*
This is the story of five.
One.
Simon Kaine did not recognize the man in the reflection. A polished piece of metal was all Major Willam would allow his prisoner for fear that Kaine would find ill purpose with mirror shards.
But he was allowed to see his reflection.It was a simple freedom granted but one that Simon did not understand.
What education warranted the losses to himself, the Agreon family and the Aridians in general?
Furthermore, what lessons could Willam teach other than in how to be a sadistic bastard?
But he was too tired, too abused to reflect on the nature of his captor.
And, quite frankly, he did not care all that much.
And so, hanging there with his arms tied behind his back, he met One.
Or, rather, it was a small boy with the number one stitched into his garments.The boy did not speak and Simon could not, in the beginning, discern the boy's real name and so simply called him One. This seemed to please the boy and Simon soon found out that the boy's responsibility was to bring food and water to him and remove the prisoner's wastes.
After Mya's death, Major Willam had strung Simon back up, content to leave him hanging for extended periods of time.
The boy arrived three times a day, the same time each day and fed Simon since the prisoner could not feed himself. But, it was three times a day that Simon had potential contact with the outside world. The fact that the boy brought no messages signified three things:
Simon had no more supporters on the outside.
Simon had supporters but they did not know he was alive.
Simon had supporters, they knew he was alive and tried to send messages but the boy was searched.
All in all, it was not good odds to plan anything by but it was all Simon had.
Try as he might, however, he could just not communicate any type of intention with the child and Kaine's inability to gesture hampered those attempts. His frantic, often-times demanding requests of the boy were met with fright and the boy left as quickly as he came.
Kaine's screams of frustration echoed through the corridors each night until he simply slipped back into despondency.But One kept coming by. Three times a day.
And it was this habit that, despite his ill manner, kept Kaine's interest and mind alive.
And so, slowly, he came out of his self-imposed shell and directed his entire focus on those three visits, all other considerations pushed away.
After a few days of simply observing the boy's actions, assessing him, he began to see that the boy was in the very same situation he was.
With so much heartless use from his captors, Simon began to praise the boy for things done well. That went on for a few visits, Simon simply praising the boy and asking nothing back in return. And that...
that...was the first breakthrough in communication between One and Kaine.
Simon began to find his food tasting better noting that the boy was taking it upon himself to initiate small yet positive gestures in Kaine's behalf. These too earned words of praise and soon, in an existence dominated by evil there were smiles in Kaine's prison three times a day.
Simon began to look forward to those times as much as One did for his captors, nor Major Willam, deigned to come by. It was almost as if Simon Kaine was forgotten if not for One's daily visits.
The companionship and close association brought forth from within Simon feelings he thought toally driven from his spirit by Willam's torture.He and One, two souls intertwined in this maze of evil and he began to realize that unless something was done, things could not continue as they were forever.
He also realized that there was a part of him that did not want this circumstance to change for he had found comfort even in this hellish existence and, if he let his heart take over, he knew that if threatened with the discontinuing of One's presence he would probably agree to anything.
But his mind knew that this was a situation neither he nor One had any control over. Eventually, Willam would remember Simon and prevent One from coming altogether just to stick yet another needle through Kaine.
Kaine felt a kinship with One, reminding the Colonel of his own youth back in Arcadia, when he was living hand to mouth. He remembered his boyhood friend killed by the Chiss pirate. A boyhood friend that One somewhat resembled. And so, he began to tell One stories of his own life and found that One's visits slowly began to lengthen.
It was during one of these visits, when Kaine was describing a battle that he inadvertently complained that if he only had his hands free, he could show One what something looked like when the One walked over and pushed a button deactivating the bonds that held Simon.
He dropped to the ground and, though in pain, continued his story for he was as caught up in it as the One was.When One left that night, Kaine sincerely thanked him for his release from the bonds and for the first time, he was able to shake the boy's hand.
One left proud that night and Simon felt better than he had in a while.The next morning, Kaine looked out the small window of his prison for the first time. He saw that the view spread across the old King's Guard Compound and in the center, displayed on an upright pole was the corpse of One.
Simon cried that day and did not eat any of the food shoved through a slot at the bottom of his door.
A powerful guilt seemed to cloak Kaine and as he sat on the cell bed, in the far recesses of his mind, he realized that his captors did not demand the return of his bonds.
Two.
Simon Kaine did not recognize the man in the reflection. A polished piece of metal was all Major Willam would allow his prisoner for fear that Kaine would find ill purpose with mirror shards.
But he was allowed to see his reflection.
It was a simple freedom granted and, while one that Simon did not understand, he began to realize there was some sort of rule at play here.
