Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You can always tell when someone realizes they've been betrayed. It starts in the eyes: pupils dilate, lids widen, brows raise. This is quickly followed by slight face paling, jaw going slack or conversely tightening as teeth grind together. What comes next depends on both the person and the situation.

For Major Aneira 'Rory' Horner, her father never had the chance to react, the lightsaber that struck him down came too fast. His crime had been minor, but his rank is what made him become an example. A general preventing a subordinate for following the orders of a Sith was unforgivable, even if the orders in question were to kill unarmed civilians and violate the Treaty of Coruscant.

She didn't live on Dromund Kaas, as much for the fact her mother's health couldn't handle the damp from the constant rain as it was that her father wanted his family as far from the Sith capital as possible. Instead she grew up on Ziost, far enough away from it but still part of the 'proper' society for a man in her father's position to live. That meant she and her mother were held at gunpoint as they were forced to watch the execution at the Citadel on a screen in their home. Aneira was still haunted by his last moments, most prominently the look in his eyes once he realized what was happening. First, they widened in shock, then pain. Before he died he mouthed something, her mother's name, maybe. She tried to look away, but the soldier posted behind her held her face to watch the screen.

Once it was over and the screen gone black, her mother turned to the commanding officer. He was an old friend of hers, and she begged him, "Please, I know what your orders are, just let Annie go."

The stern officer's expression seemed to soften slightly. He walked up to her and lightly stroked her cheek, gave her a small smile and said, "Orders are orders. Wouldn't want to end up like your husband, would I?"

Her teeth ground as her face went red in anger. "You bastard," she snarled before grabbing the blaster pistol on his belt and shooting him in the stomach. As the soldiers quickly turned their attention on her, she shouted, "Run Annie!"

Without hesitating, the 17 year old girl took off and never looked back, even as the sound of blaster fire erupted, and then quickly ended, behind her. There were a lot of soldiers, but she had the advantage of knowing the layout of her family's estate and the surrounding area. She had nearly made her way to freedom when one of the soldiers caught her.

"Thought you could get away that easily," he sneered at her as he grabbed her hair and threw her to the ground.

She had been in martial training since she was old enough to walk, and out of instinct she rolled onto her feet into a defensive position. The trooper just laughed as he took an offensive stance and said, "All right little girl, let's see what you got."

He took a swing, but it was slow and sloppy, betraying his arrogance. She easily dodged it and then grabbed his arm and used his momentum to throw him over her leg sending him head first into a nearby tree.

"Fucking bitch," he exclaimed as he slowly got to his feet. "You'll pay for that…"

She didn't give him the chance. Before he had fully regained his balance, she body slammed him back into the tree, smashing his head against it again, this time knocking him unconsious. Aneira was just about to turn and run when the rest of his squad had caught up. They saw the man on the ground and the closest one immediately nailed her in the side of the head with stock of his rifle, sending her to the ground. Dazed she heard one of them say, "Let's get this over with."

"No," another replied. "You heard First Sergeant, traitors don't deserve quick deaths."

"Come on, she's just a kid…"

"And look what she did to Caleb. No," he repeated as he lifted her off the ground to a standing position by her shirt, "traitors get to suffer."

The uppercut to the left side of her face caught Aneira off guard, sending her back to the ground.

"Get up," the soldier spat.

She thought about just lying there. Her head throbbed from where the gauntleted hand and rifle stock had struck her. 'Maybe if I just gave up they'd end it sooner,' she thought to herself.

"A Horner never surrenders," her father's voice rang in her head, an echo from one of his many lessons over the years. It was as if he was with her, pushing her to stand again. She could almost see him, short black hair contrasting against the white uniform, his blue eyes stern but encouraging. She blamed the hallucination on getting hit too many times in the head. "Our family has never once given in to either the Republic or the Sith. Our stubbornness may be our demise, but we will be remembered for fighting until the end."

With a grunt, she pushed off the ground and rose to her knees. Slowly, never taking her eyes off her attacker, she rose.

She was expecting the hit, to the jaw this time. It had the same result of sending her sprawling, getting a mouthful of dirt and most likely loosening some teeth. Spitting out dirt and blood, Aneira gingerly brought herself to her hands and knees. She wasn't moving fast enough, however, and the soldier kicked her, sending her rolling as she tried to catch her breath.

She landed on her side and could see his pant leg had ridden up over his boot, revealing a knife pommel. Taking a deep breath to steal against the pain, she surged forward and slammed into his legs as she grabbed the knife, causing him to become unbalanced and fall to the ground. Before he could react, she jammed the knife into his throat. If she was going to die, Aneira swore she was taking one of these bastards with her.

She closed her eyes when blaster fire erupted, ready for the end, but no pain ever came. Instead she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It's all right, they won't hurt you anymore," a soft voice said. She opened her eyes to see a man not much older than herself in a Republic soldier's uniform. Behind him were more Republic troops tying up the soldiers that had surrendered and removing their comm. devices. "I promise, no one is going to hurt you now. I'll keep you safe."

Emotions overwhelming her, she threw herself into his arms and started crying. It would be years later before they saw each other again, the reunion not what either of them would have expected.

Maj. Horner was painfully familiar with betrayal, so it really should have been no surprise to her when instead of meeting up with Captain Jack Pierce for extraction she and her team were instead surrounded by sky troopers and Zakuulan Knights. Their leader in black robes was currently choking her for back talk – and not the good kind of choking that people paid extra for.

The woman leered at the major, apparently sensing her last thought. 'Damn,' she thought, 'looks like I'll have to work on those shields Brooke encouraged me to start using.' On Rishi, she had enjoyed making the Jedi Battlemaster and Lana Beniko blush with some her more… creative… daydreams.

"You've got spirit," the woman said, almost giddy, as she dropped the soldier to the ground. "I'm going to have fun breaking you. Now I see why your Chancellor was so quick to trade you for her own life."

Major Horner glared at the thought of Chancellor Saresh. She knew the twi'lek couldn't be trusted, but she never imagined she'd have gone this far. Horner wrongly assumed the Chiss bounty hunter or Imperial Cipher Agent she was currently with would be the source of betrayal. Even the opportunistic smuggler who was hired on as their transport, and had just been thrown on the ground next to Cipher 9, had reason to betray her. Funny how expecting it to come from them made that potential betrayal sting less than this one did.

'That useless, warmongering, political whore just made the top of my shit list,' Maj. Horner thought angrily. 'As soon as I escape from whatever prison they send me to…'

"Prison? Oh, no sweet thing, you and your friends are coming with me. You're going to have a nice spot in my collection. And unlike my brother, I prefer to keep my toys out of carbonite. Makes it easier to play with them."

'Well fuck…'

Chapter Text

Lana had always enjoyed meditating, even before she was sent to Korriban. It gave her clarity, a sense of direction. It helped her see the necessary path, even if it was one she did not wish to walk willingly.

It was on Korriban she learned how to master her connection to the Force through the clarity she received from meditating. It was this ability that allowed her to overcome obstacles impeding her from her goals. While her peers tried to ingratiate themselves to the various Lords and Darths in pursuit of meaningless titles and temporary power, she sought knowledge realizing true power lay there.

It was her drive in this pursuit that caught the attention of Darth Arkous. In hindsight, it was easy to see how she was the ideal candidate for the Revanites: no lust for public glory, a desire for order, and the strong affinity with the Force all made for a very attractive potential recruit. Had he approached her before sending forces to Tython she wasn't sure she would have been able to turn down his offer.

However, another destiny lay in store for her. A tug in the Force started lead her away from him, and he sensed her suspicions. After the attacks on Tython and Korriban, Lana traced leads to Manaan to try and see what Arkous was plotting.

When she landed, she was surprised when an SIS agent was waiting for her in the spaceport. She had been distracted after getting an update from Cipher 9 who was working closely with an associate, a Chiss bounty hunter. Darth Nox and Darth Imperious were covertly searching for leads using the cleanup efforts on Korriban for cover. Neither group had come up with any new information.

Theron surprised her when she had disembarked, already knowing she was Darth Arkous's apprentice and her roll in the attack on Tython. He said he knew why she was on Manaan and took a risk telling her his involvement in Korriban and what he knew. They worked together, digging for information and aided his team - a Jedi knight and special forces trooper- through the underwater lab. The submersible she hacked was needed after Arkous and Darrok launched all emergency pods, but it took time to unlock the hanger doors.

"You're a Sith," the Jedi accused when she finally revealed herself on the holo call.

"Yes, but not your enemy. Not today."

"I don't care if she is Sith," a female voice from outside the range of the camera said, "I'm not dying here when I got assholes to find who need a bullet in the head."

"I do so love a pragmatic mind," Lana replied drily, tapping frantically at her console. As she rescued Theron's people she could sense her destiny was tied closely with at least one of them, but worked to push the feeling away to concentrate.

"I think it just might put everyone at ease if you ditched the lightsaber," Theron said, eyeing the weapon pointedly as the group finally returned.

"Is that really necessary," the Sith asked, clearly amused. "Surely I'm not as intimidating as you imply?"

"You can understand our concern, I'm sure," said the woman at the head of the group. Lana recognized her, both from the holo call and from intelligence Darth Arkous had received on her over the years. Jedi Master Brooke Alde, fourth cousin to Count Alde, Scion of House Alde, as well as a distant relation to Duke Organa. She had single handedly defeated Darth Angral and led a campaign that eventually silenced the Voice of the Emperor, whom she incorrectly assumed to be the Emperor himself.

Lana had been impressed by what she'd seen of Master Alde. Her prowess with her lightsabers made her formidable on the battlefield, but that was not her only strength. Lana had seen videos of more than one official swayed by her arresting green eyes that stood out against pale skin and a charming smile. Her looks caused her to stand out in any crowed, with her soft features and long, nearly white blond hair.

She was accompanied by Jedi Knight Kira Carson, a former Child of the Emperor and in her own right not someone to be underestimated, although potentially more susceptible to having her emotions manipulated.

The Jedi Master was more than just a fighter, however, as her diplomatic response to Lana's statement showed signs of her noble upbringing. She could feel the Jedi probing her through the Force trying to determine the Sith's true intentions. For the sake of the tentative truce Lana allowed her to see.

"As I'm sure you can understand mine," Lana replied firmly. "I've come to help, and I can hardly do that without my weapon of choice."

"Lana Benkio: Dedicated Imperial citizen and fully armed Sith lord," Theron Shan introduced, obviously still uneasy.

"But you don't need to worry about that last part," she assured with a small smile to put them at ease as she dismissed his statements with a hand wave. Lana nodded at the Jedi and said, "I already know who you are Master Alde, Jedi Carson." She saw surprise in the Jedi's eyes, and explained. "Your activities over recent years have garnered the attention of many in the Sith hierarchy, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"Please, just Brooke. We're not on Alderaan and I'd rather not be reminded of my family. Dealing with enough betrayal as it is, thank you."

"As you wish." Despite their different philosophies, Lana found herself genuinely liking the Jedi. Too bad they were sworn enemies. In another life, Lana could easily see them as close friends. She felt a tug she'd come to recognize as the Force directing her attention to the two soldiers standing behind the Jedi.

A disgruntled looking cathar, Captain Aric Jorgan if she remembered correctly from reports, crossed his arms, and glared at the Sith before speaking. "How's it going. Havoc Squad, led by Major Aneira Horner," he introduced curtly, deferring to the unassuming woman just behind him with a nod. She wasn't much taller than Lana, and her black hair was tied back in a tight bun. Her bright blue eyes stood in stark contrast to her slightly tanned complexion, and Lana could see how the young major could be underestimated. Nothing particularly stood out about her, but Lana could see the shrewdness in her eyes. It was clear she had taken pains to remain inconspicuous, allowing her to be overlooked until it was too late. "You might be familiar with some of our work: took down Gen. Rakton and earned the nickname 'Sith Slayers.'"

"You don't need to worry about that last part," the major replied drily, inspecting Lana, "and before you ask, I wasn't the one who picked the name. But tell me something, how does a Sith Lord apprenticed to a powerful Darth not end up on my hit list?"

So, those stories were based in truth. Lana was familiar with Major Horner, mostly through circulating rumors. She had made a name for herself prior to assuming command of Havoc by hunting down those she believed responsible for her family's execution. Her efficiency in taking down both Sith and high ranking Imperial officers earned her notoriety and it wasn't long before she was working with SIS to take down some of the more… sadistic Sith. Most of her achievements had been downplayed by those who didn't want to believe a common soldier could challenge a Sith. A decision, in Lana's opinion, as foolish as it was dangerous.

"It's worth noting I'm not technically a Lord," Lana said in an attempt to diffuse the growing tension in the room. "Just like many outside the order will call a Jedi 'Master' as a show of respect even if they have not yet attained that rank, outsiders will address us as Lord."

"Yup, totally the same thing," Jedi Carson muttered, "except our reactions when someone doesn't use the title." Master Brooke was quick to silence her with a glare.

"Then I'll have no issue with you, my Lord," Major Horner said, sarcastically emphasizing the title. "I even promise to not shoot you in the back when we eventually part ways."

"Then you do me a greater courtesy than most Sith," Lana replied with a smirk.

"A Sith with a sense of humor, will wonders ever cease," Kira mumbled, earning yet another glare from her master.

