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Quinlan groaned as he was shocked and forced to the ground.
“A Jedi, spying on my base… you will regret that,” Grievous said in his raspy voice.
Quinlan smirked, pushing himself up on his hands. “I won’t. I did my job.”
Grievous stepped on his back to shove him back flat. “You will. I’m not going to make your death swift this time, as much as I would prefer to kill you. Count Dooku has asked me to keep any spies alive for information That I can do. I will make you suffer.”
“Sure, sure, interrogate me all you want. You will not get anything out of me.”
“We shall see, Jedi. The interrogation has not even begun.”
Quinlan rolled his eyes.
Really, what was with people thinking that the Jedi would send someone naive to be a spy. Most Jedi knew the risks involved with spying, and those that chose to do the kind of work Quinlan did knew that they could face torture for any reason.
And really, Quinlan was intimately familiar with what torture felt like. He had been at it since he was a padawan. Sometimes, there was no helping getting caught. It would happen even if no mistakes were made.
Sometimes, he just slipped up badly. Everyone made mistakes. Quinlan always did his best to finish his mission in some way so it wasn’t a total loss, and he had yet to give into an interrogation.
Grievous dragged him into a room.
There was a bed to one side. A small alcove for the bathroom.
And the rest of the room was bare. It was not small, though.
“You will suffer here,” Grievous said, tossing him in.
Quinlan looked around. “I’ve stayed in worse places.”
Grievous grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.
“Why would you mock me?”
“I tend to deflect when I feel threatened.” Quinlan smirked, despite the pressure on his neck increasing.
“We’ll see if you still feel like deflecting when I am through with you.”
Grievous dropped him to the ground and stabbed him through the thigh with a lightsaber.
Quinlan gasped, but otherwise did not react. “Yeah, not doing anything for me.”
Grievous laughed. “I may wish to kill you outright but it has been a while since I had a reason to torture everyone. I will enjoy breaking you.”
“Sure, sure. Everyone thinks they’re going to be breaking me but they never manage it.”
“I will be the exception.”
“Mm-hm.”
Quinlan winced when Grievous cracked a couple of ribs by stepping on them.
“I doubt you have enjoyed true pain before.”
Quinlan faked a yawn. “Try a new line. I’m not some innocent kid who has all kinds of hopes and dreams. I know what reality is like.”
“If you did you would not have chosen to be a Jedi.”
“It is because I know that life is pain no matter what that I chose to be a Jedi. If my life is not truly my own, then why not dedicate my life to saving people?”
Grievous scoffed. “You Jedi are all the same,” he said in disgust before walking away. “I will be back in the morning and the real torture will begin.”
Quinlan rolled his eyes and sat up. He checked his wounds, hissing as he poked at them.
Oddly, he’d had worse. Several wounds over the years that could have healed poorly and given him trouble for the rest of his life. Some did ache in certain climates or types of weather, even.
This was a painful start, but it was also a start he could handle.
Quinlan bandaged up what he could and explored the room. It was a room, not a cell, he noted. Though the room did lock from the outside and he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to escape.
He didn’t see any visible ways to escape on his first pass. Or his second.
He limped around, making sure he missed nothing.
Only then did he go lay down on the bed to get some rest.
He’d need it to face the coming torture session.
Quinlan wondered if Grievous would actively be trying to get information or if he would just let his rage over Jedi make Quinlan suffer.
Regardless, Quinlan would never give him anything.
Except for something Grievous could tell people that would let them know why Quinlan disappeared, so they didn’t have to wonder any longer.
Quinlan just needed to figure out precisely which phrase would do it, and make sure it annoyed Grievous enough he would quote it.
Or maybe satisfy Grievous enough, but Quinlan didn’t like giving his torturers any satisfaction before they had injured him enough that he couldn’t hide the pain anymore.
Quinlan tried to sleep, but instead his thoughts wandered.
He knew Obi-Wan would be devastated. Best friends to the end of time. There for each other no matter what, with Obi-Wan usually needing more support than Quinlan.
Quinlan had a tendency to bounce back no matter how intense his emotions were in the moment.
Obi-Wan struggled with letting go rather than suppressing his emotions, as it had taken him far longer than their peers to realize that burying his feelings was not what was being asked of him. Once Qui-Gon realized what the problem was, that Obi-Wan had no real idea how to process his emotions and let go, Qui-Gon had to walk through it with him many times until he got it.
Quinlan remembered that as the time he had finally decided that Qui-Gon was the right master for Obi-Wan after all.
Obi-Wan was always there to help him when Quinlan was injured, even if Quinlan didn’t need emotional support as much as he would.
Outside of that, they did most things together outside of their training and responsibilities as a Jedi. They’d mess around, play pranks, go out and try new things, or enjoy things they knew they liked, and even would spar and meditate together.
Then when they both started raising a padawan together around the same time, they grew even closer, though they also spent time with other Jedi raising padawans (mostly Kit and later, Luminara).
