The Akurian Queen

[General Dan]

That was what he needed to hear. None of this stoic for-want-of-sympathy nonsense while they waited like fattened nunas before the slaughter.

He slid to his haunches, testing the filthy floor with a finger to see if they could write on it. Not really.

"I'm all ears, soldier."

It could be stupid and impossible, but they were taking all suggestions. Whatever they picked, they probably only had one shot.

[s'Il]

It was comforting in a way, that Dage and Kori had started in on a plan. It was also rather expected. Expected as well was Dan's reaction. She knew that the man was not one to sit about waiting on death to come calling, and she watched out of her peripheral vision as he ran a finger across the floor.

Dage as well moved from the cot, crouching beside the General.

"It ain't nothin' fancy, but we are gonna need s'Il in better shape than she is now," Dage gave a look over his shoulder to the Jedi, offering her a conspiratorial wink.

"It'll make it easier to fool them into thinking she ain't the only one with powers."

[General Dan]

Dan started getting a notion of Dage's plan.

"Put up a front, make them divide their attention. I like that."

He looked to s'Il, frowning.

"Of course, there's getting to that point. Even if I knew what they shot her full of, I'd have to know how to break through it."

Dan approached his Jedi companion, kneeling over her. Suddenly he slapped her face lightly.

"Lok. Lok!"

[s'Il]

There was only a brief moment of inactivity as her mind registered the fact that Dan had given her face a gentle slap. It was such a shock that even if she'd not been drugged her reaction would've been the same. Of course in the next fraction of a second she surged forward clumsily, her limbs still functioning sluggishly.

"Here," she intoned, as if back at the Temple.

Her perch, now a precarious one, was dependent solely on Dan, and as if suddenly aware that she was indeed not back on Coruscant, the Lupine gave a shiver.

"I'm cold," she whispered.

[General Dan]

His jacket was off in an instant, and with Dage's help, they eased the Lupine up and helped to work her into it. Hopefully feeling warm would break the hold of whatever was in her. Still, they didn't have much time.

Holding her firmly by the shoulders, the rebel leader spoke with urgency.

"I need you. Eyes on me. Talk to me about something."

[s'Il]

"You don't need me," was her only reply.

The immediate warmth provided by Dan's uniform jacket was welcome, though fleeting all the same due to their surroundings.

"Is your survival so dependent upon some stretched-thin Jedi padawan... "

It was the first time - and in the presence of anyone but herself even - that she relegated herself to anything but a student.

"The transmundane in this situation is immaterial."

Her hands came up, each going to frame her companion's face in an initially fierce grip that melted into the contours of his craggy features.

Her single eye locked hazily with his as she conveyed through visual stimuli what her voice could not.

And yet through it all; through the drugs that she'd been given, the thought still remained and raged in her mind.

"...he took your ring... "

[General Dan]

Why does it matter was on the tip of his tongue, but quickly banished. His hold on her never wavered.

"I know."

It was a symbol to him, obviously, but he wondered why she brought it up. Was it something she was now giving thought to?

"I'll get it back, but I need you, Lok. We're all in this. You're gonna have to fight this thing inside you. I need you to reach out and feel. Reach out and see."

[s'Il]

With her hands still on his face, s'Il locked eyes with him as she registered his words.

Reach out and see.

"Reach out and see," she echoed with a whisper as her eye shifted, her line of sight moving past Dan and to the far wall. She inhaled, drawing deep from the cold air and letting it seep in and throughout her being. Her overtaxed metabolism settled a small bit, allowing her thoughts to reorder themselves into more coherence.

An even voice, though quiet, finally emerged.

"I am here."

She exhaled.

"I am here."

[General Dan]

Dan couldn't know for sure, save for the implicit trust he had in her and that look in her eye that possibly only he could see.

He smiled, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"There you are."

Glancing back to Dage, he gave a nod. Lok was back with them.

"Alright, let's hear it out."

He tossed his attention back to the door fleetingly, to make sure no trouble was headed their way.

[s'Il]

"Nothing grand," Dage began, sidling in close and keeping his voice low.

"Just something to get 'em wond'ring and catch 'em off guard."

The Lupine angled her head, blinking slowly as she halfway looked at Dage. Years of fighting alongside him and Kori gave her a keen understanding of the way he thought, and s'Il had a healthy notion of what was on his mind.

"Rhen Var."

Dage grinned wolfishly.

"Exactly," he gave a conspiratorial look to Dan, "You up to playing the part of an undercover Jedi again?"

[General Dan]

Dan gave his best mocking 'mind trick' finger wave, trying it on for the audience.

"A little something like that, isn't it?"

A flash of a confident grin, and he looked to Lok.

"Can you follow my cues?"

It had been a while since they'd done something this stupid, but back then the odds were pretty awful as well.

[s'Il]

A hint of her old unimpressed smile returned, barely visible but still there all the same.

"I am able."

Her hands moved to pull the edges of his jacket closed in the hopes of preserving body heat.

"Please... do not act like some... " she paused, using the moment to not only search for the correct words but to inwardly settle a small bit more.

"... some side-show act," she gave him a warning glance, "As you did last time."

[General Dan]

"That's the trick to every good magic trick and every good con though, isn't it? Make them look where you want them to look."