"And, as Brooke stated, there's no need for such formality, Major, Lana will suffice."

Theron cleared his throat and briefed everyone on what had been learned. Lana was only paying minimal attention, distracted by the soldier. For reasons she had yet to discover, it appeared to be Maj. Horner the Force was guiding her towards.

"Jorgan," Major Horner ordered as they wrapped up, "tell Vik I need him to shore up a bunch of his contacts for the info we need, preferably some who actually understand the meaning of the word 'discretion'."

"You know the kind of guys he works with," Jorgan huffed. "Not sure their goals exactly align with ours."

"Which is why you're going with him to make sure we get what we need."

"Oh boy," he said without enthusiasm. "And why can't you do it?"

"Cause I'm going to be too busy working with the Sith," she replied nodding towards Lana. She did not seem thrilled at the prospect.

"Have fun boss. If you do decide to shoot her, wait until I'm around or at least record it for me."

"No promises," she answered with a smirk. Once he was gone, she sighed and turned to Lana and asked, "Are you ready to head out?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You, my medic, and I are headed to Imperial Space," she answered, slowly repeating everything they'd just briefed. "Shan and Brooke are gathering others they can trust to start combing the Republic, your team of four you sent to Tython is handling the Empire side, and we're liaising between the two groups and Jakarro and Vik's contacts. Since Lt. Dorne and I know how to blend into the Empire, we're going to stick near Imperial ports bordering Republic space disguised as Imps for ease of data transfer."

"I understood that from the briefing, I just don't understand why we need to travel together."

"Shan didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what," Lana asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Upon learning a Sith Lord was here my droid may have accidentally and maliciously destroyed your ship." Her jaw dropped a little at the major's revelation. She just shrugged and gave a sheepish smile before saying, "4X can be a little… enthusiastic in our fight against the Sith, sorry about that. I'll replace it once everything calms down."

"You're going to buy me a new ship," the Sith asked, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

The major snickered, "Me? Hell no, I'm just a poor grunt. I'm gonna make the Republic replace by filling it under a miscellaneous expense or some bull shit. I'll get Dorne to figure it out, she's good at finding loopholes in the purchasing regs. You wouldn't believe some of the shit we've ordered." She started laughing and put her hand companionably on Lana's arm as she said, "One time we bought a herd of tauntauns to be delivered to Republic High Command, but somehow they ended up at the Senate… Anyway, story for another time, suffice it say a lot of rum was involved. Point is, I'll requisition you a new ship and that way every time that warmonger Saresh starts in on me I can laugh to myself about how funds were diverted from her war chest to give a new ship to a Sith. It's the little things in life that make you smile, you know?"

Laughing at the absurdity of the situation, Lana said, "You are not what I would have expected from your Intelligence profile."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied with a wink. "Now let's get out of here before your old boss sends his new friends after us."

They had grown close during their time on the Imperial space station and Rishi. There was a bit of tension that developed between the pair when the major didn't think she was doing enough to convince Darth Mar for an alliance with the Republic.

Lana had been surprised to walk into the meeting to see the major and Cipher 9 drinking in the back, but didn't comment on it. The pair had kept silent until things seemed to be going poorly between Darth Mar and Grand Master Shan. When it looked as if they would both walk out without coming to an agreement, she had gone off on both parties in an angry, and somewhat drunken, rant. She accused both of being so wrapped up in their war they couldn't look beyond it. Lana flinched when she felt the anger rolling off Darth Mar at her disrespect. It was only through Lana's intervention, and Cipher's echoing of the major's sentiments, if somewhat more diplomatically stated, that helped get the meeting in the right direction.

They remained distant on Yavin, barely saying more than was necessary to each other at mission briefings. Finally, with the defeat of Revan, Lana reached out to Maj. Horner. Lana would be headed back to Drumond Kaas soon and she didn't want to leave without attempting to resolve things between them. She agreed to meet Lana at the shuttles on the outskirts of their camp.

Aneira had beaten Lana there, and indicated the Sith should follow her into one of the shuttles where they could talk privately.

"What did you want to say," the soldier asked, arms crossed defensively.

"I wanted to clear the air between us," Lana answered.

"Clear the air? What needs to be cleared up? The whole letting Theron get captured thing or not standing up to Mar enough to push the alliance?"

"I did everything I could to encourage that," Lana ground out.

"From your knees, you mean," she angrily spat. "Brooke at least had the backbone to tell Shan she was being unreasonable."

"If I had done that Mar would have killed me right then for insolence," Lana retorted, frustrated.

"Good to know what your priorities were," the major snarled. "If things had gone sideways and Mar had walked out of that room instead of teaming up glad you would have made sure you would have gotten out of there alive."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it! I was fully prepared to argue my case for the alliance even if it meant going all the way to the Dark Council. And at least I was attempting to do something instead of you, getting drunk in a corner with Cipher 9."

"We were both convinced you damn force users were again about to destroy everything and neither of us wanted to be sober for that."

Lana was about to argue, but suddenly lost the energy. Heaving a tired sigh, she said, "I don't want to fight with you." She looked closely at the soldier and could see the same sentiment in her eyes.

"We're both mad at each other, but we don't want to be. We are both about to leave for our respective sides who are intent on ignoring the larger threat to kill each other. So where does that leave us," Rory asked.

"I don't know," Lana answered honestly, "but we have at least an hour until we need to figure that out."

Rory laughed in surprise before saying, "For the record, I'm still pissed at this whole situation."

"That makes two of us," Lana replied.

"That's something at least," Rory muttered before pulling Lana in for kiss that was full of the emotions they'd been repressing.

"Are you sure it's wise to do this here," Lana asked, breaking the kiss. "Someone might intrude."

"Doubt it," Rory smirked at her, "it's yours. Promised you a new ship, didn't I?"

Lana stared dumbfounded at the soldier before smiling and pulling her back to continue where they left off. The hour they spent together was more than she had imagined and not nearly enough. The parting had been difficult, both of them now officially enemies again. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the events on Ziost that had seemed to further drive a wedge between them, the time spent in that shuttle was one she treasured.

Still, she believed the Force was directing her towards the major, and it had never steered her wrong before.

It was this connection with the Force that first led her to Koth and later Senya, both of whom would prove essential in locating the Outlander, Master Alde, and other allies held captive by Zakuul.

The connection was a double-edged sword, and lately had been warning her of something, causing a pit in her stomach that was becoming harder to ignore. At first, she had assumed it to be the growing might of Zakuul, or later the revelation – courtesy of Senya- that Brooke was slowly dying in her carbonite prison forcing them to move up the timetable for the rescue operation.

It was about 3 months prior Lana discovered that wasn't the case when an image of the major appeared during her nightly meditations. After that Rory's image was a regular fixture, her features becoming more and more distressed.

When Zakuul had invaded, she had been on a mission with two of Lana's best assets in an attempt to discover what had happened to Darth Mar's ship and what connection that had to the former Sith Emperor. She had arranged their transport, a smuggler who had been good enough to avoid the Voidwolf, and planned to meet up with them post op at a nearby station. It was there after the debrief she hoped they could discuss any potential future with Rory, but fate had other plans. In one fell swoop Saresh found a way to weaken Lana's power base as well as get revenge on the insubordinate major. Cipher 9 had informed her when they had been surrounded and she barely had a chance to issue her last order: everyone comes home alive.

Her continued distress in Lana's meditations had her worried, and it was becoming harder to focus. It took some effort, but she managed to clear her mind of all distractions and entered what looked like an empty white room. It was comfortable in its familiarity, as this was where she had always gone when she meditated. However, this time she was troubled since this was the first time in months that no image of Rory had appeared.

"Lana," croaked a weak voice in front of her.

Startled, her eyes snapped to the source of the sound. On the ground in front of her was Rory laying on her side facing her, cuts and bruises covering her body.

"I have to be dreaming," the major said as she closed her eyes, "but at least it's a nice dream for once. Vaylin must have gotten bored filling my head with nightmares."

"You're with Vaylin," Lana asked, trying to fight off the oncoming dread. If this was true, rescuing her just got a lot harder.

"Yup," she sighed tiredly, "been 5 years of fun and games, let me tell you. Although, I'm pretty sure the game is just about over for me. At least I got to see you one more time," Rory said softly as her eyes opened and she looked back at Lana as if trying to commit her face to memory.

No, no, no, no… She hadn't come this far just for Rory to give up now. "You have to hold on," Lana implored, reaching out and grabbing her hands.

"Why? So I can have another day in paradise? No thanks, I'd rather sleep, better chance I'd get to see you…"

"Listen to me, you must hold on," the Sith begged. "I need you to hold on a little longer. Can you do that? For me?"

She looked conflicted but eventually acquiesced. "All right. Can I stay with you a bit longer? This is first time in a long time I've had a good dream," Rory whispered, biting her lip. Lana had never seen her so timid, but dismissed it as an effect of 5 years of torture at the hand of Vaylin.

"Of course," Lana answered as she pulled Rory into her arms so the major's head rested on her chest. Lana didn't like how weak she was. This was not the physical realm. If she was this weak here (if this was even her and not some sort of vision) then that meant her willpower was fading fast. Lana pushed those concerns to the back of her mind, trying to pass feelings of hope to Rory to help her hang on.

"I like your hair," she whispered, voice barely audible. "A lot better than your other hairstyle."

"What was wrong with my last one," Lana asked, amused.

She just shrugged and said, "Hard to explain, just didn't suit you, this does."

Lana held her for another hour until she faded away and an alert from T7 informing her of an incoming call from Senya pulled her from her mediation.

"Is there a problem," Lana asked as soon as the knight's form appeared on the terminal.

"A… development," she deflected. "I've located the rest of your missing people. The last four are in Vaylin's personal prison."

Lana felt her stomach drop at having that fact confirmed. "What's the plan?"

"The only opportunity to rescue them is if I do it now."

"No," Lana dismissed, "we're not ready to proceed."

"I know, but there won't be another chance," Senya insisted. "Vaylin is off planet, but will return in the next few days. There will be no chance at a successful rescue if she's there."

"That will make rescuing the Outlander that much harder," Lana pointed out.

"Yes, it will," Senya agreed.

Lana thought of the troubled vision she had of Rory. Clearly the Force was trying to warn her, and against her better judgement, said, "Get them out. Koth and I will just have to adjust our timeline again."

"As you wish," the knight said before ending transmission.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

"I'm telling you, this is destiny," Koth said, again, enthusiastically. "Lana doesn't want to believe it though."

"Honestly, I couldn't give less of a fuck," Maj. Horner replied emotionlessly. She should have been resting, but there was too much that needed to get done if they were going to get the Gravestone moving soon. It may have not been the best idea sending her with them, Master Kor thought ruefully, but she knew where the salvage spots were and how to avoid the wildlife.

Dax was leading Lana, Master Alde, and Darth Imperious to fresh water and their food stocks. That left Darth Nox and Cipher 9 to finish clearing the ship.

Ace kept looking in her direction, but felt it wise to keep any comments to himself for now. He had sensed regret coming from her and she was acting like she wished to apologize for her earlier outburst when Koth started talking about destiny again. This seemed to set her off and he watched for the right moment to intercede.

"Hey what's your problem," Koth demanded, facing her. "We went through hell to rescue you and your friends."

"What do you want, a fucking parade," she asked, eyebrow raised.

"A thank you would be nice," he shot back. "We all put our lives on the line to get you off Zakuul, causing a lot of innocent people to get caught in the cross fire."

"Innocent," she asked with a scoff. "Your people are hardly innocent."

"How dare you," he demanded, getting in her face. "You know nothing about what any of us have been through."

"How about what you've put my people through," she snarled, stepping closer. "Just how many civilians did you kill on Denon?"

"How do you know about that," Koth asked, backing down a little. He paled a little at the unexpected question and clear accusation.

"Vaylin would often mix business with pleasure and your name would come up from time to time," she answered coolly. "My point is, don't you dare act all high and mighty with me when your hands are stained in just as much blood."

Kor watched as she turned her back the Zakuulan and walked to the edge of the clearing. The Jedi approached Koth, who was looking out into the swamp.

"I didn't want to follow those orders," he all but whispered after a long pause. His eyes were distant, lost in the memory. "I pushed back when the chain of command first told me to start unloading on the locals, but I was over ruled. Told it was for the good of Zakuul, a massacre of thousands now would save billions later by preventing uprisings. It was after the first bombardment my crew and I deserted, that wasn't the Zakuul I knew."

"I believe you," Ace said simply, placing a hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"Whatever it's worth, I'm sorry. That doesn't feel like nearly enough," Koth sighed kicking the ground.

"It's still important to be said," the Jedi replied, removing his hand. "It may not be enough, but it's a start. Don't let the major trouble you, she's been through an ordeal these 5 years and lashing out is her coping mechanism. It's not personal."

"Are all your people so philosophical?"

"Jedi? To a fault, so I'm told, although there are some exceptions," Kor answered with a rueful smile thinking of Master Alde.

Koth must have been thinking the same thing since he asked, "Yeah, you and the other one have slightly different outlooks. Is it because you're… um…"?

"Cathar?"

"Yes, that one. Sorry, still learning all the different species from your corner of the galaxy."