Then the war hit, and it changed everything.
Sure, tensions had been rising for a while, but it hadn’t changed much. Not until the war inevitably started.
Now they were both lucky to have any downtime. Policies around leave had to be removed because of the demands of the war, and of the Senate wanting them to do anything they could to end the war.
For the first time, Quinlan found himself floundering. He’d always preferred the investigation part of being a shadow, or the containing dangerous artifacts part, the part where he only said he was a Jedi if necessary, but most people never realized he was a shadow because he blended in so well.
He was good at the undercover, and didn’t mind it.
But before the war, they generally preferred to keep shadows from more than one undercover mission a year, unless they were specifically trained for undercover, and those shadows were required to retire from shadow work after ten years, sometimes fifteen if a mind healer vouched for them, but never more than that.
Undercover missions of any sort required a minimum of one month of leave per two months of undercover, for up to a year of leave. Sometimes, if the undercover was under a year, it would be one month of leave per month of undercover if it was a bad mission.
Quinlan had liked that policy, as it allowed him to get his head on straight, especially after the more difficult undercover missions.
Without that buffer… he was finding that he wasn’t very suited for undercover work, especially since almost all his missions now required undercover work, and he was often jumping from one undercover mission to the next with little to no break between.
He hardly saw Obi-Wan between his own mission schedule, and Obi-Wan’s responsibilities as a member of the Council and running the 212th.
Quinlan knew the Council preferred to keep at least six of them on Coruscant at all time, but the war was stretching them thin enough that at times it was down to as few as two.
Quinlan worried about Obi-Wan at times. Obi-Wan thrived under pressure, but he was also more likely to forget the difference between burying his feelings and letting go.
Quinlan sighed. Of course, Quinlan was struggling even more than Obi-Wan was.
If one of the two of them had to die, it would be better to be Quinlan. With struggling to deal with his emotions, the Dark side loomed closer than ever.
He would rather die than let it get a foothold, though that hadn’t been a real issue yet.
Quinlan shook his head. He was about to be tortured for information, and all he could think about was Obi-Wan. Why was he like this?
Although, maybe that could be an angle… let it ‘slip’ that he knew Obi-Wan… Grievous did love taunting Jedi about the Jedi he killed, and knowing that Obi-Wan would care about Quinlan… yeah, that would work.
But it would probably make Obi-Wan’s grief worse.
Quinlan sighed. It was the best option he had, though, if he wanted them to know what happened to him.
Grievous didn’t know he had the Jedi Order’s best shadow. He didn’t know that Dooku would love to get his hands on Quinlan.
Quinlan would deal with this on his own.
.
The next morning he woke up to water being dumped on him.
Quinan gasped and spluttered as he was dragged to a chair in the middle of the room.
He smirked at Grievous. “Nice wake up call, certainly… inventive.”
He gasped at the shock, a bit more intense than the day before. Ah, that was Grievous’ angle. Use the water to make the electricity from the electrostaves worse.
It wouldn’t work. Electric shock was a common torture method. Quinlan knew how to deal with it.
He continued mocking and taunting Grievous as Grievous started asking questions.
“Just answer one question instead of deflecting Jedi scum.”
“Nah, I told you. I tend to deflect when I’m feeling threatened.” Quinlan smirked.
The lightsaber to the other thigh was less than pleasant, but Quinlan didn’t let that show on his face.
Escape would be next to impossible now. Oh well.
Grievous left him alone after several hours of torture and interrogation.
Quinlan dragged himself to bed and looked over his injuries.
Still not the worst, but this could turn into the worst, easily, if Grievous kept up this rate.
Quinlan would meet this challenge head on. He was not going to reveal any information that would damn the war effort, and especially not the Jedi Order. He would never betray his family.
Quinlan took care of his wounds and then he meditated. At least he still had the Force, but all his bonds were stretched thin from the distance and all the stress. He wouldn’t be able to reach anyone.
That was okay.
Quinlan was used to being alone, as much as it was one of his greatest fears and one of the parts of shadow work he disliked the least.
Quinlan went through his emotions, why he was feeling them, and if there was anything he could do about them. Once he was done, he let go, imaging them flowing away down a stream. Then he just let the Force carry him for a while, as an escape from the pain.
The more he could rely on the Force to avoid the pain, the easier it would be for him to keep withstanding the pain of torture.
Quinlan let out a breath and opened his eyes.
He felt better, but the pain was still there.
He carefully did not assess how bad it was; he didn’t want to get on cycles of how the injury would heal if he ever escaped, and if there might be permanent damage. That had never helped in the past, and it wouldn’t help here.
.
Days of torture and interrogation passed.
Quinlan said nothing but taunts and mocking no matter what Grievous did or asks.
After seven days, Grievous shoved him so hard that the chair fell back.
Quinlan winced at how hard his head hit the ground. That hurt.
“You will give me something, Jedi! Tell me about the Jedi!”