This was when another boy entered his cell with a number two stitched into his garment.
Simon suspiciously ate the food in silence and the boy, also in silence, came and went. And, as before, Two would appear three times a day with more food and water.
And, as before, Kaine's need for companionship seemed to errode his internal walls and he began to strike up a relationship with Two in the same manner as One for Two could not speak either.
Simon was determined, though, to make sure that he not make the same mistake as he hand with One. He could not let his emotions overrun his
internal nature of caution for, it seemed, even speaking without thought could kill.
The food that Two brought did not improve as it had with One for Two was different as Simon found out. Two liked to make things with his hands and Simon's window was soon displaying various sorts of clay animals of Two's creation. Kaine figured that One grew up more around a mother whereas Two was used to the company of his father. During the idle time between Two's visits, Kaine would often wonder how different his life might have been had his father not joined the Rebellion leaving Mother and Son on Coruscant with Palpatine's machinations.
As with One, Two's visits seemed to lengthen and Kaine allowed the boy to teach him how to make and mold clay into shapes. While Two was not a master at the skill by any definition of the term, Kaine was (strangely) thoroughly satisfied with the instruction of the boy. He even practiced between visits and found it helped him concentrate on the task at hand.
But he made sure that he never asked the boy for anything not wanting to upset his captors.
It was during one of his practices with shaping the clay into a figure that the boy had already made and was sitting in the window when he made a startling discovery. He picked up the boy's figure to examine it closer and found the dry, hard clay brittle. The figure broke but before Simon could get upset about it, he found that there was a sliver of metal inside the figure. Further investigation of the other pieces also revealed similar pieces and he realized that the boy used these pieces as the 'skeleton' to mold the clay around.
He figured that he would not tell Two of his discovery for he did not want the boy to be implicated in anything. With this secret knowledge, he began to enjoy Two's visits more all the while, at night, using the metal slivers to poke into the metal panels making up the wall of his cell. It was not so much to escape but to find the cell facilities. The bed slab seemed to extend out of the wall and so, he felt it only reasonable to assume, waste facilities would as well. Finding them would remove the need for Two to replace his bucket and would also improve his standard of existence considerably.
And, on one such night, he found a locking mechanism and deactivated it giving him instant access to the cell refresher. Running water and plumbing for waste removal improved Simon's spirits heartily and he used the water to wash not only his clothes but his body feeling for the first time in a while halfway human.
The next morning, Kaine looked out the small window of his prison scattering the broken pieces of Two's figures that he had broken. And has he looked across the King's Guard compound he saw, in the center next to the corpse of One, Two, impaled on an upright pole.
"He didn't do anything!!" shouted Kaine as he beat his fists against the wall of his cell until they bled.
It was as if his cloak of guilt wrapped tighter to warm a body and mind in shock. And in that shock, somewhere in his mind, he found that his captors allowed the refresher to remain.
Three.
Simon Kaine did not recognize the man in the reflection. A polished piece of metal was all Major Willam would allow his prisoner for fear that Kaine would find ill purpose with mirror shards.
But he was allowed to see his reflection.
It was a simple freedom granted and one that Simon began to see had strings attached.
And, in time, another young one appeared to give him his food and water. A girl with the number three stitched on her clothes.
Simon's eyes widened in horror when he saw her the first time knowing that just outside his window were the bodies of One and Two.
"You son of a bitch, Willam," Simon whispered to himself and he began to practically shout at the girl telling her to leave the food and go.
"My name is not girl! They call me Three! And you are rude!" the girl cried out and left. Kaine was speechless with shock for she could speak!
However, shocked as he was, Simon still refused to speak to Three during the first week not knowing if her speaking to him would sign her death warrant or not. After the second or third visit, she began speaking of her own accord as young girls are want to do. First, it was almost mindless chatter about other kids her own age. Then, it was about her parents whom she saw little of and then it was about different things going on outside the prison. After a few days of her chatter, Kaine came to realize that she was not being put to death.
And so, slowly, he began to interject a harmless comment here and there and she merely continued with her story of the day. A mind of insatiable curiosity started to intrude and Simon's comments became questions though he was careful to keep those questions as neutral as possible.
And it was during these sessions that he learned that the guards would sometimes let the girl come alone to bring Simon his food and water.
"They say you are broke," the girl explained and Kaine nodded grimly.
"They would," he whispered.
And why not? Major Willam had destroyed everything he had loved. I am not a threat.
From Three he learned that the other side of his cell door was not a hallway or corridor but yet another, larger room. Three told him there were computers and droids and said the room was for doctors.