Ace waved off the unintended slight and answered, "I doubt it since most other Cathar I've run into are extremely temperamental. It most likely has something to do with the fact I was orphaned as a baby and raised by the order. The Jedi Code is all I've ever known."

"Sorry to hear that," Koth replied awkwardly as they started walking toward Maj. Horner. "Must have been difficult."

"For a time," he conceded, "but eventually I learned to accept the path the Force directed me on."

"Quiet," the major commanded before Koth could speak. Koth glared at her until he heard what set her off. Blaster fire and screaming not far from where they were. Without a word, they all took off in the direction of the sound, weapons at the ready.

They followed the sounds to a small camp, hastily set up judging by the tents and disorganization. A quick scan revealed scars in the trees from blaster fire and several sky trooper chaises on the ground. Another scream, this one closer, drew them farther into camp.

"Please don't hurt us," a man begged, standing protectively in front of what Ace assumed was his family, a woman and a little girl no older than 7. He followed his line of sight to see a familiar figure.

"Exasperation: For the last time, I am not programmed to exterminate non-hostile meat bags."

"HK, what are you doing," Koth demanded.

"Explanation: I came upon these sky troopers harassing the non-hostile meat bags and I exterminated the with prejudice."

"Yeah, it was probably the 'with prejudice' part that failed to put them at ease," Koth said with an exasperated eyeroll. "Relax everyone. HK may take a disturbing amount of pleasure in shooting things…"

"Irritation: There is nothing wrong taking pride in one's work," HK interrupted with a huff.

"… that said he won't hurt any of you," Koth finished. "Sorry about that."

"I-it's all right," the man said, looking skeptically at the droid.

"HK, head to Lana's position to see if she needs any help. I wanna get the ship up and running as soon as possible."

"You have a ship," the man asked hopefully. "Can you take us with you? There's a group of us out here being hunted by Arcann, and we'll never be safe if we're on Zakuul."

"It's not exactly a pleasure cruise," Koth warned.

"At least with you we might have a chance," he replied. "We would be able to carry our weight, I'm sure there's something we can do to contribute. Just please… don't leave us here to die."

"I'm sure Master Alde can be convinced to let them join us," the Jedi answered. "I'll have a word with her once we all return to the ship." Koth smiled, grateful for the Cathar's assistance.

"It'll only be a moment for everyone to get here," the man promised.

Koth nodded as as he ran off. Master Kor watched the girl closely who seemed to have taken an interest in Maj. Horner. Recognition sparked in her eyes as she excitedly pulled on her mother's leg. "Mama, mama, that's the knight who saved me from wingmaws!"

All attention focused on the quiet soldier who had yet to react to what she had said. After a moment, Maj. Horner gave her a small smile and nodded at her. "It was my pleasure," she softly told her parents before stepping away from the group.

As promised, it didn't take long for the other refuges to arrive, and they were shortly on their way.

Maj. Horner led the group with Master Kor and it didn't take long before Koth joined them.

"Why'd you do it," Koth demanded. "What did you get out of it."

"A nasty scratch where one of the bastard's claws got me," she replied without looking at Koth. He huffed and was about to respond when she cut him off. "Believe it or not, I did it because she was in trouble and needed help."

"That seems highly out of character of you," he replied suspiciously.

"Because you've had such a good chance to get to know me," she snapped back.

"You made your feelings on my people abundantly clear."

"Your people, yes," she nodded before looking back at the small girl being carried by her father. "Children? That's another story. They're innocent and don't deserve to be caught in our wars and yet they're the biggest victims. I may hate your people and not care much for you, but whatever you think of me, know that I don't ever take my anger out on kids. Kor," she said, changing the subject, "you know as well as I do Brooke is going to welcome this group with open arms, but Lana…"

"May have some reservations," he finished with a sigh when she trailed off. "That had been my concern as well."

"Send her to me," she answered, surprising both men. "I'll silence any objections she has. And Koth?" When she saw she had his full attention, she said, "Thanks for being such a shitty pilot you had huge crash site making it easy to track you."

The Jedi fought a smirk watching Koth as Maj. Horner fall back and cover their rear. His mouth was open in shock and it took a minute before he seemed to shake himself out of his stupor and say with a laugh, "That has to be the worst thank you I've ever heard."

"But it was said," Ace replied with a smile, "and it's a start."

He just shook his head and lead the group the rest of the way to the Gravestone.

Lana and Brooke stepped away from Imperious and Dax to talk privately while they collected water at the base of the falls.

"What does Zakuul do with all the tribute," Brooke asked. "They don't seem to want for much of anything."

"A question I keep asking but can't seem to get any real answer to," Lana answered, looking impressed. "I'll keep digging, but for now we have more pressing concerns."

She looked like she wanted to say more, but kept silent. "What is it?"

"It's just… you seem different somehow," Lana answered, pacing away from the Jedi. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's a change in you. I've felt it ever since I freed you from carbonite."

She considered lying, fearing what the Sith's reaction could be, but Brooke knew her. The former Minister of Intelligence was already suspicious, nothing the Jedi said would completely distract her. Besides, it would be better to have her help. Working together might be her best shot at getting rid of the asshole currently taking residence inside her head. Taking a deep breath, Brooke confessed, "I think you're right Lana. I think Valkorion is in my mind."

"What," Lana demanded as she whirled around. Brook saw her hand twitch towards her lightsaber and might have been insulted if she hadn't seen what Valkorion was capable of. "That's impossible. If he were controlling you I would sense it. I certainly saw enough of it on Ziost."

"I don't think he's controlling me, not exactly," she tried to explain. "After I struck him down, there was a release of energy and I blacked out. I barely remember being placed in the carbonite chamber. And while I was frozen, I dreamed of him." Brooke felt a bit of guilt, Theron had hoped in his letter it was him she dreamed of. Those would certainly have been far more preferable than fighting her way through Valkorion's trials.

"Thank you for telling me," Lana said earnestly. "I'll keep an eye out for any signs he might be influencing you, but for now, I think we should keep this between us."

"Are you sure that's wise," Brooke asked. She wasn't comfortable withholding a secret of this magnitude.

"Like you said we really don't know what's going on. And with Koth's hero worship of his former emperor and Major Horner's hatred of him, things could quickly spiral out of hand if we're not careful."

"She never was the same after Ziost," the Jedi observed. She had left the planet by the time everything happened, but Major Horner had stayed behind with Master Kor to assist evacuation of both Republic soldiers and Imperial citizens.

"Can you really blame her watching that happen to her home," Lana asked.

"Ziost was her home?" Brooke knew she'd been rescued as a teenager from Imperial space, but didn't know it was Ziost.

"She never forgave herself with how things ended, her shuttle was just taking off when Vitiate struck and she watched as the people were… affected."

"That would have shaken anyone," Brooke agreed. Before more could be said they were interrupted by a transmission from HK.

"What do you mean they're taking refugees," Lana furiously demanded. "Don't they know we can't afford to take in every stray we come across? I knew I should have sent Cipher 9 with Koth. We need to get moving before he settles them onto the ship."

They rushed back, Lana's anger growing when she saw just how many there were.

"Who authorized this," Lana demanded as soon as she entered the central room that had been made into a temporary operations center.

"I did," Maj. Horner responded from where she leaned against one of the bulkheads. "They are running from Arcann, same as us, and they have the benefit of knowing the land and have some basic contacts we may not otherwise have access to. Any objections?"

"A few," Lana stammered out. She seemed completely blindsided by Maj. Horner's defense of them.

"Too bad, they're not going anywhere," she shot back as she pushed off from the wall. Turning to Koth, she said, "If she tries to remove them, come find me. If anyone needs me, I'll be helping HK clear out more of the wildlife from the ship."

"Not one word," Lana threatened Koth through gritted teeth before storming out.

"And on that note, I'm gonna get started on repairs," he said, amused. "Let me know if anyone else wants to help. Plenty of work to go around."

They had barely finished the basic repairs necessary making them space worthy before Arcann's forces found them. Koth worked frantically to get the ship running while everyone else attempted to repel the knights and sky troopers.

Brooke, Lana, Cipher, and Dax had just been surrounded when someone crashed a speeder through a group of sky troopers, cutting a path. A knight in white armor approached and took up a defensive position next to Lana.

"You're late," Lana said as she eyed the encroaching forces.

"You got one of the knights to switch sides," Cipher observed from her position.

"As I told you earlier, not all of us follow Arcann blindly."

Both Cipher and Dax looked her over before refocusing on the incoming forces.

"Looks like you found another pragmatist," Brooke said to Lana dryly.

"Stow the chatter," she snapped. "Prove you can fight."

They came in waves, and eventually found a way to isolate the Outlander from the rest of the group.

"Knights," their commander shouted, "Zhildrag's Wedge!"

Brooke watched in horror as they used the Force to create a wall of debris to surround her.

"We have the Outlander," the knight said cockily as a group approached Brooke. "Kill the rest."

"If you get the chance, run," Lana commanded.

"Not a chance," she replied stubbornly raising her lightsaber, "we're all in this together."

She readied herself to strike out at the nearest knight when time seemed to stop. The Jedi saw Valkorion pacing behind the group, observing them with a bored expression. "I can help you end this if you give me control for just a moment."

"No way."

"Then your Sith friend will die," he said with a shrug. He pushed out a section of the wall, allowing her to see. Lana's lightsaber had been knocked out of her hand and the knight she was fighting had his blade readying a kill shot.

"Make your decision quickly, time has not stopped."

Desperate to save her friend's life, she was just about to accept when another voice whispered, "Stop and look, there's more here than he wants you to see."

She was really getting sick of all the voices that weren't hers taking residence in her head, but did as she was told. Nox, Imperious, and Dax were fighting a group of knights near the outskirts of the battle; the knight defector had just taken down a walker and was rushing to get to Lana, but she'd never make it in time; Cipher had just taken out the knight commander and was lining up a shot on Lana's attacker; Kor was closer to the ship, healing everyone as quickly as they got injured, with his help Lana might be able to make it without intervention; after some searching, she finally located Maj. Horner, she had a blaster pistol and the shield from earlier. She was about to body slam the knight, leading with the shield. That would be enough to interrupt him long enough for everyone to help Lana; a final glance at the ship revealed Koth and HK arriving to add plenty of suppressing fire.

She turned to Valkorion and sneered, "I'll never give you control."

"So be it."

Time resumed, and before Brooke could even strike at the knights, HK unloaded, taking them all down. She ran past the wall to see how everyone had faired. Maj. Horner was holding out a hand to Lana even as she gripped her side, appearing to have reopened whatever abdominal wound she had been suffering from earlier. Lana had a slice on her arm where she had been struck before the solider intervened.

The knight defector and Cipher 9 were kneeling over a fallen knight, looking like they were hacking into the com system.

Nox, Dax, and Imperious were taking their time to make their way back, ensuring all enemies were down.

Lana approached the ship, Maj. Horner's arm around her shoulder. Brooke noted that she was breathing heavily and most likely had only been able to move during the battle thanks to adrenaline. Clearly it had worn off as Lana handed and handed her off to HK to take inside. "We need to get moving. Where's Senya?"

"Excuse me? Where's who," Koth demanded.

"I'm right here," she replied impassively as she approached with Cipher.

"Oh no, there's no way she's getting on my ship."

"We don't have time for this," Brooke interrupted trying to avoid a fight. "Koth, prep the ship for takeoff. Cipher, you and Dax help make sure the engines are good to go. Kor, it looks like the Major reinjured herself, go attend to her, we should be able to raise the ship without your assistance." They followed Koth inside the ship while Lana, Senya, Nox, Imperious, and Brooke took positions. All focusing, they managed to use the force to lift the ship out of the muck.

"They're actually doing it," Koth's voice rang out through the comm. channel. "Can you believe it?"

"Observation: the ship is rising," HK answered. "Conclusion: belief is unnecessary."

Even focused, Brooke almost started laughing at the exchange. Once the ship was airborne, they all quickly got on board to leave Zakuul.

Chapter Text

Anger manifested itself in Lana until she felt it explode out of her. The head of the skytrooper she was using as a target exploded off until the lightening was cut short.

"Damn," Lana muttered, gripping her arm where the fresh wound lay.

"You're not going to let one little scratch hold you back?"

Lana turned at the sudden intrusion, and relaxed marginally when she saw Darth Nox leaning against the bulk head.

"Certainly not," Lana agreed. Proving a point, she shot another bolt at the skytrooper before walking over.

"Any one in particular you picture?" Amusement danced in the Inquisitor's voice and eyes.

"It varies depending on my mood, it's very therapeutic."

"You certainly have no shortage on enemies to choose from," the pureblood agreed companionably, but said nothing else.

"What brings you down here, my Lord," Lana prodded.

"Can't I just want to check on an old friend," Nox asked, expression innocent.

Lana felt her defenses rise and mental shield snap into place. "We were never friends."

The smile on Nox's face went sharp, "Old ally, then."

"Anything in particular," Lana questioned, tired of the dance.

"Koth Vortena."

"I understand your reservations about working closely with a Zakuulan…"

"I'm more concerned with your relationship with him, my Dear," Nox interrupted. Lana's jaw snapped shut, and Nox was amused as she tried to think of a response. "It was no secret among those were on Rishi and later Ziost your relationship with the Republic major. If you no longer share any affection for her, you may wish to inform her."