“No. I will not betray any of them, especially not those I am closest to. Like Obi-Wan.” Normally he wouldn’t use Obi-Wan’s full name, preferring nicknames, but he wanted to be sure that Grievous knew who he was talking about.
“You know General Kenobi?”
“Everyone knows Obi-Wan.” Quinlan waved a hand. “I just happened to grow up with him.”
Grievous seemed pleased with that, but obviously Quinlan had no intention of revealing any more information.
Grievous kept up the interrogation for another day.
“You will regret this, Jedi. I am sending in our best interrogator tomorrow. He will break you.”
“Sure, I doubt it. You haven’t had much luck yet, have you?”
Quinlan smirked as Grievous swept out, clearly annoyed.
Once Grievous was gone, he picked himself up, hissing and wincing in pain. He couldn’t really walk, so he settled for crawling.
Quinlan pulled himself up on the bed and collapsed, curling up in the least painful way he could.
Grievous was getting worse. This was now in the top ten of torture experiences.
Quinlan let out a breath. It was fine. This was fine.
He closed his eyes and meditated until he fell asleep sometime later.
.
Quinlan withstood all the new torture with a bored expression and the occasional quip or taunt.
He was running out of energy for being snarky. Once he ran out of that energy, it was only a matter of time before he started reacting to the torture.
Before he started giving them what they wanted, even if he never gave them information, what they wanted was for him to suffer.
And it wouldn't be long before he was visually suffering.
"Hmm... I see why our general is having such trouble breaking you... but that just means being more creative."
Quinlan smirked. "Do your worst."
"Oh, I shall. Let's start with this." He held up a needle.
Quinlan eyed it. "What, I should be scared of a needle?" There were many reasons to be scared of a needle, but he wasn't sure which one it was this time.
"Just a little something to muddle your thoughts and make sure you don't fight back like you have been."
Quinlan didn't get a chance to even think about moving away from the needle before it was jabbed in his shoulder.
He didn't have to wait long before the effects started. His vision swam. He had trouble focusing.
When his wrists were grabbed, he didn't have the coordination to fight. They were cuffed.
The last thing he saw before a blindfold went over his eyes was a smirk but he couldn't think of why that was.
The blindfold heightened his wariness but he wasn't prepared to be dumped out of the chair and whipped once he was on his hands and knees.
Quinlan hissed but otherwise didn't react.
The burn to the bottom of his foot made him yelp, but he only gasped when his other foot was burned.
The pain continued. Quinlan couldn't think of why it was a bad thing to react, so he started reacting.
Eventually a whack to the head made him black out.
.
Quinlan woke up with a groan. He hated being drugged.
He was still blindfolded. Okay, that was a new one.
He sat up carefully, wincing as all the new pains made themselves known. The torture was a blur thanks to the drug.
Quinlan tested the cuffs on his hands. Not much room to move them apart. That would make things more difficult.
He lifted his hands to the blindfold but a shock came from the cuffs.
He lowered his hands and considered the blindfold. It wasn't just a cloth blindfold, it was too heavy for that.
There might be a proximity thing, where he would be shocked if his cuffs got too close to the blindfold due to something in the blindfold.
Quinlan sighed. At least he knew the room somewhat. He started crawling and feeling his way to the bed where he collapsed and fell asleep.
When he woke up again, he was initially alarmed by the black before remembering the blindfold. It made him nervous. Not being able to see what was coming in torture was not good. It meant there was no good way to prepare.
He'd never had to deal with a total nothing before, though. He'd always been able to see enough to know.
Now he was unable to see a thing, and worse, blocking off his sight made his other senses stronger, which included the Force and his psychometry.
Quinlan was not looking forward to the next torture session.
He woke up to water being poured on him followed by a shock.
As he recovered from the pain, he was dragged over to his chair and dropped on it.
"I see that my expert has given you a blindfold. Does it work?"
"Like I'd tell you."
The sound of a lightsaber turning on was the only warning he got before he had another wound on one of his thighs. That made three holes on that thigh. Quinlan was starting to worry he was going to lose his leg, if he somehow survived this.
He didn't really expect to survive this. This was one of the most fortified Separatist bases, Grievous was dangerous, and Quinlan, despite being one of the best, was not really that important in the grand scheme of the war. Any rescue would be a huge risk. So it was very unlikely to be approved.
Quinlan was okay with that. When he'd realized he was going to be caught, he'd sent off all the intel he could to his usual sites to keep it safe, that those he worked with knew to check. He preferred not to use those sites, as it carried far more of a risk than downloading the information and delivering it personally, but it was better than utter failure.
He had done his job as best he could, and he would die at peace with the decision not to rescue him.
He just wished it didn't have to be so painful.
"Now... Tell me, Jedi. What are the plans for the war?"
Quinlan ignored him, deciding to stay silent as he didn't have a quip this time.
The backhand took him by surprise and he almost fell over.
"Tell me!"
Quinlan huffed. "No."
His head was grabbed and shoved down.
