Whisper Your Weakness

DMS: I love to torture Luke. Hmm, what does that say about me? And don't worry, Mara will have her revenge...eventually!

Angel_mine: Glad you liked chapter 18! This one is not quite so sad, so maybe you won't cry. *grin* To answer a few of your questions, the Luke double is a clone (which will be explained more later) and Berdin only stunned Luke when he first captured him, and without the Force, Luke is as susceptible to a stun blast as anyone else is. As to why he was out for so long, er... I don't know? Umm, let's just say Berdin drugged him to keep him docile while he moved him to the holding cell...yeah, that works. Can you tell I'm making this up as I go?

LarielRominiel: I'm still here! Had a bit of writer's block on this chapter, but I think I've worked through it now. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Anon: *sigh* Yeah, I really need to work on that holding the suspense part of writing... Hope you liked it anyway!

Chapter Nineteen


The Solo’s dining room had become command central in the search for Luke Skywalker. Han, Corran, Wedge, Mara and Leia sat around the table, which was covered with maps, datacards and various pieces of flimsiplast. Lando was currently out questioning the dregs of Coruscant society in the lower levels, while Kam was working with several of the Jedi to see if they could sense any blank spaces in the Force that might indicate ysalamiri. Talon was still trying to find out if anyone had purchased the lizards in recent months.

It had only been twenty-four standard hours since they had realized the body they’d been about to bury was not the real Luke Skywalker. Leia was proud of how quickly Luke’s friends and family had come together to rescue him. It would be no easy task, for the galaxy was an immense place and Luke could have been taken anywhere in it. But they knew that it had started here on Coruscant and so that’s where they knew they had to start as well.

Leia found herself staring at Mara as the fiery redhead argued with Corran over some detail or other. Mara Jade was Luke’s lover, the woman he had asked to be his wife. Leia marveled that she hadn’t figured it out a long time ago. There had always been a spark of electricity between the two, even when Mara was vowing to kill him. And, truly, she hadn’t been as shocked as she should have been when Han and Mara had told her the news.

Leia had stared at her blankly for a long moment, and then reached out to take the other woman into a firm embrace, any anger she might have felt at Luke’s deception crushed under the grief of losing him. Mara had stiffened in response, but then had seemed to wilt slightly and for just a moment, she had clung tightly to Luke’s sister.

In all the excitement of them explaining to her that the body in the Senate Atrium was not her twin, Leia had forgotten about the ring that was now lying on a dresser in her bedroom. She stood suddenly, causing Han to look up at her in concern. Leia smiled at him to let him know that she was all right and turned to Mara.

“Mara, may I see you in the bedroom for just a moment?”

A wary look entered Mara’s eyes, but Leia had the feeling that it was more a reflex than a true reservation. Nodding slowly, she stood and the two women walked into Leia and Han’s bedroom.

“What is it?”

“I know things have been confused and I haven’t had a chance to say thank you,” Leia said quietly.

“Thank you for what?”

“For making my brother happy,” Leia said, her voice beginning to choke up. She raised her hand to cover her mouth, trying to hold back her tears.

Mara smiled at her, but her jaw was trembling suspiciously. “I’m the one who should be thankful, Leia. Luke…he saved me. Not just my life, but me. He’s the first person who ever cared enough to see the real me. He didn’t see the Emperor’s Hand, or an enemy, or even a smuggler. He saw Mara Jade…and he loves me. And I’m not going to rest until he’s back here where he belongs. With me and with you and everyone who loves him.”

Mara flushed slightly, not having meant to give a speech, but Leia just smiled at her in understanding. She reached out to pick up the small jeweler’s box from the dresser, looking down at it as she turned it over in her hands. Leia was suddenly hesitant to give Mara the ring in this way. It should have come from Luke’s hand to his bride-to-be’s in a special moment just for the two of them.

On the other hand, the ring was a symbol of hope and that was something they all - especially Leia and Mara - needed right now. Taking a deep breath, she held the box out towards her almost-sister-in-law.

“I was with Luke when he bought this. I’m pretty sure he meant it for you, unless my brother was hiding another fiancée in the wings somewhere,” Leia said with a wry grin. Funny how she was able to smile again, knowing that Luke was alive. She had to focus on that piece of hope, and not allow herself to agonize over what dire trouble her twin was probably in. They would find him, they would.

Mara took the box from Leia and simply stared at it. Leia could feel Mara’s turbulent emotions through the Force, almost like a shadow of the bond that she felt with her twin brother. The bond between Luke and Mara had to be powerful, indeed, and Leia knew that Mara was hurting as much as she was at not being able to sense Luke.

Finally, Mara opened the box and let out a tiny gasp as she looked at the ring for the first time. She pulled it from it’s nestling place and set the box aside.