"My personal business is not your concern," Lana replied darkly.

"True enough," Nox agreed lightheartedly, not deterred by the threat in Lana's eyes. "Until it becomes my concern. I may not know Koth or Maj. Horner as you, but neither strikes me as the type to enjoy sharing. I would encourage you to make a decision regarding them sooner rather than later, before tensions get too high," the Sith advised as she left Lana alone with her thoughts.

"Make sure they have food, I haven't eaten in 5 years," Brooke shouted as Senya departed.

"There's plenty to be found in the marketplace," Senya shot back as she walked away. "Just stay away from the gorack."

"I'll keep it in mind," the Jedi said with a laugh. She heard HK approach, he was to accompany her in search of Koth's missing engineer. "You ready to head out?"

"Let's get this over with," was the curt reply. Brooke glanced behind her to see Maj. Horner standing next to HK. She was out of the knight's armor and wearing something more civilian looking, black pants and jacket with a white undershirt, with a blaster rifle strapped to her back. Wise move, considering the locals were made up of Zakuulan exiles. Brooke had also changed out of her Jedi robes for similar attire, except going for a longer red jacket to hide her lightsaber from view.

"Should you be moving around already," she asked concerned.

"I'm not spending all day on a fucking cot in a med bay," the major shot back without any real heat. "Now we gonna find this chick or what?"

"Addendum: It would be wise to get moving if her temper is as bad as Master Vortena has implied."

"All right," Brooke sighed, "but if you get hurt again, you're dealing with Lana." Just as she turned to head out, she heard a muttered, 'Coward.'

"What was that," Brooke asked her with a raised brow.

"You heard me. You can face down the Emperor of the Eternal Empire but not Lana. She's not that intimidating."

"First off, I wasn't alone facing off against him. Second, look where it got me. Third, when the right mood strikes she looks as if she wouldn't hesitate to eviscerate someone and feed them their own entrails. Fourth, she doesn't have a soft spot for all of us like she does with you."

"Excuses," the major replied, waving her off as a ghost of a smile appeared on her face and in her eyes. It was an echo of the one Brooke first saw years ago on Rishi, but it was clear she was trying to bring it back. The Jedi smiled back in response as they headed out in search of the engineer.

"You could have knocked," a Weequy huffed at Brooke as she and HK entered. "It took my boys hours to set that up."

"I like to make an entrance," she replied, lightsaber still raised. The major was making sure they weren't about to be ambushed and had yet to enter.

An obnoxious laugh rang out in response to her comment, causing HK to turn and say, "Identification: That snort was issued from the brilliant engineer we were sent to rescue, master."

"What she to you," the Weequy demanded.

"Someone I'm not leaving without," Brooke answered.

"You took out my competition, that inclines me towards gratitude, but the girl tried to rob me. That's bad for business."

"Charging 50,000 credits for a hundred thermal detonators? That's robbery!"

"You also insulted my mother."

"I said she's uglier than a bantha with lipstick. It's not an insult if it's true."

"My mother died putting me on a refugee ship to Nar Shadda. I grew up an orphan," he ground out angrily.

"Boo-freakin'-who didn't," Tora taunted. "Join the club."

"See why I have to kill her," he said with barely restrained fury.

"What about a favor for old times' sake Vik," Maj. Horner asked, materializing at the Jedi's side.

"Ha, knew you weren't dead," he said with a laugh.

"Yeah, lucky me," she replied dryly. "Here's the deal, you let her go, you get the benefit of everyone seeing the infamous Outlander owing you a favor. All your competition is dead, so it'll let everyone know who you're shaking up you're not to be messed with."

"Yeah, don't think so boss," Vik declined, face hardening.

"I wasn't asking," she replied, crossing her arms. "See I still have records of all the deals you did under my command and all the people you fucked over. It'll only take a few calls to let them all know you're hiding out here and all your boys will get to see you fight off a hoard of angry gangsters. How many do you think will follow you into that slaughter?"

His eyes narrowed angrily as he said, "You do that you die too."

Her laugh was as empty as her eyes as she asked, "Does it really look like I give a fuck if I live? I wonder if Rogan the Butcher still uses the same holo frequency?"

They stared each other down for a bit before he grumbled, "Fine, but that bitch's buying privileges are revoked. Now if there isn't anything else…"

"Actually, I need information," she interrupted.

"Are you serious," he demanded.

"Yup. Someone with knowledge of Zakuulan family heraldries."

"That's a specific need," he responded.

"If you're saying you can't handle, I'll look for someone who can," replied, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I know a guy. But it's gonna cost you."

"I know the drill," she sighed before turning to Brooke. "I'll catch up. Let me know over the comm. if you need help with Senya's contacts."

"Be careful," Brooke warned as she took off with Vik.

It wasn't long after meeting up with Senya Brooke regretted not having the major for back up. Being attacked by Scions is not what she expected, a showdown between them and practically half the Gravestone's inhabitants even less so. At least by that point Aneira joined up with Lana and Koth ready to fight if needed.

"You have no more secrets to show me," their leader said as he approached Brooke. "I now know why your path was dark to me before. Our Immortal Emperor lives within you!"

She winced at his enthusiastic declaration and could feel the tension fill the room.

"Well, it would have come out eventually," Lana sighed.

"Wait, you knew and didn't tell me," Koth demanded.

"Can you blame me?"

"There's one last secret to revel," Senya announced, dragging everyone's attention to her. "The real reason I joined you. I wanted to meet the Outlander, the one who would take on my son and daughter."

As she looked on in shock, Brooke heard Valkorion laugh, "She told you? How delightful!"

She really hated that laugh.

"You didn't think to share that little bit of info sooner," Koth demanded of Senya once everyone was back on the Gravestone. They had all clustered on the bridge while Tora and her crew worked on repairs

"It changes nothing," she deflected. "They must be stopped."

"And we're supposed to believe you'll stand against your own children?"

"Enough, this fighting is getting us nowhere," Lana interceded.

"You're right, we just need to get Valkorion back on the throne and everything will be right again."

Moving quicker than anyone expected, Maj. Horner grabbed Koth and threw him into a nearby bulkhead. Before he could recover she was on him, pushing on his neck with her forearm. "I'm only going to warn you once so listen up shit stain. Everything that fucker has ever touched has gone to hell. He created an unending war for my people and then destroyed my home by turning all living things to dust. If that wasn't enough, I just spent the last 5 years as his daughter's fucking plaything, and I mean that statement as literally as your nightmares will let you imagine." Senya winced at Maj. Horner's words. "You make any move to put that genocidal sociopath back in power and I'll make you face fuck the hyperdrive at full power, understand?" When he choked out a yes she let him go and he slid to the ground coughing. "You," she said, pointing at Brooke. "You ever stop fighting his control you'll wish you were face fucking the hyperdrive."

Without waiting for the Outlander's response, she grabbed a full liquor bottle off a nearby console.

"Hey, that's mine," Tora protested, angrily facing the major. Without hesitating, Aneira whipped out the pistol from her belt and leveled it at her face. Something in the soldier's eyes must have rattled the engineer, because she immediately backed down, raising her hands in surrender and saying, "But you can have it."

Everyone watched as she stormed off the bridge. "Thanks for pulling her off me," Koth said angrily.

"It's not as if you deserve any less," Senya quipped.

"Enough," Lana ordered. "we're getting an incoming transmission from T7…"

Chapter Text

"Trust is in short supply right now," Lana sighed as she walked down the passageway with Cipher 9. "I know it's asking a lot, but I need you to try, now more than ever."

"I think I can manage," Cipher agreed.

"Good, thank you," Lana sighed, relief evident as Senya caught up to them from the bridge.

"I would like to join you on your search for the Lady of Sorrows," the knight said without preamble.

"Of course," Cipher replied cheerily. "I'm sure you'll be much more of a talker than Darth Imperious, he mostly just stands there and broods. Sith," she huffed with an exaggerated eye roll and smile. "You and I on the other hand… I can think of quite a few things to talk about."

"One or two," Senya agreed

Relieved, Lana bowed and said, "May the Force ever serve you."

She left the pair in search of Koth, not looking forward to the impending confrontation. She found him on the bridge overseeing repairs. As soon as he saw her, he directed her off the bridge to a nearby empty room.

"Have you come here to apologize for not pulling that loose cannon off me or to tell me she's off my ship?" He leaned against the bulkhead, a forced relaxed position, but Lana could clearly see the tension in his eyes.

"Neither, and it's not your ship." Lana crossed her arms in a defensive position as she glared at him, "I told you from the beginning to keep your opinions about Valkorian to yourself. You're lucky she stopped when she did considering you were advocating for the man who destroyed her home be put back in power."

"I don't believe this," Koth yelled, pushing off to pace. "After everything we've been through, everything I did for you, this is how you repay me?"

"I was very clear about this," Lana insisted.

"Do I mean that little to you," Koth asked. "What about us?"

"There is no us," Lana shot back. She had been clear on that too. Koth froze, looking like he'd been punched in the gut. She took no pleasure in it, but Nox was right, she needed to make this clear sooner rather than later. "Koth, you have been a close friend, a rock when I needed it…"

"And a good fuck, is that it," he demanded.

"No. Wait, that's not what I meant," she huffed in frustration, steepling her fingers and resting her forehead on them as she gathered her thoughts. "What we shared was more than just a way to relieve tension, but…"

"Yeah, your heart was never really in it," he sighed, defeated.

"Neither was yours," Lana pointed out. He wanted to argue with her, mostly on principle, but knew it was pointless.

A silence descended that was neither awkward or comfortable as they examined their own thoughts.

"So who is it," he finally asked, anger drained.

"I'm sorry?"

"Which one out of the group we rescued," Koth clarified. "Come on, don't insult my intelligence. We needed the Outlander, but given your insistence we rescue all of them you can't tell me one of them isn't the reason you're walking away from me."

"I fail to see how that's relevant to this conversation…"

"Is it that Imperious guy? Cause I can totally take him," he joked, glad to see her laugh with him.

"No, to both of those statements," Lana smiled. "He has a wife."

"Well, Nox and the two Jedi and that Cipher chick are out, not your type," he thought out loud. "You made clear your low opinion of Captain Pierce… no… don't tell me."

"I really don't think it's wise to continue," Lana advised.

"Her," Koth demanded, his anger returned. "You're picking that soldier over me? Is that why you're here defending her?"

"I'm here because you were both wrong," Lana countered, defenses up again. "You were the first one I found."

Koth turned his back to compose himself. When he could speak again, he said, "She gets one chance. If she goes after any member of my crew, I will personally deal with her."

"If that happens, it'll only because you got to her before me," Lana promised.

"Then you better go find her," Koth sighed.

"Are we…?"

"We'll be fine," he promised, turning to look at Lana. "Now get going, I'm going to need a minute to get over all this."

She gave him a weak smile before heading out. Koth turned back to face the wall, listening to Lana's footfalls as she left the room. It wasn't long before he heard them returning and stop just outside.

"Go away Lana."

"Apologies," Ace's voice rang out, "I hope you don't mind the intrusion."

"Master… I mean Ace, no, not at all," Koth stammered at the Jedi standing in the doorway. "I thought… well…"

"I can guess," he replied sympathetically.

Koth's eyes shut as he was hit with a wave of embarrassment. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough," Ace answered, "but don't' worry. I was alone meditating nearby, no one else was around. I came to see if there was anything I could do. If you would prefer to be alone…"

"No, stay," Koth insisted. "If I'm alone I might change my mind about kicking her off the ship. I could use a distraction."

The Jedi smiled at him at took a seat on a nearby crate. "I've always enjoyed seeing new worlds, and I fear what little I've seen of Zakuul is poor representation."

"That's an understatement," Koth laughed.

"I'd like to hear about it, from your perspective, if you don't mind."

"Sure," Koth agreed, taking the perch next to him, trying to decide a good place to start.

Talk completed with Koth, Lana now searched for Aneira. She to impress upon her how such actions were unacceptable, no matter how much Lana may have agreed with her sentiments.

It took a bit, but she finally found the major tucked in a corner in one of the recently cleared out store rooms. She looked up when Lana entered and any anger the Sith was feeling drained away when she saw how broken Aneira looked. Sighing, she sat down next to her who silently offered her a drink from the now mostly empty bottle.

Lana raised an eyebrow. "You know I only drink Correlian brandy," she quipped, a weak attempt at humor.

Aneira graced her with a small smile and replied, "I wouldn't have offered if I thought you'd take it."

"You may wish to consider cutting back," Lana advised, sensing how drunk she was. Aneira waved her off, and Lana took that as her que to change the subject. "We need to talk about what happened on the bridge."

"He wants to put that monster back in power," Aneira snarled, anger and liquor making her words slur. "That fuck destroyed my home and then his evil spawn stole my memories, twisted them for her amusement.

Lana's gut twisted and without warning, Cipher's words from the day of the rescue came back to her, taunting. She saw her façade cracking and knew Aneira wouldn't be able to hold back much longer. Unsure of what to say, she gently laid an arm on her shoulder. Whether because of her trust in Lana or the liquor weakening her defenses, the dam holding back her emotions broke, and she started sobbing, shattered.