Dan laughed, which was a punctuated huff in light of the otherwise seriousness around them. Dage likewise enjoyed the moment.

"Alright, I won't be such a ham. Just make sure it's convincing. You ready to get on your feet?"

[s'Il]

"No."

It was said with conviction, and the Jedi resituated herself on the small cot, leaning back against the wall once more as her gaze went to the sound of approaching footsteps coming closer. Through half-lidded eyes she watched as a stormtrooper appeared.

Without a word three small wrapped packages were tossed through the bars in the general direction of Dan.

For his part, Dage managed to snatch one from the air before it hit the ground.

"Much obliged, friend," he grinned, hefting the small package in a mock salute.

The stormtrooper gave no reaction save for turning on his heal and disappearing back down the narrow corridor.

"I know a last meal when I see one. Force knows I've seen plenty since I started running with you two."

[General Dan]

Dan unwrapped the first one he picked up, spent a moment to inspect it, and passed it on to Lok. Maybe after a bite to eat she'd have her strength.

"Last meal? Nah. They haven't yet pulled out all the stops yet. When you get ice cream, that's when you know your number's been pulled."

Dan unwrapped his own parcel and frowned.

"I'd actually kinda like some ice cream."

[s'Il]

Holding the ration bar, s'Il made a pained face. Apparently the Empire ordered their rations from the same supplier that the rebels did; or, more likely the rebels just stole the Imperial stocks. Either way she found herself staring at the same meal that she'd stared at when they'd first been sent off into this mess.

"I'm not hungry," came the quick reply as the 'food' was dropped into her lap. She even dusted her fingers to remove any leftovers that might've stuck to her skin.

She caught the look that Dan sent her way, but chose to ignore it in favor of staring through the bars of their cell.

Ten minutes later found her still staring, the ration bar untouched in her lap.

Twenty minutes later the unmistakeable sound of a body being dragged across the ground reached her ears, and the Lupine tested the air as two stormtroopers hefted Kori's frame through the cell door, neatly dropping him in a pile.

"Hospitality a dyin' art, ain't it boys," Dage slid over to his battered friend as the door was shut.

For his part, Kori gave a grunt as he rolled to his side, spitting a small stream of blood through split lips. With one eye already swollen, an ugly cut along his cheeck, and a bruise at his temple, it was apparent that he'd gotten the short straw. He winked at Dan, gave a cough, and spit again.

"H'llo Sweet'art. Didja miss me?"

[General Dan]

"Looks like they improved your looks."

With a sympathetic look, Dan passed the ration Lok had refused over to the man. He likewise didn't feel much like eating.

"We're in a jam here, but we've got a plan. We're gonna put the old con on again, and try to give our captors something to think about in terms of their Jedi problems."

They eased Kori up to a sitting position.

"I'm not expecting you to run a marathon, but we need you sooner than later."

[s'Il]

"Good news, that."

Kori picked at his bar, not entirely sure he truly wanted to eat. He gave a lazy look to s'Il, waving it at her.

"Ain't hungry then, ya crazy witchlady?"

For her part, s'Il hmphed a silent chuckle.

"I am not hungry for that."

Kori snorted. Like Dage, he was lean and hardened from years on the run and many meals that often consisted of less than what he now held up in his hand. His black, disheveled hair fell into his face, and he swept a hand up to push his wild mane behind one ear.

"Y'got problems, then. This right 'ere issa king's meal."

"I am sorry that I missed your coronation."

With a cheeky, albeit bloody grin, the rebel took a bite.

"Your loss then," he got out between mouthfulls.

"We ain't goin' nowheres till mornin', so make yerselves comfy."

Half-scooting towards a wall that he could relax against, Kori settled himself beside Dage while giving the other man a pat to the knee.

"It's you'n me tonight, Sugar," and with a casual, offhand look to Dan and s'Il, he went on.

"You two jus' keep it down, eh? T'morrow's a big day an' we all need our beauty sleep."

[General Dan]

"You the most of us, so you'd better pack it in toot sweet."

Dan turned to Lok and tended to her, making sure she eased down and was comfortable in his jacket. Finding a spot that wasn't so drafty, Dan led Lok to it and they both bedded down, ever-wary of the door and what trouble may come from it.

Reluctantly, he went to sleep.

[s'Il]

* * *

The first thing she was aware of was the biting cold. It seeped into ever pore of her being, chilling to the bone. Even through the jacket that she'd been bundled in, s'Il felt her body shiver despite all efforts to control her movements. Even Dan's closeness did not help, and as her awareness grew, she could tell that he too was not immune to the temperature of their cell.

The second thing that the Lupine was aware of was clarity. Her restless sleep had replenished most of her lost functions, and with relief the young Jedi stretched out with her mind as if being set free.

Of course in the following seconds she had precious little time to gather any sort of mental bearing as the cell door banged open.

A river of white flooded through the doorway, descending upon the four with steadfast intent. Kori and Dage offered as much resistance as they were able, though it was a shortlived battle as both were pulled roughly to their feet and strongarmed against the wall. For her part, she at least had the presence of mind enough to feign her drug-induced haze from the day before, and she felt gloved hands grab both her arms. In desperation s'Il grasped a handful of Dan's shirt, frantic to keep from being separated.