“It’s…” she trailed off, not seeming to be able to find the word she wanted to use. She glanced back up at Leia. “He picked this out?”

Leia nodded, a soft sheen of tears in her eyes at the memory of Luke buying the ring. “It was the only one he looked at.”

“Oh, Farmboy,” Mara whispered as her eyes were drawn back to the ring. She laughed nervously as she felt tears gathering in her own eyes. “Force, I’ve become like a leaky faucet. Do you see what a bad influence your brother is on me?”

That seemed to break the quiet intensity of the moment and the two of them had a good laugh.

Mara sighed as their laughter dwindled and considered the ring. “I want to wear it, but-”

“But what?”

“But I want Luke to put it on my finger when we get him back. So, do you have a chain of some kind that I can borrow?”

“That’s a perfect idea. Hold on,” Leia said as she moved over to her dresser and rummaged through her jewelry box. “Ah, here we go.”

She held up a simple gold link chain and handed it to Luke’s intended wife. Mara threaded the chain through the ring and then started to put it on.

“Here, let me help you,” Leia offered and took the necklace from Mara’s fingers. Nodding, Mara turned and lifted her hair so that Leia could clasp the chain around her neck.

The redhead turned back around to face Leia, picking up the ring and holding it between her fingers carefully as she did so. Both she and Luke’s sister stared at it, and then Mara felt a wave of sadness wash over her through the Force. She looked back up to see Leia fighting back tears as she’d done so many times over the last few days.

“I miss him…SO much,” Leia said, her voice choking up.

Mara surprised both herself and Leia as she moved forward to take the smaller woman into a tight embrace. Leia was startled for a moment and then held on to the one who’d finally managed to claim Luke’s heart and given hers in return.

“We’ll get him back, Leia. We will. I swear it,” Mara whispered and she sounded so confident, Leia couldn’t help but believe her.

**************************************************

Viktor didn’t return to Luke’s cell for another several days, and the Jedi wasn’t sure which was worse…the actual torture, or being left alone with his doubts and fears. He’d wracked his brain trying to figure some way out of this hell, but hadn’t come up with anything as of yet. The disruptor disks were well out of his reach, even if he stood on the bed, which he had tried since Viktor had neglected to chain him to the bed. Not that he’d felt much like doing anything for a day or so after that whipping.

He’d lain on the tiny cot in utter agony for the longest time. Eventually, the pain had eased enough that he could move around the cell once again. The droid still brought his meals twice a day, but now they were just slipped through a slot that opened at the bottom of the door. Luke sighed helplessly. Viktor certainly was no fool and he obviously intended to toy with his victim for a while.

Stop thinking like a victim, Luke! he told himself fiercely. There’s a way out, you just have to find it. His usual optimism was becoming ever harder to hold on to, though.

He was sitting on the bed pondering whether there was any way he’d be able to convince the droid to open the door the next time it came, when the door opened. Startled, and then silently cursing himself for his lack of attention, Luke looked up at Berdin, who was holding his customary blaster aimed at Luke’s face.

Viktor tossed the cuffs at him, not speaking a word, but Luke understood that an order had been given. Silently, trying not to let his apprehension show on his face, Luke clipped them on. Berdin gestured with the blaster towards the hook where the whipping had taken place, and Luke swallowed with a dry mouth as he stood and moved over where Viktor wanted him.

The blaster never wavered as Luke’s arms were raised and the chain on the cuffs looped over the hook again, leaving him vulnerable to whatever Berdin had planned for him this time. The silence was beginning to grate on Luke’s nerves as Viktor walked around him slowly, finally putting the blaster into a holster on his hip, but still not saying anything.

Luke felt exposed, like an animal in Berdin’s private zoo, or worse, an experiment in a lab that the bastard was contemplating. Finally, he could stand the quiet no longer.

“Did you have something you wanted to discuss, or are we just going to continue this little dance for a while?” he asked sarcastically when Berdin came back around to the front of him.

Instantly, Viktor stopped moving and let an evil, satisfied smile cross his face and Luke cursed himself. Another of his little ‘games’ and Luke had let him win this one by breaking the silence first.

“Ah, Skywalker. You have no idea how much some people in this galaxy truly hate you, do you?”

“I’m well aware that I’m not on everyone’s favorites list.”

“Oh, I’m not talking about those petty, pathetic fools who are merely jealous of the power and prestige you once possessed,” Viktor said, waving a hand derisively, and Luke felt a shudder go through him at Berdin’s use of the past tense.

“No, I’m talking about people who hate you with every fiber of their being, every thought and every breath they take. People whose hatred is like a living thing inside of them, nurtured and fed every time your blasted face appeared on the holonet, every time someone praised the ‘savior of the galaxy’, every time you went on some mission and ‘saved’ some hopeless cause. People who not only want to see you dead, but want to see you suffer endless pain before your death, to repay the endless pain that you’ve caused others.”