Lana had been waiting for this moment, but it still crushed her to see the woman she cared for broken like this. She gently mover the hand from Aneira's shoulder around her back wrapping it around the crying woman. Lana held and rocked her gently as was wracked with emotions bottled up over the past five years breaking free.

"It's all gone," she hiccupped after she'd started to calm. "Every happy memory with my parents, you… all replaced by nightmares. I was only able to protect feelings from her, and then only barely."

"She has that kind of power?" The closest Lana had ever heard of anyone with that kind of ability were the Dread Masters.

"What she couldn't do on her own, she supplemented with various machines and drugs," Eira answered with a shrug, eyes still distant. "She started with recent memories, twisting Yavin, Rishi, even parts of Ziost. Some of the changes are subtle, others she didn't even hide her tampering."

"What did she do," Lana asked, not sure she wanted the answer.

"Ziost, she amplified the emotions: the fear as we tried to stop Vitiate, the despair watching him suck the life from the planet, the anger at Theron for putting me in between you and him over Master Suro, the sorrow when you walked away," she whispered thickly. "Vaylin especially liked that one."

"Aneira," Lana started, not sure what to say. She had been furious when Brooke wouldn't let her take the Jedi, and betrayed that trooper said nothing. Looking back, it was clear Maj. Horner had no choice, and in her position, she would have done the same. Something she never got to tell her.

"I would have let her go with you," Aneira said earnestly, finally turning to look at Lana, not bothering to stop the few tears that had fallen again. "She wanted to go, she wanted to help, even if it killed her. I would have let her, but I couldn't go against Brooke and Theron, not like that."

"I know," Lana replied. "I'm sorry I reacted as I did. Days of fighting off Vitiate's influence… I wasn't thinking clearly."

"None of us were," Aneira conceded. "An excuse I used when I got pulled into a Senate hearing for telling Suresh to fuck off."

"I'm sure you were more diplomatic," Lana offered.

"Nope, and that's why I got an ass chewing."

"You weren't punished?"

"Oh I was," Aneira smirked. "Got a Letter of Reprimand put in my file. Would have made re-upping difficult if the war had been over once my contract was up. It was a wrist slap since I didn't say it in front of a large audience and because of my accomplishments. Saresh clearly never forgave me though."

"Did Vaylin do anything else," Lana asked, hating that she had to ask, but she needed to know what all had been done.

Aneira looked down at the liquor bottle and answered quietly, "She focused initially on our interactions, mostly because in the early days I used them as a source of comfort. I'm still not really sure about anything before, just that I'm pretty sure that you never held me down and forced yourself on me in that shuttle on Yavin. You really don't seem like the type."

She said the last part as a weak attempt at a joke, but Lana still heard the pain in her voice. Vaylin had twisted a moment she treasured into a source of pain for the woman next to her. Forcing all anger out of her voice, she answered, "I can assure you that was not the case."

Aneira nodded, "Too much anger in the memory, definitely more Vaylin than you. After she got done with those, she destroyed my memories of my parents. She messed with some of the ones of my father, changing reprimands with him to beatings I know never happened, shouting when he was more of the quiet disciplinarian."

She paused to take a breath. Swallowing thickly, she pressed on, "Mostly, however, she zeroed in on my mother. Apparently, she and Senya had several things in common and used her as a surrogate for her own pain. I don't remember anything good about her… I can't even remember what her smile looked like," her voice broke at the confession. Aneira cleared her throat, determined to get it all out. "The only memory she left unaltered, if feelings heavily amplified, was the day my father was executed. She used that memory to taunt me, changing her face to others. Garza, Dorne, you," she trailed off, emotion cutting her voice off. Clearing her voice, Aneira sighed, "She took it all from me. I'm nothing more than an empty husk."

"That's not true," Lana countered gently. "You're still you, and you'd never abandon someone who needed you. You have persevered despite everything you've endured, and you saved my life back in that swamp."

"And then cowered from you once we got back to the ship," Aneira confessed, her voice barely above a whisper as she looked away in shame.

"What?"

"After Kor was done patching me up, I went to find you. I watched you angrily shoot lighting at the droid pieces and suddenly I was back at the Spire, watching Vaylin destroy a dozen of sky troopers with that force lightening thing for the hell of it before… well… suffice it to say sex and violence went hand and hand with her," she said as she took a large gulp from the bottle. "I practically slammed into Darth Nox as I ran away like a fucking coward looking for a corner to curl up in."

"Aneira," Lana started, but didn't know what to say. She had no idea Aneira had seen her, or that venting her frustrations had that kind of effect. She pulled her closer and tried not to be hurt when Aneira flinched away, separating herself entirely from Lana. "What you went through, all of you, it's not something you just get over. Cipher has been trained to withstand torture, and she reported what you all endured was substantial." She still refused to look at Lana, but she could see the vacant look in Aneira's eyes. Lana felt helpless as she said, "I wish I knew what I could do to help you."

After a long moment, Aneira sighed and rested her head on Lana's shoulder before whispering, "I don't want to be afraid of you."

"I don't want that either," Lana quietly replied. She made a note to be more mindful of her emotions around the major. It was easy to forget everything she'd been through with the front she put up.

"It wasn't a dream, was it? When I visited you in the white room?"

"No," she answered. "It's highly unusual for one who doesn't have a strong command of the Force to reach out like that."

"What does it mean?"

"Either you have some latent Force ability or your willpower is strong enough that the Force itself bends to it. Regardless, we appear to have formed a bond that is highly unusual outside of a Master-Apprentice relationship."

"What happens now?"

"Right now, you're going to sleep off whatever cheap liquor that is. After? I guess we'll have to see."

"I'm ok with that," Eira mumbled sleepily. Soon after she was asleep while Lana attempted to contemplate that question.

Overwhelmed, Brooke knelt to meditate. She had a lot to sort through, it was the deciding factor in why she sent Cipher 9 and Darth Imperious with Senya to Zakuul in her place. Slowing her breathing she tried to find calm, but Valkorion would not be ignored. He appeared, towering over her.

"Your foolish desire to proceed without my help is unwise. It almost cost your Sith friend her life."

"But it didn't," she pointed out with a sigh. So much for meditating.

"A foolish gamble considering the instability of the soldier in your company. You would be wise to put her down or take measures to control her before she becomes a liability."

"Or you could show her a mercy she has been denied these past 5 years. There's always a choice," whispered the voice from the swamp. Slowly, the form of Orgus Din materialized next to Valkorion. "Hello old friend. Seems like it's not just my rules you keep breaking."

"Master Orgus? You said on Rishi I wouldn't see you again."

"That's the impression I was under too, but it appears the Force has other plans for you. Besides, thought you could use another voice to counter his to help keep you focused and remind you who you are."

"This is ridiculous," Valkorion scoffed. "What wisdom could this dead Jedi possibly share?"

"This 'dead Jedi' broke through your shields once to help her, and I can do it again. Some advice: you fought his control once when he forced it on you. Don't give it to him now just because he said please."

"Save your speeches," he sneered. "I offer a chance and greater power."

"He gives nothing without cost," Orgus warned.

"I'll keep that in mind, Master. Now do you both mind? I'm starting to get a headache with your bickering."

"You heard the lady," he said to Valkorion, unaffected by the Emperor's glare.

"Think well on what I can offer you," he warned before disappearing.

"Chipper fellow, isn't he," Master Orgus quipped with a small smirk.

"It's the whole immortal but no body thing that's getting to him," Brooke snarked. "That and no one here is giving into his God-complex. Except Koth, but he doesn't count."

"Almost enough to make you feel sorry for him," Orgus joked back. "It's good to see you again, all things considered. I'll leave you be, but if you ever need me I'll be around. And it goes without saying if he shows up again I'll be there."

True to his word, her old master disappeared leaving the Battlemaster alone with her thoughts.

Chapter Text

Senya went her own way while Cipher 9 and SCORPIO reported to Lana to debrief her on the outcome of the trip to Zakuul. No one had expected the 'Lady of Sorrows' to be Cipher's former companion. Imperious left in search of the bounty hunter, who he had thus far made a point of avoiding.

The Chiss interacted little with the rest of the crew unless necessity forced his hand, the exception being Maj. Horner who he seemed to shadow. Normally the former Wrath would have let him be, but a question that had gnawed at him for years had the Dark Lord searching the ship.

Imperious' last overseer before being sent to Korriban enjoyed liberties with the acolytes he trained. There were rumors, but Imperious never believed there was any truth to them. Not until he was taken alone into the wilds to help 'unlock his passions.' When Imperious realized what was happening, he fought back as hard as he could, but was no match for the Overseer. He was too busy reveling in his triumph of subduing the young boy that he never saw the Chiss lining up his shot. Before he could finish taking off his captive's pants a bullet pierced his skull, killing him instantly.

Shocked, Imperious looked in the direction of the shot and made eye contact with the Chiss, rifle still in his hands. He could have easily killed him as well. Instead, he looked the acolyte over, then secured his rifle, nodded once at the young Sith and disappeared into the wilderness.

It took a moment for his mind to piece together everything that happened. Once it did, he quickly straightened his robes and ran to inform the head overseer that his trainer was dead, intentionally leaving out certain details. Imperious was praised for his ability to pull off an assassination of that level without it being traced back. It's what convinced them he was ready for Korriban.

The only one he had ever told was Vette, and that was only because no secret was ever truly safe from her. She had also, unfortunately, seen this happen enough to have guessed it even without his confession. He had been hesitant to admit such a weakness to her, but she had chased away his self-loathing and been there to help him through the worst of his pain.

Pushing down the emotions surrounding his missing wife before they overwhelmed him, he pressed forward in his search until he finally found the bounty hunter. He was with Major Horner in what passed for a temporary armory, cleaning their weapons, his back to the door, her facing it.

"Puxêi," he said loudly, using the correct version of his name.

The major flinched before muttering, "I got the mother of all hangovers right now, brother. I'd appreciate you lowering your voice a bit."

"My only sibling is dead, I have no desire becoming your family," he snapped. "Do not use such an informal tone with me."

Maj. Horner immediately dropped what was in her hands and faced the Dark Lord. She imitated the slight bow high ranking Imperial officers would perform, and spoke in an over-exaggerated Dromund Kaas accent, "Apologies my Lord. If you could forgive your humble servant and show mercy by lowering your voice, I would be ever so grateful."

Realizing how harsh he'd been he sighed, "Better, but next time drop to your knees or I might not be so gracious."

"I'll keep that in mind," she replied with a smirk as she turned back to her work. "What do you need Imperious?"

"I need to speak to Puxêi, alone."

She merely raised an eyebrow in response before quickly reassembling her rifle and exiting the room. A heavy silence descended as the Chiss kept working and the Sith worked up his nerve to speak.

"I needed to ask you something," he started. But when he tried to force out the question that had haunted him for years, nothing would come out. He tried several more times as the hunter quietly continued to work, not looking at him. Imperious wasn't sure if that helped or made it harder.

"You want to know why I didn't take the shot," the bounty hunter guessed, carefully reassembling his pistol. "Why I didn't kill you along with your Master."

"He wasn't my master, but yes."

"It's not a complicated answer."

"I would still hear it."

"He was my target, you weren't," Dax answered with a shrug. He finished putting his weapon together and faced the Sith, leaning against the workbench and crossing his arms.

"That's it," Imperious demanded. All those years he spent thinking of that moment, and this was the answer he got.

"Told you it was simple. Unlike the Sith I prefer to keep my body count low. And don't worry, discretion for all parties is standard with every job."

"You only happened to be there because of a job," Imperious asked, stunned. He was relieved at the bounty hunter's promise, but he still couldn't believe it was simply dumb luck that had saved him from that fate.

"Not a job so much as ensure justice was delivered," he answered, eye suddenly cold. Imperious was curious, but knew better than to ask. Everyone was entitled to their secrets.

He was just about to leave when Maj. Horner re-entered. "Hey Dax, Kor was asking for you. Something about a quick check up to make sure you didn't sustain any injuries on Zakuul."

The bounty hunter sighed in mild frustration before grabbing his pistol and silently heading out leaving Imperious alone with the major.

"So… this is awkward," she finally said after a long moment. "The 'Sith Slayer' teaming up with the 'Wrath of the Emperor'. Who would have seen this coming?"

"Fate can be an amusing puppet master," Imperious agreed. "Answer me this, if we had met before Rishi, would you have gone after me?"

Aneira looked him over while she debated her answer. He had found the time to clean up his appearance a bit, his hair was cropped short and only long enough to make out the dirty blond color and he had shaved all the hair off his face except for where it came to a point on his chin. Like Dax he towered over her and he still wore the intimidating black armor he'd donned as the Emperor's Wrath. Everything about this appearance screamed malice. Yet when she looked in his chocolate brown eyes- not red- she saw confirmed what her gut had told her years ago looking over intelligence reports of him.

"Probably not," she answered honestly with a shrug. His surprise was difficult to hide, and she gave a small laugh as she explained, "When all is said and done you are not the evilest Sith to ever have taken up a lightsaber. Hell, the Jedi master who went after Dax did more harm than you."

"The good I've done cancels out the bad," he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's between you and your gods, or conscience, or whatever it is you answer to. But the way I see it, both sides have just as much blood on their hands. When push came to shove, you showed mercy. It doesn't matter to me if it was because you genuinely wished to avoid unnecessary bloodshed or it was because your wife was a stronger influence on you than SIS gave her credit."

