Maybe, it was supposed to make me disturbed and worried about what was about to happen but to be completely honest, the only thing it did was make me bored. I might have a slight problem being left on my own with nothing to do. I started humming to myself because the silence was getting unbearable.

After about 15 more minutes, the Inquisitor barged in. I would prefer to be left here to rot till I slowly die of boredom, thank you very much, but it seems like nobody asked for my input.

 “How are your arms, young apprentice? Any infection, yet?”

“You know very well where you can shove your questions.” Admittedly, it wasn’t in my best interest to anger him even more, but I couldn’t help myself. His smug expression makes my blood boil.

He completely ignored my comment, which is probably for the best, and continued with his villain speech. I wonder if he practices it every evening in front of the mirror because there is no way that the evil expression on his face isn’t specifically designed to creep out any of his victims unfortunate enough to find themselves at the other end of it. For now, that’s me. And trust me, it’s working. I am officially so creeped out; I am genuinely considering breaking my own hands from these chains just to get away from him.

“You know, we could help you out with that. We could send you to the infirmary and treat those injuries… if you give us the right motivation.”

“What motivation? I’m not snitching on my friends. So, get that fantasy out of your head right now.”

“Do not worry, you don’t probably even know anything of importance. That is not why you are here.” With every single sentence, he got a bit closer to me.  “No, youngling, you are here because you have great potential. Potential that can be used as a considerable advantage for the Empire when you join our ranks.”

“As if I would ever even consider joining you.” I spat on his face just to add to the insult. He just wipes it off and starts circling me as some kind of predator.

“Don’t make any mistake. There are only two things you’re good for, boy. The first one is joining us as a new inquisitor. Refuse too many times and see for yourself that my patience with you is not infinite. The second one is being an incentive to your so-called master. Let’s see how long it’ll take him to spill every little secret of his just to save your pathetic life. Preferably, your usefulness can be extended to both of these tasks. However, I am in a generous mood. So, I’ll let you choose. Join the dark side now and spare that pathetic excuse of a Jedi experience far worse than death. Or have it your way, refuse, and watch your master break down during your torture session.” No, Kanan would never. He is so much stronger than the Inquisitor believes. He won’t break. I know it. Unaware of my thoughts, the Inquisitor continues.

“I’ve seen it many times before, Jedi masters far more competent than him completely breaking because they couldn’t save their padawans. Their guilt, their desperation to sacrifice themselves for their brats is so intoxicating, it easily became my favourite thing to watch.” I might be getting sick. There is no way somebody can genuinely enjoy that, right?

“Just remember one thing. In the end, when your master’s spirit is broken beyond any repair and by some miracle, you’re still alive, you will be forced to join the Empire whether you like it or not and all the suffering would be for nothing.” He stops right in front of me and caresses my cheek. “Now, what do you think about my proposition? Will you be a good boy and accept my generous offer?”

If I throw up on him, would he leave me alone? Because right now, throwing up looks like a very likely possibility. I stubbornly keep my mouth shut and just angrily glare at the Inquisitor.

“Well, that’s a pity. On the bright side, this way it’ll be more fun.”

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Time has never been dragging so slowly, as it has at this moment. I’m pacing up and down my cell nervously as I try to count how much time passed since they took my padawan away. It’s not working. I’m constantly losing track of my counting, and I messed it up multiple times. Besides, it must have been already at least an hour so there is no point in keeping track.

I sit down in one of the corners.

Who knows what the Inquisitor is doing right now to Ezra. It can be literally anything. And I’m completely unable to prevent it. Such a failure I’ve become.

As if right on cue, the door opens, and the Inquisitor comes in. Calmly. Predatorily. And suspiciously in a good mood.

“What have you done to Ezra? Where is he?”

“I would worry about yourself if I were you.” Right then, I notice tiny spots of blood all over the Inquisitor’s uniform. I pray to the Force that it’s not Ezra’s. But I know better than that.

“Let’s talk a bit.” The Inquisitor starts circling me like a prey. Which to my horror, I realise, I am. “Where is the rebel base?”