Quinlan sputtered and inhaled water in his surprise. He started feeling light headed.
He was let back up, coughing up water and gasping for air.
Drowning would be one of the worst ways to go. Not being able to breathe was one of the physical effects of anything that scared Quinlan the most.
But that didn't mean he would spill anything.
"Tell me anything you can about the Jedi."
Quinlan shook his head.
He went under again.
This repeated several times until he passed out from the lack of air finally.
He woke up to pain on his torso over his ribs like nothing he had ever felt before. He couldn't look to see what was happening.
"You will answer my questions."
"No."
Quinlan gasped as the pain intensified, then let out a small sound of pain as it moved.
"I see my lasers are having an effect," Grievous said smugly.
"Lasers?"
Quinlan grit his teeth against the pain.
"Lasers. I could up the intensity and ensure it cuts deeper."
Quinlan didn't respond.
"Now, tell me what I want to know. You know my questions."
"No."
Quinlan squirmed as the pain got worse. He couldn't even see what the damage actually was. He just knew it hurt. A lot.
Quinlan took a deep breath and let it out.
"Stubborn Jedi. Pity you are more useful alive right now."
"And you will never get any information from me."
"We shall see."
Quinlan almost couldn't drag himself to his bed after that. Everything hurt.
He found deep wounds where the lasers had been.
He laid back, not even bothering with meditation.
Nothing would help the pain. He wondered how long he would have to take it before Grievous finally grew tired of the game.
He hoped it didn't last much longer. He was losing strength.
.
Obi-Wan faced down General Grievous when he showed up once more.
He wasn't fazed by Grievous' appearance. Grievous was always a rather interesting challenge, but he was not the scary being he had appeared originally.
He blocked an attack.
"I have a Jedi spy, Kenobi. He says he knows you."
"Oh? Is that so?" Obi-Wan responded blandly.
"He infiltrated my base and made it way too far before we caught him. He is suffering."
"You don't usually brag about torture, just more kills." Obi-Wan was suspicious, but he had a feeling he knew who it was, and that Grievous was trying to set up a trap.
"He says his name is Quinlan Vos."
Obi-Wan faltered briefly before resuming his defense.
"Ah-ha, you do know him. He said he grew up with you."
"He won't give you the information you want."
"He is great entertainment for the trouble he caused and with the setbacks."
Obi-Wan didn't bother responding.
Grievous ran off after another few minutes of fighting.
Obi-Wan tagged his ship with a tracking device and stared after it for a few moments before shaking himself and going back to the fight.
.
After the main report was done, Obi-Wan sighed.
"I did learn one thing during the fight. He has General Vos. General Grievous was bragging about making him suffer for causing problems."
"That explains why he has not been in contact despite accomplishing his mission."
Obi-Wan nodded. "I wish to go find him."
"Are your feelings clouding your judgment?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Not right now. There are good reasons to stage a rescue of Q-General Vos. He is our best shadow, the best source of intel we have. He is one of our best masters over all. If we lose him now, we will lose a lot for the future."
"You aren't wrong. Unfortunately, the Chancellor has been... insistent that we do not rescue 'spies' and risk giving the Separatists more. You may stage one now, if you have a good excuse, but he will not allow a second attempt once he catches wind."
"We cannot allow you to try a second time. Your emotions are not getting the better of you now, but can you say that will remain the case if the first attempt ends in failure?"
Obi-Wan nodded. They were not wrong at all. "I understand. I have a plan, and I wish to start at once. I placed a tracker on General Grievous' ship. I am hoping an ambush will be enough to get him this time."
Everyone agreed to that excuse.
There was more discussion, of other missions, of campaigns, of the general state of the galaxy, the Republic, and the Order itself. They had faced so many losses.
Then, Obi-Wan got to planning the details with Cody.
"He let you put a tracker on the ship? This is a trap, General."
"I know. He was clearly baiting me with the knowledge of who he had and the emphasis on suffering. That is why my plan is to spring the trap. If I cannot escape, you and the rest of the 212th will be setting up, and will be invading the base within days."
"And if he kills you?"
"He won't. Dooku wants me alive. That's why he decided on this plan to trap me. It'll be easier for him to take me alive."
Cody sighed. "I don't like it. But it's the best we're going to get."
Obi-Wan smiled. "I don't much like it either, but at least springing the trap we know what we're getting into."
.
Obi-Wan snuck onto the base, looking for where they had put Quinlan.
As he suspected, things were laid out specifically to catch him.
But that wasn't going to stop him. He knew how to evade such traps with little issue.
He just needed to find Quinlan.
He opened a door. He spotted Quinlan, sitting in a chair, thick blindfold on, hands in cuffs, and covered in wounds. Some of them looked awful. How was Quinlan still alive? He didn't look to be conscious.
Obi-Wan took a step towards Quinlan.
A tranq dart hit his shoulder. He stopped and looked around just in time to see two more come his way. One landed in his neck.