"What do you know of her," Imperious demanded, suddenly suspicious.

"Relax," she replied, holding up her hands in surrender. "I know enough to know she's untouchable."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That all our intelligence pointed at her being a stabilizing influence for you and therefore we were under strict orders to never go after her or anyone close to her."

"You're serious." He was dumbfounded by the revelation.

Amused, the major asked, "Is it really that surprising."

"Yes."

"Then would you be surprised to know that SIS actually went out of their way a few times to stop your rivals from assassinating her? At least that's what my contact in SIS said. Considering what I know about you, I'd believe it."

"Why would they do that?"

"Because it's all a balancing game. Who would benefit from your anger and who would suffer if anything happened to her? And whatever it's worth, I can see if any of my SIS contacts are still around and willing to help find her."

"Lana has her people looking into it."

"True," the soldier answered diplomatically, "but how much of a priority do you really think it is? Think about everything she has in motion and ask yourself how important it is to her to find any of our former teammates? Sure, she wants to help, but there's a lot she has going on."

"You would help me," he questioned, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Not just you," she shrugged. "She's a skilled thief who can break into just about anything. Something tells me we're gonna need someone like that. Also, I think I already explained, you being happy reduces the risk of random and intense suffering of those around you. I would hate to have to kill you when we could be allies."

The last was said with a smile, but he could see the threat in her eyes. "I would be most grateful for any assistance," he finally said with a small bow. "You are not what I expected based on your reputation."

"I keep getting that," she answered, an amused smirk on her face as she walked out of the room, Imperious right behind her.

While Imperious was talking with Aneira, Senya entered Lana's room. She was on edge from the tone of the summons, the feeling exacerbated at the sight that greeted her. Lana was sitting behind a small desk littered with data pads. She eyed Senya with clinical expression the knight had never had leveled at her by the Sith. She knew this must have been the woman who had run Imperial Intelligence, not the ally she'd been working with for years. It was not a side of her she'd ever seen, and didn't like being of the receiving end of that stare. Behind her stood Cipher 9, her eyes colder than Lana's.

"Sit down, Senya," the Sith ordered, voice authoritative.

"What's this about," she said instead, remaining where she was, her arms crossed.

"The chemicals Vaylin used to alter her prisoner's memories, we need to know what they were," Lana answered.

"Cross referencing the information we have from Imperial Intelligence and taking into account the drug combinations easily available to Zakuul," Cipher picked up, "we can narrow it down to 3 or 4 possible combinations. The problem is, the wrong counter drug could have devastating reactions."

"Ranging from being completely inert to reducing the patient to a vegetative state," Lana finished.

Senya's defenses crumbled at the shame of what her daughter had done.

"Please Senya," Lana begged, her mask slipping a bit to show her desperation.

Sighing heavily, she answered, "I don't know what she used, I had hoped those stories were only rumors. "

"There were more than rumors," Cipher 9 seethed, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't know what was used, but I know who would." Senya saw the hope in Lana's eyes as she continued, "He's one of the top neural researchers for Zakuul, as well as chief scientific advisor for Ministry of Justice. He's constantly under guard, you can imagine the enemies he's made over the years. Your best shot at him would be on one of his supply runs. He's always on the lookout for a reliable supply of his preferred chemicals."

"Where does he go," Cipher demanded.

"He used to restock on a planet just outside Zakuul, but those mines dried up. It is my understanding he found a promising deposit among your worlds. Quent… Quell…"

"Quesh," Cipher offered.

"Yes, that's it. I'm sorry, that's all I know."

"That's more than enough," Lana assured. "Thank you."

"If I had known what she was doing, investigated the rumors, I could have done something sooner."

"Then you would have ended up right next to us," Cipher pointed out.

"It would have been better than willful ignorance," Senya shot back.

"Then you would not have been in position to help me," Lana countered. "Fate has a funny way of putting us where we need to be."

Senya seemed to think it over, but her anger was still clearly present. "If there's nothing else…"

"That was all," Lana confirmed, watching Senya turn and walk out. She knew Senya needed to be alone with her thoughts, there was a lot she had to accept about what her children had done.

"How should we proceed," Cipher asked as Lana stood.

"I'll reach out to my contacts on Quesh," she answered as they started walking towards the bridge. "The planet is run by the Hutt Cartel, Zakuul would have had to go through them to either mine what they need or buy through one of their representatives. Someone will know something, I'm confident I'll hear something soon."

Cipher nodded in acknowledgement as Brooke approached them, coming from the bridge with a huff.

"Everything all right," Lana asked looking over at the Jedi's shoulder in the direction she'd just come.

"Fine," she dismissed with a wave, "just too many personalities in a small space."

"Considering you last companions I'd have thought you'd be used to that," the Sith joked as Brooke's holo communicator went off.

Lana stood off to the side as she took a holocall from Heskal demanding her presence.

"Charmer that one," Lana said sarcastically once she had disconnected.

"Better than some of my relatives," the Jedi replied with a smirk. "Remind me to tell you about cousin Nikoli and his unhealthy Nerf fetish."

"I'll hold you to that," Lana promised, equal parts horrified and intrigued.

"I should get moving. Probably best not to keep his scion-ness waiting."

"One hour, if I don't hear from you in one hour I'm leading a team to storm the place," Lana warned.

"You know just how to make a girl feel special," she replied with a coy smile.

"You're impossible," Lana huffed.

"Aw, you're blushing! You're cute when you blush," the young noble laughed.

"Honestly, I'm starting to wonder why I put so much effort into rescuing you," Lana sighed, smile creeping out despite her best efforts.

She was still laughing as Maj. Horner and Imperious approached.

"I want you and Darth Imperious to trail her," Lana ordered Cipher 9. "I don't share Senya's trust of the Scions and I don't like Heskal's demand she goes alone." Imperious and Cipher both agreed, while Aneira waved Brooke over.

"What is it, Major," the Jedi asked cautiously. Clearly, she was still leery after the soldier's earlier outburst.

"I need a quick word."

"What's on your mind?" Lana had turned her back to give them privacy. After Aneira had woken from sleeping off the bulk of her hangover, she promised Lana she would do a better job controlling her temper and would apologize to everyone who had been caught in her earlier outburst. Judging by the serious look on her face, Lana presumed the soldier was getting right to it.

"If you ever flirt with Lana again I will rain a retribution on you the likes of which you have never seen," she threatened. The Jedi's jaw dropped in response, and after a beat of an intense glare, Rory broke out in an impish grin.

Caught off guard, Brooke started laughing and Lana felt her face heat at the Major's words. The smirk she was getting from Cipher, and even Imperious, didn't help.

"Or what, you'll kick my ass," the Jedi asked once she'd calmed down a bit.

"One-on-one with a Jedi? Hell no, you guys cheat. I'll let your family on Alderaan know you're alive and tell them how to contact you," she answered, quirking her brow. At Master Alde's horrified look, her smile got bigger and she said, "I was aristocracy too, I know how to make it painful."

"That's low," Brooke muttered.

"Then we understand each other," Rory replied with a nod before turning to Lana and ignoring the glare she was receiving from the Sith.

The group took off and Rory took Cipher's place next to Lana but said nothing. Lana wasn't sure exactly where things stood between them, the threat to Brooke notwithstanding, and she wasn't sure how to start the conversation. Lana was in the middle of berating herself for acting like an adolescent teenager when Rory finally spoke.

"She's right, you know." Lana looked at her, confused by her statement. Her face was serious, but there was a light in her eyes Lana hadn't seen in a long time. "You are cute when you blush."

"Don't start," the Sith threatened without any heat.

"As you command, my Lord," she teased with a small bow before walking towards the bridge.

"Where are you going?"

"Koth and I need to come to an understanding," Aneira answered. "Too much is riding on our ability to work together."

"True enough," Lana agreed. "I'll be sure to remain nearby in case Koth isn't amenable to the truce."

"Not a bad idea," she sighed as she crossed the threshold onto the bridge.

Lana found something to busy herself with on one of the terminals while she watched Koth and Aneira out of the corner of her eye. There was still tension there, but it seemed they were both willing to look past their different opinions of Valkorion and focus on taking down Arcann. She was just about to walk out when the ships comm. chirped with an incoming transmission from Brooke.

Lana depressed the button allowing her to answer the transmission over the intercom and said, "That was fast…"

"Lana, Arcann's here! Prep the ship!"

She immediately ended transmission but not before the telltale sound of a lightsaber activating was heard as well as Arcann's voice clearly say, "That was a mistake."

Almost instantly the Eternal Fleet appeared overhead, launching an attack on the Gravestone

Lana quickly contacted Cipher 9 and Imperious while Koth started frantically working on getting the ship ready for take-off. Maj. Horner ran off the bridge and rounded up the crew to mount a defense against the sky troopers that had appeared out of nowhere.

Cipher gave a short update, ensuring they were just outside the scion's hideout and heading in to assist Brooke. By the time she was done coordinating with them, SCORPIO had shot down a fighter, crashing in the general location of where Brooke and the others were.

She sent a message out using her personal comm. to Brooke. Lana didn't even give her a chance to speak once it was answered, saying, "Tell me you're alive."

"Alive? Yes. For long? That remains to be seen."

"Just get here, we're not leaving without you."

"Understood, see you soon."

"Damn it," Koth shouted from his position at the main console. "They've locked down the mooring hooks. Only way to get them to release is from the main controls on the other side of Asylum."

"Take HK and try to make your way there," Lana ordered. "The rest of us will hold the ship."

"What about my crew?"

"Focus Koth," she commanded. "If we don't get this ship released we're all dead."

"Right, come on HK."

"Enthusiasm: With pleasure master!"

Lana helped them out one of the escape hatches to so they could bypass the fighting at the front of the ship. She ran to the battle out front where Horner's group was fighting off at least a squad of sky troopers. They had neutralized all enemies when Brooke, Cipher, and Imperious arrived.

"We've got a problem," Lana said as soon as they got close. "Arcann has locked the docking clamps and we're not going anywhere until we release the ship from the main controls. Koth and HK have already started to make their way there but need our help."

"Sounds like fun," Brooke quipped. "Imperious, Cipher, stay and guard the ship. Arcann brought the might of the Eternal Fleet with him, we're going to need every hand available to keep the Gravestone safe."

"I'm coming with you," Maj. Horner said, appearing at the Jedi's side.

"No-"

"I wasn't asking," she interrupted. "There are enough people here to guard the Gravestone, but it'll be for nothing if no one gets to the controls alive."

"We don't have time to argue," Lana pointed out. Reluctantly Brooke agreed.

"Yeah! Blondie! Go get our captain back," shouted Len from behind the barricade. Lana froze for a moment before slowly turning to glare at the Zakuulan.

"I… mean Ms. Beniko," he stammered.

She turned back around when suddenly Aneira went pale and almost keeled over. "No," she whimpered.

"What is it," Lana asked, concerned.

A drop ship flew overhead and landed next to the Gravestone. Vaylin disembarked with her personal guard as more knights and sky troopers approached from the ground behind her. She strode towards the group about to head out, completely unaffected by the shots being taken at her. A knight used his shield to block the incoming fire, and without a thought she flicked out her hand sending the shooter flying and almost off the bridge entirely.

"You were mean to my brother," she sighed once she approached Brooke. "Now I have to kill your friends."

"Arcann was just a warm up," Brooke threatened as she activated her lightsaber.

"You've got a crush on me," she replied. Turning to the major, she smiled and said, "Don't be jealous Aneira, you'll always have a special place with me."

"I'm sorry, have we met," she asked, keeping her face neutral. Lana could feel the fear coming off of her, although she was able to shield most of it and keep her face blank. "You must not have been that good."

Vaylin laughed darkly, "I've missed you sweet thing. I can't wait to show you how much."

Brooke raised her lightsaber to attack, just for her and the major to be thrown to away. Senya jumped between Vaylin and Lana. "This is a family affair," was all she said as she faced her daughter.

"Hello Mother," Vaylin greeted bitterly.

Lana left Senya to battle her daughter and ran off. The Jedi was already on her feet, and she helped Aneira as they ran after Koth and HK. Before the large doors shut behind them, Vaylin shouted out one last taunt, "I'll be seeing you soon sweetness. And don't you worry, your little blond friend can join us this time." Her threat rattled the major enough for her to stumble slightly, but Lana was close enough to grab her arm and steady her. She gave it a squeeze and they were off again.

Chapter Text

"Emperor Valkorion talks to you, right? He have any advice," Koth asked almost off handedly. Brooke saw Maj. Horner tense out of the corner of her eye.

"He's giving me the silent treatment," she answered, watching the major to ensure she didn't do anything reckless. They left Lana and Vik's gang holding the choke point to give the Jedi and soldier a chance to release the docking clamps.

"I'm sure he's got a lot on your mind," he said wryly. "The Emperor's a great man. If anyone can help you take down Arcann, it's him."

"You hero worship a monster," Brooke said, unable to keep completely silent on the matter. She respected Koth, but disagreed with his blind allegiance of the man.

"He was always good to Zakuul," he replied with a shrug.

"At the expense of my people's lives," Maj. Horner snapped back. "I promised to keep my temper in check, you promised to not bring him up around me. For your crew's sake, you may want to drop this for now."