It was then that Kaine realized that he was in the medical wing of the old King's compound. He had been confused by the prison cell overlooking the guards barracks because he did not remember prisons being there. But the medical cell was different in that it was not for prisoners but those sick. Willam had stuck him in a room for those mentally challenged.
In any event, Kaine knew that where there were doctor's there were allies for Major Willam did not have doctors nor did men like him consider doctors a threat.
He knew that even if the doctors could not help themselves, they could direct them to any of the King's old staff to get himself and Three out of the compound. He just needed to know when the guards were not accompanying Three.
She said she could whistle an Aridian folk song when the guards were not there so Kaine would know prior to her unlocking the door and they could escape. Willam's taste for killing children would end!
And it went like clockwork several days later.
He heard her whistling from behind the cell door and, when she opened it, he moved swiftly past her to the nearest doctor. Only, there were no doctors.
In fact, the room was deserted and he realized immediately that he was not escaping. The girl had not lied for there were the empty bacta tanks, discarded medical droids and computer terminals. It
was a room for doctors. It just was no longer in use, probably since Willam's attack and the stale room seemed to deflate any hope that the King's regime had any functioning services active within the compound.
That was his last thought when the stun blast struck him.
When he awoke on the floor of the medical room, he walked slowly back into his cell and saw the corpse of Three, along side One and Two outside the cell window.
He found he was running out of tears to shed for the children as more weight was added to his already crushing guilt. It overshadowed his thoughts and he drew inward again.
Willam had said he was educating Simon and, with each child, it seemed no matter what Simon did or did not do, it doomed those who entered his presence.
Was that it?
Was the child's mortal sin one of simply being in his presence?
One had actively given aid and was killed. Two was ignorant of Kaine's actions and was still killed. Three. Three was to have escaped with him.
Her corpse was an almost lethal testament to that failed strategy and Simon felt tired.
Every surge of hope he felt stirring within him was extinguished with the death of each child.
He knew that each flare of hope was his mind refusing to surrender even as his body could take no more abuse. The tears he shed over the dead was a flaying of his soul for his hope made that pain so much more devastating.
Yet, with the reality of his captor's total dominance over him being reinforced with each child's life, he knew something had changed within him. He sensed a difference though it eluded his conscious thought.
He began to tinker with the computers and discarded droid parts and was able to get a working medical library operable and he would walk between his cell and the medical room listening to the machine voice as went over medical terms. Soon, he found that he thought of both rooms as a (his) single abode.
He also found that food was still being delivered by someone as he slept for he heard the medical room doors slide open and closed though he made no move towards the sounds, content to sleep in his cell. These visits were once a day, always at night and Kaine began to ration his food, keeping a small store preserved in a medical refrigeration unit. He was not sure why but it seemed the prudent thing to do.
Four.
Simon Kaine did not recognize the man in the reflection. A polished piece of metal was all Major Willam would allow his prisoner for fear that Kaine would find ill purpose with mirror shards.
But he was allowed to see his reflection.
It was a simple freedom granted and one that Simon began to see why.
As he began to exercise his tortured body according to a set of instructions found in the library, no solace came to mind but he did discover that his physical strength was improving.
It was then that Four entered the into his life. He had been listening to the relative effects certain medical compounds could have on each other when the door between the medical room and outside activated, sliding open.
An older child with dark hair entered with food with the number four stitched to his clothing.
It was a mixture of emotions that took hold of Simon as he battled irritation at the intrusion against the horror that his captor's games had resumed with the knowledge that, if he got to know Four, something would happen that would result in the boy's death.
So, Kaine came to a decision. He would not act with any attempt to escape nor would he allow Four to be any part of his life.
When Four left, Simon destroyed the door control panel knowing that Four would not be able to enter the room for the next meal.
Simon had rationed his food and so was content that what little he had saved would hold him for a while.
He ignored the noise on the other of the door when it was time for Four to return, increasing the volume of the medical reader reciting yet another chapter in the properties of medical chemicals.
Simon knew that he would eventually go hungry and probably starve but was content with the fact Four would not be a part of it.
He awoke the next day strangely content until he looked out into the courtyard and found Four's corpse hanging next to One, Two and Three's.
But there were no tears for Four.
For even as he hoped for a certain outcome, there was a pragmatic part of his mind that refused to be fooled and had accepted the fact that no matter what Kaine did or did not do, Four would die. And nothing would stop this equation until the variables changed. Until this seemingly self perpetuating situation was destroyed.
Those tearless eyes narrowed as his mind applied the situation to the Aridians. No matter what he did or did not do, they were finished.
Their brush against both the best and the worst of the burning embers of the Empire had destroyed them as a people and no action would change the fact that they were going to die unless this perpetuating situation changed.