As he spoke, Viktor’s voice became more heated, more fervent in its virulence, and he leaned in towards his captive until his nose was only centimeters away from Luke’s nose. The Jedi Master was shocked to his core at the depth of loathing in Viktor’s face and tone.

“People like…me,” Viktor’s voice dropped to a whisper and Luke could feel the evil intent in his face and bearing.

Reaching down deep to find some semblance of his vaunted Jedi calm, Luke spoke quietly. “I am what I am, and I can be no more or no less.”

Viktor’s harsh bark of laughter startled Luke, causing him to flinch. Berdin turned and stepped away and Luke breathed a quiet sigh of relief, even though he knew his reprieve would undoubtedly not last long.

“And that’s what this experiment is all about, really. To find out what you’re truly made of when you don’t have your precious Force to help you cheat your way through life.”

Luke’s lips flattened into a thin line and he remained quiet, refusing to give in to Viktor’s taunt. Berdin turned suddenly back to face Luke, the quickness of the move again causing Luke to flinch, making him curse himself for revealing such weakness to his captor.

Viktor reached around behind his back and pulled out an object that had been tucked into the back of his pants. Holding it up for Luke to see, he smiled maliciously.

“Do you know what this is?”

Luke glanced at the slim, metal cylinder in Berdin’s hand. It was a little longer than his lightsaber, but smoother, with no handgrip. There were two small prongs that stuck out on one end of the mechanism and a button about halfway down the shaft. As Viktor pressed the button, an arc of electricity jumped between the prongs. Luke swallowed with a suddenly dry mouth as he stared at the device in Berdin’s hand. He wasn’t certain that he recognized it, but he had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be something he wanted to find out more about.

“No, I don’t know what it is.”

“Ah, I’m surprised at you, Master Skywalker,” Viktor said in a mocking tone. “And it’s something from your own home world, too.”

Luke said nothing, determined not to be drawn into this competition that Viktor seemed to relish.

“It’s a herding prod, used by eopie ranchers on Tatooine,” he explained in a patronizingly patient voice. “Hmm. Interesting, isn’t it? This is used to control dumb animals from Tatooine, even those that like to call themselves Jedi Masters,” he sneered.

Luke’s nostrils flared in anger at the blatant insult, but still he kept his silence. He’s only trying to goad you into losing your temper, Luke. You’re better than that, he told himself.

“Have you wondered yet why you’re here?” Viktor asked suddenly.

Luke looked at him warily. How was he supposed to answer that question? Of course, he’d wondered why he was here, and Berdin had to know that, but Luke still didn’t want to admit it to him.

“The thought had crossed my mind a time or two,” he said cautiously.

Viktor laughed cruelly. “You don’t fool me for a second, Jedi. I can practically smell the fear on you.” He stepped in uncomfortably close to his prisoner and Luke remembered that lick on the ear with some disgust and dismay. Berdin was almost cheek-to-cheek with him as he exaggeratingly inhaled, then whispered, “And I like it. Very, very much.”

Luke could feel the nausea roiling in his stomach at Berdin’s tone, but he forced himself not to flinch away, remembering also the elbow to the nose he’d taken for that motion the last time. Without any further warning, Viktor pressed the button on the herding prod, activating the current, and touched it sharply to Luke’s side.

Startled, Luke cried out as waves of fire pulsed through his system, bringing unbearable agony in their wake. His body jerked and twisted as he hung from the cuffs but he couldn’t get away from the torment. After what was probably only seconds - although it had felt like much longer - Berdin pulled the prod away and stepped back to observe the outcome of his handiwork.

Luke groaned as every nerve ending in his body seemed to be screaming in protest, hanging limply from his restraints as sweat poured from him.

“My father’s name was Aldor Erollisi. He was a brilliant man, simply brilliant. People came from as far as the Outer Rim just to hear his lectures. He was fiery, one could even say passionate, about what he believed in. He was a wonderful father, as well. He always had time for an impatient son’s many questions. He used to carry me on his shoulders and I would pretend I was the tallest man in the galaxy…” Viktor said, and his voice trailed off as he appeared to become lost in his memories. “Then later, after I had grown into a young man, he encouraged me in all things. And he was so proud when I decided to follow in his footsteps into the world of science.”

Luke squinted at Berdin uncertainly, his breathing harsh and labored, as he wondered what the point to this speech was. Viktor seemed to remember his captive then, and turned his glare on Luke once more.

“Is his name familiar to you?” he asked roughly.

“N-no, it isn’t,” Luke gasped. “Should it be?”

“Of course it should, Jedi!” Berdin spat angrily. “You killed him!”