Battered and Bruised, but Not Broken

[Juwiela Melec]

Well, it wasn't the first option she would have chosen, but it was better than nothing. Little did Cryax seem to know, there was a coded language the Rebels had put into place that was intended for use in these types of situations. It would allow her to send what appeared to most to be a harmless message, when in reality it would be signifying a number of variables to the Alliance, starting with just what had happened and what the status of her location was at the moment. Anything to give the others an upper hand in what would hopefully amount to another detrimental blow to the Red Ravens. A video wasn't her primary decision, but unfortunately for Cryax, it had the potential to be just as deadly to he and his flock.

It raised her hackles that he was letting her get something of her way so easily, and she made a note to be careful just what it was she said in that video, in case he decided to go over it himself before sending it off, something she doubted he would do in the first place. This spoke greatly if being a way to undermine her once again, a fact she was ever cautious of. "Bring out the holocam, then." She didn't make any other comments for the moment, still looking straight ahead, not having shifted from her cross-legged position.

"And if you'll remember, I can't see. So any threatening gestures you're making aren't doing you any good." There was the briefest of pauses. "I don't fear you anyhow." It wasn't entirely true, but she was all but numb to the idea of more torture. Her own personal safety, as she'd informed him many times before without effect, meant nothing to her. If the others were kept safe from harm, then it was worth the sacrifice of herself to keep it that way. Most others would have called it a noble act, she just thought of it as practical, at this point. "You're going to have a difficult time sending it without knowing who it's going to. And I don't intend to give you the location of our base quite so easily."

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

His captive might not have immediately known it, but Bane was carefully analyzing every little thing the woman said, and he was picking up clues here and there whether she meant to give them or not. For example, when Juwiela said the rebels had a “base,” that one word gave him a world of information. One “base” was quite different than several “bases.” One base told him that the rebels appeared to be a cohesive, smaller-sized group rather than a syndicate that was spread out far and wide across the galaxy. It also seemed to confirm the data that his infochants had begun to dig up. These little pests would soon be swatted like Dantooine Mace flies.

Juwiela could be lying of course, but not only did she seem too young and naive to spin too many stories, but also the truth serum that was still in her bloodstream would make her skin turn red or perhaps worse, depending on the severity of the lie.

“You have five minutes to say your peace,” Cryax snapped. Holding his wrist to his chest, he then activated the camera on his Datalogger and gave the pilot a tight smirk. “Camera’s rolling Juwiela, but this is your one and only take, so don’t kark it up.”

[member="Juwiela Melec"]

 

[Juwiela Melec]

Five minutes was more than enough time to pass her message on and leave more information for the Alliance than what Cryax had intended. Underestimation was a tactic it seemed she was exploiting in wealth with no real intentions of doing so. Though Juwiela might have been young, she was far from being inexperienced in any field that concerned her cause, something her captor wasn't expecting or intending her to use. That would come back to haunt him later, both literally and figuratively, for which she was only thankful. The sooner her message was passed on, the more quickly the Rebels reacted, the faster her threats of retaliation were made a reality.

Slowly and steadily she began speaking, choosing each word painstakingly carefully, "Long time no see, Matchbox. Just thought I'd let you know what happened before these Mynocks managed to get to me. They have at the very least two squadrons, maybe four, six if we're getting optimistic. It's just like what happened back on Yavin." That was the primary alert she'd wanted to get across, that she'd been taken to another planet and was being held there. There wasn't much else she could tell them, with her information on everything being minimal at best. "Don't bother waiting up, and let the others know that the bet's still on." That was another piece of coded language, one that indicated they should proceed quickly but with caution.

While she spoke she tapped what appeared to be absently on her knee with the index finger of her left hand, while in reality she was spelling out the word 'torture' letter by letter, something that would hopefully go unnoticed by Cryax but allow the others to realize just what sort of situation she was in. Whether he liked it or not, she was still communicating to the Alliance, in their own way.

Turning her head to regard Cryax, that was her indication that she'd said all that was necessary. All there was left to do now was wait for a response. If the message was sent in the first place.

[member="Cryax Bane"]

 

[Cryax Bane]

The Chiss's face was barren of emotion as he listened to Juwiela relay her message. Each word she spoke, he analyzed like a computer. The callsign, "Matchbox," he thought he'd heard that before. Probably on Makeb, over the open comms. "Mynocks" might be something, might not. He wasn't exactly sure. The reference to Yavin had to be code for something. It was much too contrived to simply be something she threw out there as an offhanded comment. She was sending a coded message alright. Although, even if Juwiela had simply recited the Huttese alphabet, Cryax was planning on moving her to another location in case they had been trailed by Rebel spies. He would keep her moving until he found a use for her.

Cryax snapped off his Holocam and held up his wrist demonstratively. "If you'd like your little Rebel-gram to go to anyone in particular, I'm happy to make sure it gets into the right hands. Anyone in particular you'd like me to send it to? Oh right. You weren't going to give me a name. I guess I'll just have to put this away for safe-keeping, won't I? Unless you've changed your mind about that."

He paused and then added one more thought. "I also think it's ironic that you used finger tapping as a way to send a covert signal. Especially because soon those are going to be in pretty short supply for you."

[member="Juwiela Melec"]

 

[Juwiela Melec]

"Why don't you just kill me, then?" It was a question asked with no particular emotion in her voice, except for perhaps some degree of resignation to her fate. It was obvious that he wouldn't be sending the video, at least until she gave him this or that valuable piece of information. That was something she still wouldn't give up, no matter how desperate her situation became. If worse came to worse her preference would be a quick and clean execution rather than having to live on at the mercy of a man who most likely had no intention of letting her go even if she did tell him everything she knew that pertained to the Alliance. Death would be little more than a kindness, if things continued on like this.

His threats had little effect on her, at least in the sense of her being truly afraid. More than anything she was weary at the thought of more torture. It took not only an obvious physical toll but also a mental one, thought that was something she would hardly admit to the likes of her Chiss warden. Sighing quietly in defeat the corners of her mouth tightened nearly imperceptibly, her minute facial expressions communicating what her eyes would have, had she been granted physical sight.

After a moment she pushed herself into a standing position, wincing slightly as her most recently wounded hand came into contact with the floor. Even the slightest of touches hurt with a pain comparable to losing her fingers over again. "Come on, Bane. Take me back to that room of yours, make more threats, but try to keep the ball rolling. Some of us don't like to be kept waiting." Her voice was surprisingly confident given that she was completely at the mercy of one not likely to show her even a small amount of such. "I keep telling you that I'll tell you everything about me, but you never seem to take me up on the offer."

[member="Cryax Bane"]