Obi-Wan collapsed.
When he woke, he had no top on, cuffs, and a blindfold on. He lifted his hands to feel the blindfold and grimaced at the resulting shock. Proximity sensors. Great way to keep him from removing the blindfold.
He was sitting in a chair.
"You still haven't answered my questions, Jedi scum. You answer them and you can get a swift death."
"No," Quinlan whispered hoarsely.
There was a loud crack and then a thud.
Quinlan cried out in pain.
Obi-Wan straightened, testing out the restraints. "What are you doing?"
"General Kenobi. How kind of you to join us."
Quinlan meanwhile had frozen. Obi-Wan was here. He was about to experience the same torture. Quinlan never wanted him to go through that.
"What do you want, General Grievous?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I want you to suffer. Count Dooku wants you alive, but he said nothing about uninjured or whole. And if I can use this to get information out of either of you, all the better."
"And how does blindfolding help with that?"
Obi-Wan gasped at the feeling of a lightsaber going by his side, not a stab, but more than a graze.
There was no way to know it was coming other than a general warning from the Force, and the sounds of movement. Otherwise... Obi-Wan had no idea what was coming... or where.
"Now you see. Let's begin."
Obi-Wan didn't mind the pain. He had a high pain tolerance and while it made the medics despair at how much he did with injuries before realizing how bad they were, it came in handy at times like this.
But Quinlan had been tortured for a month based on when he was last in contact.
He was reacting, making noises, crying.
He still wasn't giving Grievous anything.
Obi-Wan strained against the restraints at a few of the cries.
He wasn't going to make Quinlan's suffering pointless by revealing anything though.
Obi-Wan bit his lip as the cries went on, and barely reacted when he was hit with whatever the weapon of choice was that next time.
And then Grievous was gone, their restraints released them.
Obi-Wan scrambled over to Quinlan, following his sense of him in the Force.
"Quin?"
Quinlan groaned. "Obes... you shouldn't be here."
"Well, I am. Nothing we can do to change that. Now where is the bed?" Obi-Wan carefully picked him up, despite the cuffs keeping his hands close together.
Quinlan leaned on him and quietly told him the directions.
Obi-Wan managed to find it after a little fumbling.
Obi-Wan set him down and carefully felt over his injuries. He couldn't check Quinlan's face, as his hands getting close to the blindfold would just shock him.
Quinlan just leaned into his touch, quiet.
Obi-Wan sighed and joined him in bed. "How are you even alive?"
"Sometimes they send someone in to bandage me up and make sure it won't kill me before I'm ready. Not often, just when they think I might be about to die."
"Oh, Quin... I'm so sorry." Obi-Wan pressed his forehead to Quinlan's.
"It's okay. Might be the worst torture experience ever, but it was worth it. I did my job."
"You did. It's already giving us quite the advantage."
"This was a trap for you, wasn't it?" Quinlan asked with a sigh.
"It was. I suspected as much. But I wasn't going to leave it without at least seeing if he was telling the truth, that you're alive. We'd worried when your mission was complete but you still hadn't contacted us. You don't go out of contact like that."
"I know... I just..." Quinlan sighed. "I didn't want you to deal with this torture. It's the worst torture I've ever experienced. I don't want you to know what it's like too."
Obi-Wan kissed him. "I know. I wouldn't want that either in your place. But I am here now, and that means you will have an easier time dealing. You'll get touch, and a pleasant person for your psychometry, no longer just negative impressions."
Quinlan let out a breath. "I know... I don't deserve someone like you, so bright and loving... I'm not good enough for it."
"Now I'm really glad I'm here if you're revisiting old insecurities. You are good, Quin. You are a good person, a good Jedi. You haven't given in, you haven't touched the Dark either, despite how much you're suffering, how easy it would be to give in."
Quinlan leaned on him more and started crying.
Obi-Wan shifted, trying to find the best way to hug him comfortingly.
He hummed and thought soothing thoughts, thought about how much he loved Quinlan and wanted him to feel better.
Quinlan listened to his humming, let the emotions reach him.
Eventually he fell asleep.
Obi-Wan didn't sleep. He couldn't sleep after all that.
He could handle the pain, but the psychological effects of not getting any visual cues on when the torture was coming for him, and hearing Quinlan cry and whimper and scream without knowing why was already getting to him, just one day in.
Knowing how much it was affecting him, Obi-Wan resolved to be as quiet as possible. Quinlan did not need to hear Obi-Wan's suffering on top of his own.
.
Obi-Wan found that Grievous' methods of torture could get... inventive. No wonder Quinlan called this the worst experience. Grievous was going to break him in the next few weeks at the rate he was going.
It was a good thing help should be arriving within days.
The plan called for two days, but could change to up to a week after. If they hit a week without any sign of the 212th, then Obi-Wan would worry. But until then, he would just do his best to help Quinlan stay calm.
Obi-Wan pushed himself up, shaking, after another torture session where they gave up nothing, and Grievous did not let up.