I am confused. Does he think we have a base where we go after the missions? Why would he even think that? There are only six of us, it’s not that big of a stretch to live on the Ghost permanently. Plus, we are barely getting by without financing a secret area with proper utilities. It’s just cheaper and more convenient to live on board all the time.

He must have taken my silence for refusal to cooperate because the next question was asked with much more venom in his voice.

“How many cells are there?” Cells? What?

“Who is aiding you? Is someone from the higher Imperial ranks involved in rebellion?” I have zero clue what he’s asking me about.

“What is the next target? How many and which cells are going to be involved?” Again with the cells. What does it mean?

“You don’t want to talk? Fine, let’s bring some stakes to this interrogation. Stormtroopers, restrain him and bring the child.” I didn’t even see the stormtroopers that appeared behind me. Wait, child? He must mean Ezra! I try to fight them in an attempt to not be helpless once Ezra is gonna be near, but I’m soon overpowered and put into chains that hang off the walls.

A few minutes later, two stormtroopers drag something into the cell. No, not something. Someone.

They let Ezra’s motionless body fall on the floor. I take a closer look. There is blood all over him and I see several small bruises on his face. There is also a burn mark on his left arm and from what I can tell his arm is probably broken. It’s hanging at a weird angle. Suddenly, Ezra moans. Perhaps from all the pain. At least, he’s conscious. Even though I’m not sure if that’s gonna be a good thing.

“Now that we have some incentive, let’s start again. Where is the rebel base?”

After a few seconds of my silence, he ignites his lightsaber and cuts Ezra’s cheek. Ezra just sharply breathes in and lets out a broken cry.

“You’ll find out my patience is not infinite. Every time you refuse to speak, I’m gonna cut him more severely.”

“No!” I yell too loudly. “I swear, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“That includes lying, Jedi.” And he swings his lightsaber at Ezra once again. This time he hits the arm.

“I’m not lying. There is no base. Just the ship.”

“Foolish Jedi, I’m talking about the larger rebellion. Where. Is. Their. Base?”

“What larger rebellion?” I’m trying to project my confusion on my face very clearly. “There is no larger rebellion.”

“You take me for a fool, Jedi? I know about the other cells!” What other cells? There are no other cells. I say as such out loud.

This time he comes closer to me and studies my face for a few seconds. I’m not sure what he’s looking for, but he must have found it because after staring into my eyes intensively, he pulls away and makes a few steps to the door.

His back is still turned. “Maybe you are telling the truth. Is it possible that you don’t know anything? No, that cannot be right.” He is mumbling under his breath, but his voice clearly carries through the soundless cell.

“Stormtroopers, restrain the child as well and guard the cell. I must discuss something with my Master.” With those words, he left.

Chapter Text

This is so wrong. That child cannot be older than 15. And the Grand Inquisitor is torturing him. That kind of torture is too much for an adult, let alone a child. It doesn’t matter if he is a rebel.

I’m really starting to doubt the Empire. Not that I believed much in them in the first place. I joined the Academy only because I come from a family of poor farmers and after my father died, it was just me and my mother. She is getting older and is not able to work like she used to. The farm is too big for only two people to work on it and besides, there are rumours that the Empire is taking control of every farm one by one on the east side of the city. We would be next no matter what. I needed to find a stable income no matter what. Being a stormtrooper sounded easy enough. Regular hours. Solid income. Health benefits. What else does a person need?

Apparently, morals. If the Empire is torturing children, I cannot stand by them any longer. Even with all the health benefits they provide for my mother. It’s just wrong.

Unfortunately, I am the only one that thinks so. It looks like it anyway. My guarding partner is humming to himself some funny note that I once heard in the canteen, totally carefree like there isn’t a child behind that door that cannot even stand up on his own.

“Hey, if you are worrying about the dropped blaster and that handcuffing fiasco today, don’t even think about it. Happens to the best of us. Besides, you just got out of your training. It’s gonna get better over time. And I swear I’m not gonna tell a soul.”

“I’m not worrying about that,” I tell my partner. I think his name is Gord but I’m not that sure.