He grudgingly did so and landed the shuttle. HK had just finished clearing out the knights in the landing zone when they got there.

"This sky car will take you to the main controls to release the ship. HK and I will keep them off you," Koth said as he started placing charges.

"Stay alive, no heroics," the Battlemaster ordered as she followed Maj. Horner into the vehicle.

"Hey, that's my motto," he answered with a smile as they took off.

"What are the odds this will be completely deserted and we'll take this without a fight," the soldier asked as she checked her blaster rifle.

"Considering what our luck's been so far, not likely," Brooke responded with a smirk.

"That's what I figured," she sighed.

To their combined surprise, the control tower was completely deserted.

"I would have thought there would at least be a token force left here," Brooke said as she cautiously made her way to the controls.

"I don't like this," the major replied, scanning the room as she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. "Let's make this quick."

"No objections," the Jedi answered as she undid the clamps securing the Gravestone. She was just turning around when she was thrown across the room into the major, sending them both to the ground.

Both quickly rolled apart and stood to see Arcann where Brooke had been standing.

"We have unfinished business," he threatened as he stalked the Battlemaster. He barely made a move in her direction before she hit him with a Force push. He stumbled back a step, but quickly recovered.

"YOU DON'T TOUCH ME," Arcann thundered in response.

Maj. Horner rose an eyebrow seeing how easily rattled he was while Brooke smirked and said, "Just promise you'll be more of a challenge than those knights you've sent after me. I've trained padawans with more skill than them."

Before he could respond, HK rushed to the Jedi's side and shouted, "Request: Die meat bag!"

Between the suppressing fire from HK and Maj. Horner, Brooke was able to keep Arcann off balance. Just when it looked as if they were about to take him, he let out a massive Force push, sending all of them flying. Brooke and Major Horner were slammed into the wall behind them. The Jedi had the wind knocked out when her back made contact with the wall, and she fought to recover quickly once she landed on the ground. She had pulled herself up on her hands and knees when she looked over and saw Maj. Horner on the ground, unmoving. She tried to crawl over to check on her when she saw Arcann approaching out of the corner of her eye.

"Enough," he shouted as he built up some sort of energy at his hands, targeting them both.

HK had dodged the force attack that had thrown the other two into the ground. He saw Arcann's intended targets and jumped in front of them, firing his weapon, shouting, "Self-sacrifice!"

HK took the brunt of the hit, instantly destroying him, but some of it shot back, destroying the paneling and supports of the wall behind them. Out of instinct, Brooke rolled out of the way of the falling debris. Once clear, she watched in horror as pieces of the wall fell crushing the major.

She made a move towards the major, when Arcann started moving towards her, arrogantly taunting, "I can't wait to meet all your friends."

The Battlemaster was just about to charge Arcann when everything froze and Valkorion appeared. "My son is too strong," he said as he approached the Jedi. "You need my power. Only together can we strike him down."

Brooke looked at HK and the debris blocking her view of Maj. Horner, and was just about to accept when Master Orgus appeared.

"Think about what you would be agreeing to," he cautioned.

"Destroying a monster," she answered angrily, doing her best to ignore Valkorion's smug look.

"At the price of becoming one yourself," her master countered. "Look inside yourself, see what how he intends to stop his son."

"We don't have time for this," Valkorion protested. Ignoring him, she did as Master Orgus said and saw a vision: purple lighting practically exploding from her and shooting at not just Arcann, but everything around her.

"Take a close look," Orgus said before Valkorion could speak. "Look at what he doesn't want you to see."

To her right, there was a ship carrying people fleeing the battle getting caught in the lightening. Their engines gave out and they were sent crashing, taking several other ships with them, inflicting an incalculable number of casualties.

"They don't matter," Valkorion dismissed. "My son has already killed thousands of your people. Allow him to live and he'll kill millions more, starting with your friends."

Brooke didn't want to admit it, but he was right. She could tell by the Emperor's smile he knew what she was thinking. Orgus' frown also showed he could sense her thoughts.

"What about her," Master Orgus asked, pointing to where Maj. Horner had fallen. The area was completely vaporized, leaving only charged remains. "Lana and Koth are already on their way, is this what you want them to see? Do you think Lana would ever forgive you for this? Could you ever forgive yourself?"

"She's already lost," Valkorion dismissed. "The dead are unable to render an opinion on the actions of the living."

"We're both examples of a counter to that statement," the Jedi Master shot back. "But ignoring that, you don't know she's dead. Would you condemn her just because you're angry?"

"She was crushed," Brooke pointed out.

"Not completely," Orgus said. "See for yourself."

Again, Brooke did as he said over Valkorion's objections, shaking her head to clear away the vision. She moved until she had a good view of the major. Aneira was unconscious and the paneling had fallen around her and on top of the lower half of her body. Her left leg appeared to have dodged any significant damage, but it her right leg was trapped and it appeared her abdomen had taken a significant injury.

"From your angle, it appeared she had been completely crushed, but as you can see that wasn't true. She could survive this if you give her the chance."

"A life as a cripple at best," Valkorion dismissed with a sneer. "That is no life."

"That's not up to you," Master Orgus snapped before turning to Brooke and saying in a gentler tone, "or you for that matter."

"You must decide," Valkorion demanded, "the galaxy or one individual."

Brooke looked between HK's smoldering frame and the major's prone body before igniting her lightsaber and taking up her initial position in front of Arcann. "Once I've taken out your son, you're next."

"So be it," Valkorion thundered before disappearing. Orgus gave her a small smile before he also vanished and time resumed.

Valkorion had not been embellishing his son's strength. She held him off as long as she could, but without the suppressing fire he was able to easily counter her attacks.

Lana and Koth arrived in time to see Arcann pull the Jedi Battlemaster to him and impale her on his lightsaber. Thinking quickly, Koth shot a piece of machinery on the ceiling, which came crashing down and sent Arcann over the ledge with its impact.

Brooke could barely think through the pain as Koth ran up and grabbed the arm of her uninjured side and put it over his shoulders to help her walk. She saw Lana rush to Aneira and force blasted away the panel supports that were crushing her. The Sith then knelt over her, terror and grief clouding her face as she scanned her.

"How is she," Brooke forced out of her dry throat. The ability to breathe was becoming more and more difficult. "Is she…?"

Lana slowly closed her scanner and put it away, before making eye contact with Brooke. Fighting back any emotion from showing, Lana whispered, "She's alive."

Brooke had barely made it back to the Gravestone before she collapsed from her wounds. She was rushed to the med bay by Koth and Senya where Master Kor and Cipher 9 were fighting to stabilize Aneira. Lana was already there, having been watching over the soldier. A part of her felt guilty for staying there instead of going to the bridge, but she'd reasoned that she would have been no use and only gotten in the way.

"I got Brooke," Cipher told the Master Kor as she approached the bed Jedi had been laid on. "What happened?"

"Lightsaber to the abdomen," Koth answered.

"And why wasn't she brought here right away," Cipher demanded with a huff as she started scanning the Jedi. "Time is a factor in these kind of injuries."

"Things were a bit hectic," he replied testily.

"It's a miracle she's still alive. That wasn't a shot at you," Cipher quickly added as Koth glared at her. "A wound this extensive should have killed her shortly after being inflicted."

"Unless an external influence is keeping her alive," Lana pointed out from her corner.

There was a heavy silence that lasted only a moment before Cipher ordered, "Don't just stand there, Koth. I'm going to need your help if she's going to pull through."

He bristled slightly at being ordered around, but did as she asked.

It was after three frantic messages from Theron, two reassuring messages returned, and a stiff neck from sleeping in the chair Lana had dragged into the med bay that Brooke finally woke up.

"Tell me it hasn't been another five years," she groaned as she tried to sit up.

"Two days, give or take," Lana replied, rubbing the tender muscles in her neck. The Jedi made it about halfway up before her injury caused her to fall back again. "Easy," Lana cautioned as she helped her to a sitting position, "your body went through quite an ordeal."

"It could have been worse," Brooke replied with a wince, her right hand automatically going to her stomach.

"I don't know, not many people can say they took a lightsaber to the gut and lived," Koth joked.

Lana saw the self-loathing in the Battlemaster's eyes and said, "Koth, go check to see how much longer until we enter orbit."

"You know how long," he argued. "It's what I came in here to tell you."

"Please, Koth, I need you to take a walk," Lana asked, glancing at Brooke pointedly.

"Fine, have your girl talk," he huffed as he left.

"He's hurt you keep disregarding him," Brooke said emotionlessly, "and angry at being so easily pushed aside."

"He'll get over it," Lana dismissed. "What's wrong?"

"Valkorion wanted control, during the fight," Brooke answered. She swallowed hard around the lump in her throat before making eye contact with Lana. "What's worse, I almost gave it to him. HK was destroyed and from where I was, it looked like Aneira had been killed… I was angry and not thinking clearly and he took advantage of that."

"What stopped you?" Lana's eyes held no judgement, something the Jedi was grateful for.

"He let me see too much," she explained. "I saw a vision of what he planned: a massive burst of energy that wouldn't have hit Arcann, just thrown him off the ledge. I can't know for sure if that was unintentional or if he wanted Arcann to get away. But the energy wouldn't have been one quick burst, it would have shot out in all directions, taking out ships trying to escape, vaporizing everything in the room…" Her voice caught as she glanced and the unconscious soldier. "How is she?"

"Master Kor is confident she'll make a full recovery," Lana assured. "It was touch and go for a while with some internal bleeding from a lower abdomen injury, but he and Cipher 9 were able to stabilizer her after an emergency surgery. She'll be forced to make some adjustments, due to the leg they were unable to save, but fortunately there were no spinal injuries so she'll retrain her mobility."

"'Life as a cripple,'" Brooke whispered, seeing Lana tense in the corner of her eye. Facing her again, she saw the anger in her eyes as she explained, "That was what Valkorion said as a justification. He declared that was no life and the best thing for her would be to let her die. As for everyone else it was a numbers game: thousands die here so millions live later. Even seeing all that I almost gave in."

"What stopped you?" The anger was gone from her eyes, only curiosity remained.

Gingerly, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and put her weight on them. With Lana's assistance, she stood and started pacing. "In the vision, I knew you were close. I knew you would have known what I had done, both to the people fleeing and Aneira. Imagining your anger and mistrust, but mostly your hurt at what I'd done… It started to cut through the haze of anger Valkorion was manipulating. I'm not a monster," Brooke said with conviction, facing Lana. "I won't become one."

"I know," Lana soothed, gently placing her hands on the Jedi's trembling shoulders. She idly wondered if Brooke knew she was crying. "I'll help however I can. Even if it's just you imagining my glare," she added with a smirk.

"I didn't want to tell you any of that, but if I didn't he would have just caused my shame to fester and used it against me. It would have made refusing him that much harder the next time."

Lana could hear the panic in her voice. "You did tell me," she insisted, squeezing Brooke's shoulders lightly, "and you did refuse him. Any of us in that situation would have been tempted. Just because you're a Jedi doesn't make you immune to temptation."

Brooke took a few calming breaths before saying, "You're a good friend. Who would have seen that coming," she asked with a laugh, placing her right hand on the one covering her left shoulder.

"I can think of a few stranger partnerships," Lana replied, glancing quickly at the major before refocusing on Brooke, "but I will always be grateful for our friendship."

Smiling for the first time since she woke up, Brooke let go of Lana's hand as she removed them from her shoulders. "I should probably go unruffle Koth's feathers," she sighed. "Let me know if there's any change with Aneira."

Lana nodded and said, "There is something you should know before you head out."

"Please tell me Koth didn't blast Senya out of an air lock…"

Laughing in surprise, she answered, "No, but not for lack of trying. While you were unconscious I heard from my contacts in the Empire and Republic. Something good has come out of all this, the Battle of Asylum has become a rallying cry for any who have wished to oppose the Eternal Empire. My operatives inform me key allies from both the Empire and Republic are convinced we are the best chance at removing Arcann from power after proving he is not invincible. They've agreed to all meet on neutral territory to discuss an alliance."

"Sworn enemies banding together to stop a mad man from destroying the galaxy? Sounds familiar," Brooke said, amusement in her eye. "We made it work once, we can do it again."

She walked out as Lana resumed her vigil. She was relieved to finally be able to send Theron good news for once and hoped that would stem the tide of messages from him demanding an update. She had just sent off the message when Cipher entered the med bay, holding a set of crutches.

She placed them next to Aneira's bed and explained, "Dax and I found enough scarp to piece these together. They should hold until we find a more permanent solution."

"Thank you," Lana replied as Cipher started running scans.

"Everything seems to be healing well," she announced. "I would expect her to regain consciousness before we reach Odessen."

"I'll be here if I'm need." It didn't need to be said, everyone knew where Lana was.

Cipher nodded in response, face neutral. The only show of empathy she allowed was gently placing her hand on the Sith's shoulder for a moment before slipping out quietly.

Chapter Text

"Really? An entire menu out of what you can do with a spleen," Brooke demanded, exasperated. Lana could hear her voice echo down the hallway. "You don't think that was a bit overkill?"

"Haha, overkill, I see what you did there!"

"You're enjoying this too much."

"You're not enjoying it enough," Maj. Horner snickered as they rounded the corner.