He tried to stand, but wobbled until his left leg gave out. Sticking to crawling then.
Quinlan didn't move, whimpering from the pain.
"Obes?"
"I'm here, Quin. I'm okay."
Quinlan sniffled. "You were crying and screaming."
"I know. He's good at figuring out how to use other methods to get reactions, but I'm okay. Come on, let's get you to the bed."
Obi-Wan helped Quinlan to the bed and then joined him.
"You didn't carry me this time."
"My leg couldn't handle my weight," Obi-Wan admitted quietly.
"Oh."
"Grievous is rather efficient for someone who usually just wants to kill."
"Yeah. He's supposed to get information from any spies, not kill spies immediately... so I guess he must have started coming up with ways to get that information quickly... Too bad I'm tougher than that."
"Quite." Obi-Wan kissed his cheek. "We'll survive, for now."
"But what about when Dooku arrives for you?"
"What are the chances that Grievous has not told Dooku just who he has captive? I think Dooku will be quite interested to learn that you're here."
"Oh... good angle." Quinlan sighed, leaning on him. "You shouldn't be here, though. You should be out leading the war, not comforting me."
"I'm where I'm meant to be for now," Obi-Wan said quietly.
"That's a bit selfish."
"It's not just my feelings Quin, have you considered how great a loss it would be if you died for the entire Order? Even after the war... You are a fantastic shadow, a fantastic Jedi master who could train on at least one more padawan, who is good with the younglings, who is good at things people do not expect you to be good at. If it was only my feelings, I would not be here, you know that."
Quinlan sniffled. "Sorry, yeah. I've just... it's been so hard here. I don't want you to sacrifice who you are for me and I worry that you do that all the time."
"Quin, you know me. If I was in danger of doing that, I would be out. You and I both like being ourselves too much to let any one person dictate who we should be."
"That's true." Quinlan sighed, pressing love and affection at Obi-Wan in the Force.
He fell asleep as soon as they had eaten their rations.
Obi-Wan stayed awake a bit longer, worried. He had never seen Quinlan like this, and worse, the next day would mark a week since he had sprung the trap. There was still no sign of Cody and the 212th. He didn't know where they were or why.
It was a good thing that he hadn't mentioned the rescue though. Quinlan wouldn't be able to handle getting his hopes up only for them to be crushed when no one ever showed up.
Still, what happened. Where were they?
Obi-Wan eventually dozed off with uneasy thoughts.
In the morning, they were awake early enough for them to meditate together. They liked to do that every chance they could, connecting in the Force and making it easier to be and let go of the feelings they were experiencing.
Morning meditations in particular were nice as it allowed both of them to brace themselves for the day's torture.
They were dragged off the bed and left on the ground on their stomachs near each other.
About where the chairs were usually, by Obi-Wan's reckoning.
The first of the blows rained down.
They were being hit in multiple places by blunt weapons.
Aside from when the blows hit old wounds, neither reacted much.
Then Grievous came in and noticed that they were not suffering enough.
"Hit them harder."
Quinlan clenched his fists as he grunted and groaned at some of the worst pains.
"Harder."
Quinlan yelped and then whimpered at the increase in pain. Aggravating his old wounds was particularly troublesome.
"Hit them harder!"
Obi-Wan closed his eyes when he heard Quinlan start crying.
"Even harder!"
Obi-Wan gasped when one hit his worst injury. His eyes filled with tears from the pain.
Quinlan was sobbing.
"I think a bit harder will do it."
Obi-Wan whimpered and started crying as they started using all their strength.
He didn't know how Quinlan had survived so much of this.
Grievous laughed and walked away to answer his comm.
He came back and ordered Quinlan and Obi-Wan onto the chairs.
Quinlan moved slowly.
Obi-Wan didn't move at all, not really in the mood to be obedient despite the pain.
Grievous was not in the mood either. He stabbed Obi-Wan's shoulder with one of the lightsabers.
"Move, Kenobi."
Obi-Wan pulled himself up and found the chair to sit in. He leaned back and breathed through the pain of a new injury.
Grievous left. So did everyone else.
"...what's going on?" Quinlan asked nervously once they had been alone for a while.
Obi-Wan sighed. "I'm not sure... but I don't think we're going to like it."
"Yeah, that's the feeling I’m getting as well."
They heard Grievous talking about his prisoners, how he had General Kenobi and some Jedi spy prisoner, and had been torturing them.
"It seems that you could use some lessons on information gathering. Just using torture is not good enough."
Both Quinlan and Obi-Wan stiffened in alarm. Dooku!
The door opened.
Dooku stepped in. A pause.
"Your spy is Jedi Master Quinlan Vos."
"I believe that is what he said his name was, yes."
"And you did not think to inform me?"
"He's Jedi scum."
"He is their best shadow, and the one who has been getting the most intel for the Republic through this war. I have wanted to have words with him myself. You may leave, General Grievous. I wish to spend some time with them alone."