What good were his actions if they did not have a meaningful purpose?
He found himself realizing that he had been reacting to circumstances rather than creating alternative situations to effect a more favorable outcome. He tried working within existing frameworks without working to redefine those frameworks.
He turned to the corpses and wondered if his life was really any different than theirs.
His family had been controlled by a situation perpetrated by Emperor Palpatine. He was, up to Sotel, merely a puppet playing on the stage of a Civil War not unlike the Clone Wars.
And when the Emperor and his government died? What did he do?
In his unshackled state, he expended resources and energy in searching for his masters. He had lived under their yoke for so long that he had felt naked, purposeless without it.
Instead of finding the Empire, he had found a different situation with the Aridians and he, again, allowed himself to fall under their spell. He released his hold on the power to shape his own destiny in favor of personal considerations and relationships. He released his power in favor of love.
His eyes began to harden.
Many lived, loved, and laughed in pure obliviousness. Many plotted, schemed and maneuvered without really realizing that they wielded no power over their destiny. They existed in their worlds ignorant of the power surrounding their destiny only to cry in anguish and pain when that power crushes their world.
Their sad, ignorant little world.
Small people living small lives.
Living and dying as the situation directs.
He continued to stare at the corpses.
Did their death have any meaning? Any worth?
Kaine's eyes burned with a fire of purpose for the answer had flared up within his mind lighting up new possibilities that had previously lay dark.
This is the story of Five.
Five.
Simon Kaine saw himself in the reflection. A polished piece of metal was all Major Willam would allow his prisoner but it was all Simon would need.
It was a simple freedom and one that Kaine would use.
It did not take long as Simon toiled working on yet another project to pass the time. In walked yet another child, a boy with light colored hair and, again, one who could not speak. If he had to guess, Simon believed that these children were what was left of those of the families making up the King's staff who cared for the compound. Perhaps shock made them speechless, perhaps it was a condition brought on by Willam and his cronies...In any event, it was a situation Simon would make good use of.
As with One and Two, he praised the boy for those deeds that earned such praise for it would not do to offer false praise. Children often could pick up on things like that and, as had happened before, he found himself becoming fast friends with Five. On the cycle went, three visits a day to bring food and each visit lasting longer than before.
Simon found the boy's smile infectious and soon was offering a wry grin or two as he and Five entered their own little world. It was as if they had erased the universe outside their world with it's cruelties and tortures. Simon was surprised by how quickly the boy picked up things as Kaine explained the internal workings of the medical droid he had taken apart. He found that Five was not as gifted with food preparation as One nor was he a shaper of clay like Two. No, Five was simply good company. He enthusiastically sat at Simon's feet as he talked about what he learned on the medical library computer.
Simon made sure he never spoke without thinking even as emotion took hold of him on the inside. Nor, did he try to pry outside his rooms in secret. He knew any move to escape would prove the end of Five as it had with Three and ignoring him was not an option as well. And so, Simon lived a life that was ever increasingly being boxed in. Five's bright curiosity stirred something inside the Imperial and he found himself actually enjoying his life.
There was a festiveness in the air as the calendar marked the passage into winter and as an Aridian holiday came up, Five surprised Simon with a gift. It was a ribbon indicating First Place and, upon reading the back, Simon realized that the boy must have won it at his school a year or two ago. Long before the horrors of Willam were visited upon the world. The Imperial returned the favor by presenting the boy with a small jacket made from the remains of medical suits and lab coats. There were many pockets that the boy could not wait to try as soon as he left.
Before leaving, Five stopped and hugged the Imperial and Simon knew he had a friend that would follow him into hell and back.
"I love you, Seethan," he whispered to the boy, recalling the name on the back of the ribbon.
And that was the story of Five.
*
What is it to sum of a life?
As Simon Kaine watched the door close he found himself thinking about the type of man Five might become if given a chance. What sort of man would he had been had he been given a chance? If his father had not joined the Rebellion? If his grandfather had not been a Senator and in Palpatine's sights?
Ultimately, such thoughts were irrelevant because people become who they are through the hand that life deals them.
He found the thought comforting as he disrobed and put on the last remaining medical environmental suit. He checked the air tank capacity one last time before sitting down, content to wait the required amount of time.
As he sat down, the pain of the last few months in captivity came back to memory and he took stock of all the relationships ripped from him...
Of a mother and friends long dead...
Of classmates he would never see again...
The loyalty of his men, the love of the Aridians...
Of King Agreon and his family...
Of Mya...
Was this the sum of
his life?
Were these the things that would give it value and for what he would be remembered by?
Or was life only as valuable as the environment around it allowed?
This was the Lesson of Five.
