When Vizsla responded by aiming her weapon at his head, Max felt a conflict of emotions. The soldier in him understood exactly what she was thinking, the necessity of mission and self-preservation and the need to deal quickly with the demon in his veins. But the man in him, the bashed around beaten down man who had once been somebody bristled at her coldness. She would not have survived out here without him, yet she could so easily put him down.
The contest between the two meant he did nothing, that and the searing pain in his arm gradually shutting down his train of thought. He almost felt relief when she drew the blade, even though he knew on some level what she planned to do with it. Hazel eyes watched the flame writhe around the metal, preparing the instrument even as part of him cried out this was not necessary, not now. Surely Imperial medics would make a far better job.
But then she was pressing him down on the workstation, making him bite the ammo strap and pulling off his belt. In a different time, he might have had a quip about that. In another, he might have protested at her plan. But right now he was in a haze, a small part of him wondering if this was not what he deserved for all his mistakes.
When the searing blade came down, the haze was shattered. Fire bit into his arm and exploded in his mind. Max had never known pain like it. It was visceral and wrong, the feeling of a bond that should never break being torn asunder. He roared in aguish, ready to claw the Mando to pieces before he blacked out.
* * * *
Max Dram went somewhere else for a long while. When he finally came to, he could barely think straight. He opened his eyes and took in his surroundings slowly, the sight of a Mandalorian shimmying left and right in a nearby doorway the strangest of delusions. He found himself tethered by his right arm and instinctively brought his left around to free himself.
Realisation and horror struck him like a hammer blow. He could barely look at what remained of his left arm below the shoulder, a bloodied hewn thing that did not belong on a human. He rocked where he was, feeling unbalanced and unmanned.
The Mandalorian loomed large all of a sudden, crouching imposingly in front of him. Vizsla, yes. She had done this.
"What the fuck-" he spat "have you done?". He breathed hard, sweat beading and eyes bulging as he tried to process the reality. "I am Maximus Escalion Dram" he hissed "and those are three fingers more than you should have". He strained against his bonds, even though it made him feel feint again. "Untie me woman!".
@Sreeya