"As you wish."
There was silence.
Obi-Wan tensed.
Dooku stepped in, his steps echoing in the silence.
"So this is what he has been busy with. He was torturing you." Dooku lifted Quinlan's head, then removed the blindfold.
Quinlan blinked and squinted at him.
"He did quite a number on you. And yet, he still could not get you to betray your people. That is quite impressive. I have seen people fold under a fraction of what you went through."
"So what are you going to do about it?" Quinlan asked, trying to keep putting on a brave face.
"I haven't decided yet. You and General Kenobi... two Jedi I have wanted to get my hands on."
"Of course you have." Obi-Wan sighed. "You and your master are not going to win this war."
"Oh we will, and with you both out of the way, it will be far easier."
Quinlan huffed. "You're not going to get information out of us."
"Not the way Grievous was doing it, no. I will still torture you, of course. No reason to let you heal. I much prefer to see you suffering." Dooku's smirk was vicious.
"Oh, wonderful. So how do you plan on getting the information?"
"Like this." He stared at Quinlan.
Quinlan cried out, hands going to his head. "No, no stop..."
Dooku smirked and turned to Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan nearly screamed at the piercing pain of someone using the Dark side to tear down his shields.
Dooku withdrew. "Now that your shields are gone... I can easily access your mind and dig out the information I need by Force."
He hit them both with lightning, watching in satisfaction as they writhed in pain.
After he stopped, both laid there, whimpering.
Grievous may have failed at getting information, but he did lay all the groundwork that Dooku needed for his plans.
Obi-Wan sat up, rubbing his head. He was trying to regain his composure, but his head throbbed.
Quinlan didn't even bother moving. That would take too much effort.
Dooku started digging for information.
Quinlan whimpered and curled up, clutching at his head as he begged Dooku to stop.
All Obi-Wan could do was watch in horror.
That was when the door burst open.
Several clones shot at Dooku, breaking his concentration, and even landing a few shots. Once he had the lightsaber in his hand, he started fighting back.
In the meantime, several clones had gone to Quinlan and Obi-Wan. They freed them from the restraints and carried them out of there, not even giving them the choice of walking or not.
Quinlan passed out as soon as he realized they were getting out. That they were going to be safe.
Obi-Wan stayed awake longer, to make sure everything was going smoothly.
Once he heard that the surviving members of the 212th had made it out, he relaxed and fell asleep as the medics treated his wounds.
When he woke, Quinlan was clinging to him, sleeping fitfully.
Obi-Wan soothed him with the Force and then checked his own mind, wincing at the wounds he found, on top of the tattered shields.
Obi-Wan didn’t get a chance to work on it immediately, however.
Manner noticed he was awake and rushed over to check on him, making sure he understood to be careful, and how bad some of the injuries were.
Obi-Wan had experienced the torture, so he could believe it.
“If I’m this bad… How bad is Quin? He was held far longer.”
Manner pursed his lips. “He’s woken up a few times, though he’s mostly been incoherent. It’s bad. Some of his injuries started healing wrong. We had to rebreak a few bones and do some surgeries to fix what we can but… the damage is done.”
Obi-Wan swallowed. He himself was at risk of some of the pain lingering or becoming the sort of injury that affected him on bad days but was fine otherwise.
Quinlan had been there for so long, of course he might end up with something far more permanent.
“It’s too soon to tell how bad it will be. He’s going to need physical therapy to get going again. You too, but I expect you won’t need it for long whereas General Vos is going to need a lot of time.”
“Of course.” Obi-Wan sighed. “There is one last question… Do you know why it took longer than planned?”
Manner shook his head. “No, I have only heard rumors. There was some interference from the Chancellor I believe. We weren’t even supposed to be arriving for another day, but Commander Cody got permission from the Jedi Council to go ahead.”
“Good thing you did. Count Dooku had arrived to contribute to the torture.”
“I am glad Cody did not listen to the Chancellor.”
Obi-Wan nodded, then frowned. “It’s not the first time that the Chancellor has asked for delays that it turns out would be detrimental to our side…” He shook his head. He’d note it to the Council. It was just another oddity about the Chancellor and his amassing power that they had been noticing.
Manner brushed it off. “Pain levels?”
“Solid 7 all around.”
“Higher than I’d like… I’ll get you some painkillers if you eat some soup.”
Obi-Wan grimaced. He hated adjusting back to eating after being held captive. “A cup of soup and a couple of crackers.”
“Deal. We’ll work on building your appetite back up.”
Obi-Wan nodded, relieved that Manner wasn’t going to force him to eat more.
Then Manner was gone, and it was just Obi-Wan and Quinlan.
Obi-Wan looked down at Quinlan. He winced at how Quinlan was covered in bandages.
Quinlan was still clinging, but he was more relaxed than when Obi-Wan woke up.
Obi-Wan ran his hand through Quinlan’s hair and kissed his forehead.
At least he could have this.