“Then why do you look like someone shoved a stick up your ass?” I hope I won’t be stuck with him on guard duty forever. This guy is getting on my nerves.

“Don’t you think this is too much?”

“What is?”

“He is just a child- “

“Let me stop you right there,” his tone is suddenly serious, “it’s none of our concern what happens behind that door. Those two are rebels. They had it coming, whatever was coming for them. Understand?”

“Maybe, you’re right. I shouldn’t be thinking about it.” I sigh. “Thanks for the advice.” I try to smile like an idiot even though you cannot see a damn thing through this helmet.

“You bet I’m right. Now, I don’t think the Inquisitor is gonna be coming here any time soon. Do you want to go grab some snacks? They won’t find out, I promise. I do it all the time with my friends.” As tempting as it sounds, I cannot stop thinking about that child inside.

“No, you can go by yourself, I don’t think it’s a good idea for both of us to vanish.”

“Suit yourself. I’m gonna stretch my legs a bit, standing here all day makes them stiff.” He starts to leave. “Just don’t overwork yourself, it’s not like they are going anywhere.”

I hear his laughter as he is leaving. I wait till he turns around the corner and grab the keys to open the cell. I don’t care what everybody says, this is just wrong. And I would be a monster if I let it happen any longer.

“Don’t you even dare to come any closer. Especially to him.” I get greeted by the older man. A Jedi, apparently? I thought those were all dead. But I remember how it was rumoured that they were extremely dangerous. So, I should be careful how I’m going to go about this.

“Ehh, hi. I know you won’t probably believe me but I’m here to help.” I hold my hands up in hope I will look less threatening. I am met with a raised eyebrow. I mean, fair. I wouldn’t believe myself either.

“How can I trust you?”

“Right now, I’m your best option. I don’t see you trying to escape and being successful any time soon, especially chained to the wall like that. Besides, if you don’t want to take a risk for yourself, do it for him.” I gently gesture to the opposite wall with the child chained in a similar position as the older man. But barely conscious. He looks even worse than I remember.

My last remark must have persuaded him because he nodded.

First, I unchained the older Jedi, as I suspected that if I went to the kid first, he would freak out. I can recognise an overprotective dad when I see one. Once he is free, both of us go unchain the kid. When we do so, he collapses on us.

“We need to hurry and dragging him all across the base will be hard on its own, I cannot imagine trying to stay subtle as well on top of it. I suggest we take him and run as fast as we can. Most troopers are gone for an afternoon snack and with some luck we won’t meet anyone in the corridors.” The Jedi nods again. Not a chatty type, I see.

We quickly take the boy and hurry through the corridor. When we are passing the second corner, we hear voices. So, we stop abruptly.

“This walking guarding duty is 10 times better than standing in front of cells the whole day. I hope they’ll never put us again on that duty.”

“Yeah, that is for rookies, I doubt we’ll have to do it again.”

The two stormtroopers are going in our direction. We’re gonna be discovered very soon. Shit, I knew I shouldn’t have stuck my nose where it didn’t belong.

I felt a light touch on my shoulder. It’s the Jedi. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean but before I can figure it out, the Jedi calmly comes out of our hiding. We are dead. This idiot has zero self-preservation.

“Hey, what are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here! Stop right there and surrender!” The voices carry all the way to us. Yup, this is gonna be my funeral. That’s what I get for trying to help people.

“You didn’t see anything strange,” I can hear the Jedi’s voice, “you will carry on as usual.”

“We will carry on as usual.” What?

The stormtroopers take a turn straight to where I was left with the boy. And they walk past us. They. Walk. Past. Us. As if they didn’t see us. What kind of sorcery is this?

“Let’s go. It’s clear. We have to move.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.” I take the boy once again into my arms and follow the Jedi.

“Which way now?” The Jedi asks as we come across another intersection.

“There is a storage room, not far from here. Your stuff that was confiscated would likely be there. Including any weapons and comms.”

“Then lead the way.” The Jedi said confidently and for the first time, I have a feeling that we might succeed.