Fallen Jedi: The Descent

Ch 8: Chatter

Trilla didn't care for the propaganda that echoed through the prison halls.

It's not that much more pleasant than the grinding metal was. She mused to herself as she made the short walk to Cal's cell.

The blatant imperial propaganda that was the Imperial Sentinel grew louder and more clear as she did. Trilla paid the flickering blue program little attention as she came to a stop at the red holoshielded wall.

Cal sat in the cramped cell, watching the news and pointedly ignoring the Second Sister as she came into view.

Cal had lost track of the days since his visit to the dojo. Truth be told, he wasn't sure if a full day had actually passed. Time was nothing but a blur of sleep, torture, and holograms.

Holograms that Cal knew were blatant propaganda. But they were also the only hint of the outside world that he'd had in weeks.

They were the first time he'd seen a face since that fateful battle.

"Get up." The Second Sister spoke over the holoprojector.

Wordless, Cal looked to the black-clad woman. Even he could feel the dangerous edge on his gaze. Sharp and cold, like the rest of the fortress.

Cal could feel the pressure of the Dark Side closing in around him. Ever since he'd dipped into it in the dojo, the misery in the halls felt more familiar than it did alien. Not like a friend, but like a harmless acquaintance when it had once been a deadly enemy.

Cal hated it.

That only made it worse.

When Cal didn't move, Trilla simply held up the control fob for the electroshock collar.

Seeped in distain and achy to his core, Cal rose from the bench.

He knew that he could quash down most of the pain if he reached out to the Dark Side, just as he'd done in the dojo. The knowledge was unsettling. And tempting. Understanding the he couldn't meditate as he'd done thousands of times before without being accosted by visions of the past made him even more trapped in the tomb-like present.

A moment after Cal came to standing, the red holoshield blinked away.

Trying and failing not to let a mild confusion show, Cal kept his gaze locked on the Second Sister.

"Follow me," she told him without explanation.

Sure that this would going to end in something terrible, Cal hesitated.

The Second Sister didn't appreciate Cal's stalling, but she knew that he was getting into his own head far more than she could.

He knew there had to be some dark plan at work. Trilla had arrived with her saber and his clipped to her belt. As far as Cal was concerned, that was proof that she was going to drag him back to the dojo.

He wasn't sure that he would be the same person after another fight like the last.

He also wasn't sure how many more sessions on the table he could stand.

After that foray into the Dark Side, he'd felt the temptation lingering. Part of him knew that he could tear the torturer's table apart if he pulled from the same place of power. He'd watched Cere do as much, through Trilla's memories. He knew the Dark Side was a path to unnatural abilities, maybe gaining freedom was one of them.

Waiting for a moment before deciding that she had let Cal's stalling go on for long enough, Trilla turned on her heel and began to stroll down the hall.