He had missed Quinlan throughout the war. Even with busy mission schedules they saw each other more than the war allowed. The only reason Obi-Wan saw him as much as he did with the war was because he was on the Council. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t be on Coruscant as much, and he wouldn’t be attending so many of the same meetings as Quinlan.
Obi-Wan knew he was going to take advantage of their healing time to make sure Quinlan was okay.
They had talked some during the torture, but it wasn’t something they dwelled on. They tried to keep it light. But the torture would go on so long for each day, often with someone other than Grievous taking over so Grievous could take care of other things.
Obi-Wan sighed, thinking of that torture.
It had been the worst he had ever endured, and that was saying something.
The secret was in the blindfold. It was harder to tell what was coming. Even if Obi-Wan had an idea of where Grievous was, where the weapon was going, he didn’t know what it was and the pain was more unexpected than when he had a better idea it was coming.
And while he had even experienced torture that relied on watching others get hurt, hearing Quinlan cry out, not even knowing how Quinlan was hurt… that made it all worse.
But they hadn’t given Grievous any information. If Dooku did get any information, it was because of a Sith technique that they were in no frame of mind to fight against. Even though they tried.
Quinlan stirred. His eyes opened. “Obes?”
“I’m here, Quin. How are you feeling?”
Quinlan groaned. “Like a herd of banthas ran over me for an hour.”
“Yeah, I think that’s to be expected after the torture you went through.”
“Oh. Right. How are you doing?”
“Good. I am waiting on some soup and painkillers, but, otherwise I’m doing pretty good.”
“That’s good.” Quinlan fell silent for a moment. “Dooku got some information. I’m not sure what, everything was flashing by so fast. But I could feel his triumph right before the attack started. He got something they can use.”
“Oh… Well, we’ll deal with it when it comes. I’ll report it to the Council.”
“I’ll report it.”
“Quin, you can barely move,” Obi-Wan pointed out gently. “It’ll be easier for me to report it, but since you’re here, you’ll be able to contribute anyway.”
“…oh. Right. That was some torture.”
“Worst torture ever.”
“First time I actually considered giving up and giving them something. Never did, but not being able to see things was… disturbing. And then you were there and I had to listen to you hurt and we couldn’t even really keep up joking between sessions because it hurt too much and… it hurts, Obes.”
“I know, Quin. I know. I love you. I am so proud of us for not giving in for each other.”
“I love you too,” Quinlan whispered. “I hope we never have to face that again. We’ll always choose our duty over each other and we know it but… that doesn’t make having to face that choice any easier, knowing the right thing.”
Obi-Wan nodded, then snorted. “For most people, the right thing would be to save those they love.”
“I’d never look at you the same way if you did that.”
“I know. I’m not sure I’d ever forgive myself. I’m glad we didn’t die, I’m glad Dooku didn’t get any further than he did.”
“Can’t believe the 212th showed up.”
“That was the plan. I spring the trap, they follow with a rescue.”
“…Of course. That makes a lot more sense. You’re not stupid. Of course there was a plan.”
Obi-Wan kissed his forehead. “Yep. Took them a little longer than expected, so I was glad I didn’t say anything. You didn’t need to get your hopes up.”
Quinlan winced. “Yeah, that would have made things way worse.”
“I know.”
Manner arrived with two cups of soup and a plate with crackers. “I thought you’d be awake by the time I came back.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Quinlan eyed the soup and started sitting up slowly.
Manner moved and helped him. “Be careful, we had to re-break some bones and do some surgeries to correct what was healing poorly.”
Quinlan grimaced and nodded before starting to eat slowly. It hurt to even lift his arms.
Obi-Wan watched him worriedly between his own bites.
Once they finished eating, they greatly appreciated taking painkillers and settling back in to cuddle and relax.
Obi-Wan requested a holopad so they could put on something to watch or listen to.
Once he had it, he put on their favorite comfort show and relaxed. “I am so glad you’re alive, Quin.”
“Me too. I’m glad you’re okay. I can’t believe he was using me as bait.”
“I can believe it.” Obi-Wan sighed. “But regardless, you are here, and you are safe now.”
Quinlan smiled. “That’s true. I’m glad. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
.
They spent their recovery together on Coruscant.
Both were relieved when Quinlan was finally released from the Healing Halls. It was still looking like two months of physical therapy at minimum before he could be cleared for the field, but he would be able to return eventually.
Obi-Wan stayed with him for a month on light duty, still doing some physical therapy.
But once his therapy was done, he had to return to the 212th.
Quinlan and Obi-Wan had a long goodbye, full of love and affection, with hope that the war would end soon as the pieces were starting to fall into place despite whatever bit of information Dooku had gotten from Quinlan’s head.
Quinlan would return to light duty after two months, spending his time researching and investigating the Chancellor until he was fully cleared, at which point he promptly got the evidence needed to arrest the Chancellor and expose who he truly was.
Obi-Wan and Quinlan took a long vacation once the war was over.