"Hope you don't mind the subterfuge," Lana interrupted, both women stopping suddenly when the saw her. "We needed a way to bring you here without drawing attention of the Revanites. The pirate cannibals was his idea," she explained, pointing to Theron

"Seems like it was a hit with some of you," Theron observed dryly.

"A bit too much with the Major," Brooke sighed, before stepping back. "Yes I hear you, T7, hold on. Excuse me a moment," the Jedi apologized before stepping away from them.

"So which one of you missed me more," Rory asked the both of them with a smirk.

"Uh…" Lana stammered, looking at Theron.

"I'm going to go check on Brooke," he replied stiffly.

"I… I have readings I need to check," Lana said as she quickly turned her back and walked away.

"Theron has a Jedi fetish, raise your hand if you didn't see that coming," Lana heard Maj. Horner joke.

"Must you flirt with everyone," Jorgan huffed.

"Yup, especially if I plan on shooting them," she replied cheerily. "By the way, you, sir, owe me credits. Lana is totally into me."

"No way, you saw how fast she shot you down."

"Are you kidding? She stammered and deflected. In Sith world that's tantamount to undying affection." Lana was glad she was out of sight, she could feel heat starting to bloom on her face.

"Not sure if that's 'Sith World' or your own imaginary place. Either way, you need help."

Lana was unsure why the force showed her the memory of their reunion on Rishi during her mediation. That particular moment was one of the few moments of levity in an otherwise stressful period. Standing, she discovered Rory was finally stirring.

"I'm really getting sick of this fucking ceiling," she muttered.

"I'll be sure to pass your sentiments on," Lana replied, relief evident in her voice. If Aneira had been startled by her presence she didn't show it. In fact, she refused to look at Lana as she raised up on her elbows and took stock of her injuries.

"Master Kor and Cipher 9 did the best they could to try and save your leg," Lana offered quietly. "There was too much tissue damage."

Aneira didn't react to her words, her mind elsewhere. She pushed herself up the rest of the way, waving Lana off despite her obvious pain. Aneira was silent as she stared at the wall in front of her.

"What's wrong?"

She took a minute to answer, and when she did Lana had to strain to hear. "Vaylin will never stop hunting me. And now she's after you because of me. I am so sick of those close to me being targets."

"Judging by our mission to remove her family from power I'm sure I would have gotten her attention eventually."

"That's not the same," she snapped angrily before attempting to stand.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to get out of here," she answered as she reached for the crutches leaning against the wall Cipher had placed earlier. The wounded major managed to stand, barely keeping her balance as she nearly doubled over in pain. "When Vaylin hears I'm gone it'll distract her, give you an advantage as she chases me."

"Rory, listen to yourself," Lana said, trying to catch her attention. Lana stopped what little progress she was making by blocking her path. "You're letting her get in your head and you're panicking. You're in not in any shape to be running anywhere, let alone from the Eternal Fleet. All leaving will do is make it easier for her to catch you. How do you think I'll be able to function knowing she has you again?"

"You'd make it work," the soldier dismissed coldly. "You lasted 5 years without me and was able to pull off the rescue on the Spire even though I wasn't there."

"And if Senya hadn't contacted me weeks earlier I would have left Koth's ship as soon as Brooke and the others were onboard to find you," Lana shot back, her emotions getting the better of her.

"So, you admit you owe me two ships," Koth said casually as he strolled in, ignoring the tension in the room.

"Not now," Lana threatened.

"Outlander sent me, we've landed on Odessen."

"Give me three minutes," Lana snapped.

"Never gonna live that down," Koth sighed as he walked out. "I'll stall them for you, but don't take too long."

An awkward silence replaced Koth's presence as both women tried to think of what to say.

"Just tell me why," Lana asked, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice, "the real reason."

The soldier sighed and sat on the bed behind her. "Because I can't be the woman you need me to be," she confessed quietly, looking defeated.

"What are you talking about?"

"If you hope to challenge Arcann, you'll need an alliance between Imperial and Republic forces since no one side is strong enough to take him alone. You mentioned earlier that neither is willing to give up their war to take on the Eternal Throne, so that means you're going to have defectors who are disillusioned with their respective governments and only coming to you because there is no better option."

"All true," Lana admitted.

"The last time something like that happened was when we stood together against Revan. Mar and Shan openly working together was the only reason we were able to band together long enough for that to happen. To take down Arcann, you're going to need more than good leaders, you're going to need legends from both sides showing open cooperation, and I can't be the 'Hero of Havoc' or 'Sith Slayer' or whatever other ridiculous name they've come up with since I've been gone. Most days, I can barely get out of bed. But lead an army? Don a uniform? Put on a smirk and carry on like the past 5 years never happened? I can't do that. I can't be the Spec Force Major, and she's who you need to lead those troops. I'm so busy cowering from my own shadow I can't even be the woman you were interested in on Rishi," she spat, voice laced with self-loathing.

Lana took a seat next to Aneira and thought carefully what to say. Deciding on honesty, she said, "You're right, we do need legends if this is going to work. That's how I convinced Koth and Senya to help me rescue everyone. I was able to prove how they would all be essential in convincing both sides work together against a common enemy." She paused to gather her thoughts before continuing, "But that was just how I justified it, to them and myself, to break into the Spire so I could rescue you."

Aneira looked at her dubiously, so Lana continued. "I have more legends than I know what to do with to bring the Alliance together. Admiral Aygo and Moff Ovech are both commanding our troops, and although having you mediate them would be beneficial, it is not essential. Both men know what's at stake. What I need, more than anything, is just you, as you are."

"Why," she asked, still sounding lost.

"I have no idea," Lana confessed, "but I'm not one to question things that don't necessarily need answers."

"What if I need to leave," the major whispered.

"Then I won't stop you," Lana answered even though it felt as if she'd been kicked in the gut. "Just promise me you'll be careful. I don't think the Spire could handle another jail break."

The Sith quickly stood and exited the med bay, ensuring Aneira didn't see the emotions threatening to overwhelm her. Once the door shut behind her, she leaned against it and took several calming breaths to clear her mind.

"I'll keep an eye on her," promised a voice across from her.

Lana looked to see Dax keeping a silent vigil in the shadows nearby. She nodded at him once, grateful, and then made her way to the hanger to depart for Odessen.

"How long are you going to follow me," Maj. Horner huffed at her Chiss shadow.

"Until you admit you're wrong," he replied, the first he'd spoken. Rory had left the med bay once she heard the shuttle depart for the surface. Almost instantly she noticed the bounty hunter trailing her, not letting her out of his sight.

"Did Lana put you up to this? Seriously there has to be a better use of your time."

"No one put me up to anything," he answered.

"So, what, you follow random women around for the hell of it?"

"Not random."

"Well don't I feel special," she shot back, not seeing a conduit sticking out of the deck. She tripped, still unsteady on her foot, and would have fallen if Dax hadn't caught her.

"I should be out tracking Mako," he replied heatedly, making sure she was balanced before letting her go.

"Why aren't you?"

"Because I refuse to watch someone else implode just because a series of misfortunes befell them."

"I think what I've been through is more than 'a series of misfortunes'," Rory spat angrily.

"When I was in the Chiss Expeditionary Force my sister served with me," he said in response. "While on Hoth, a Sith Lord her team was assisting beat and raped her. Since the Sith were allies, command did nothing. Her commander made noise, but he quickly found himself on a patrol ambushed by White Maw and was killed. Our family also sought justice in response to what happened and in short order my father, baby brother, and mother all died under mysterious circumstances. Our estate and all holdings vanished practically overnight under the claims of ancient debts long forgotten."

"What happened to your sister," Rory asked, dread clenching in her stomach.

"Shot herself," Dax answered, eyes cold. "Left a note saying everything that had happened was all her fault. Within a year everything I had was gone and I had no one. Don't think you're the only one who's ever suffered this extreme."

"I'm sorry…"

"Save it," he snapped. "Words are meaningless. Don't do to Lana what my sister did to me."

Aneira started moving through the ship again, slower this time as she thought what Dax had said.

"What was her name," she finally asked.

"L'icus'r," he answered, voice tight. "Her favorite color was green. She always wore something with that color on it, even under her uniform."

"My mother loved lavender," Rory remembered, stopping to face him. It was one of the few untouched memories she had of her. "Father would go out of his way to have the scent imported so our house always smelled like it."

"I see a lot of my sister in you," Dax confessed. "You have her spirit, but also her emotional investment. I would not see you lost to your own demons."

"Is looking out for me your way of seeking some sort of redemption?" Dax didn't answer, but he didn't need to. Leaning heavy on her crutches she sighed, "I am so tired of running from ghosts…"

"There are people here who would help you with that," the bounty hunter pointed out.

"I have a lot I need to sort through first. Here's a tradeoff: You do what you need to find Mako and help the Alliance, and I promise not to leave Odessen or do anything rash without reaching out to you. Fair?"

"For now," he agreed with a slight nod before smirking. "I'm glad you're my only uncompleted contract."

"Say again?"

"I was contracted to bring in the 'Sith Slayer' alive shortly before taking on the Great Hunt."

"By who," she demanded, bewildered.

"Discretion comes standard, Major," he answered, brow quirked in amusement. "I tracked you down on Corellia and almost had you when you were celebrating your promotion to staff sergeant."

"Son of bitch, how much of that night did you see?" His smirk had her hanging her head in shame. She and her squad mates had gotten extremely drunk and their antics that night had earned her a quick demotion back to sergeant. "Well fuck me. Bet that makes for the great story about the mighty 'Sith Slayer,' vomiting her guts out in the back of a CorSec cruiser."

"I was more impressed you were able to break out despite your clear inebriation."

"Not that I got very far," she recalled. She'd managed to slip out of the cuffs and get the cruiser door opened, but was tackled soon after.

"No, but it was a valiant effort," he agreed with a laugh. "As I said earlier, discretion comes standard in all contracts, for all parties."

"There's something at least," Rory sighed. "That night was such a shit show. Good thing I barely remember it. So why didn't you complete the contract later? You know, after I got off restriction."

"You got picked up for Havoc Squad despite your adventurous night out, making the job that much harder and increased the fee to a level the client didn't want to pay. Also, he was killed in a Sith power play soon after. No money, no job."

"Good to know."

"Although, your name did make it on the Black List the last time I was able to check it. It was for your role taking down General Rakton and the attack on Korriban. I thought about taking it, but figured I'd wait until everything calmed down since you're help was invaluable on Yavin and later Ziost."

"Would you try and take me in now?"

"I don't even know if the Black List is still around," Dax replied.

"That's not a no," she pointed out, eyebrow raised.

"You're right, it's not," was all he said before Aneira smirked and headed back down the corridor.

Chapter Text

Brooke had seen no sign of Maj. Horner since she woke up in the med bay. The Jedi had heard a rumor the major had left the Gravestone, but nothing concrete. Even Dax, who had become something of a guardian around her, refused to say anything. Lana seemed distracted at times, but refused to talk with the Jedi.

The base was almost finished, which was good progress, but came with its own problems. With no pressing tasks or clear goals, divisions between Republic and Imperial troops were growing. Adm. Aygo and Moff Ovech were doing their best to show a united front, but they were struggling. Brooke hated to admit it, but they needed Maj. Horner. She was a Republic hero who had defeated General Rakton. She came from a prominent Imperial military family. Her father may have been executed for treason, but her family name was name was still respected in many Imperial circles. Her help would be invaluable acting as a mediator between the soldiers.

But the major was nowhere to be found, and Brooke looked out on the view of the Odessen landscape as she tried to figure out a way to solve her current problem.

"You've done well," Master Orgus complimented as he appeared next to her. "Both sides coming together like this, proves maybe they're not so different after all. Shows that maybe peace really is a possibility over endless war."

"If I keep them from fracturing before we get anywhere," she muttered.

"You'll get there," he assured. "Old prejudices die hard, but you've lain the groundwork."

"I just don't know how much longer I can carry this burden alone," the Jedi confessed to her master.

"You won't have to. I know the Order has some very strict rules about attachments, for good reasons. But even rules made with the best intentions should be broken in exigent circumstances."

"What are you talking about, Master?"

"You'll see. Good luck, my friend."

She stared at the space her old master had been standing when a familiar voice behind her diverted her attention. "Hey there."

"Theron," she asked hopefully. She turned to see the former SIS agent standing there, looking almost exactly as she remembered, a nervous smile on his face.

"You remember me, good. Wasn't sure after Lana told me everything you went through. Going through," he corrected looking a little relieved as he approached her.

"I could never forget you," she assured him. She debated her next action for a minute before putting her arms around him. He seemed to start a bit in surprise, but quickly recovered and pulled her into a tight embrace. Brooke smiled happily and borrowed her face in his jacket in response.

"You even smell the same," she sighed. "Wait, that sounded weird, didn't it?"

"A bit," he laughed, "but a good weird, I promise."

"Finally decided to join us," Brooke asked, pulling away after a long moment.

"Something like that," he agreed. "Can't really go back to the SIS when official policy is to keep up the war with the wrong Empire. Also, Saresh and I aren't exactly the best of friends."

"Who is," the Jedi asked with a grin as they headed down to the main base.

"No one worth trusting," he agreed. "Ready for your first official meeting with your advisors," Theron asked, nodding towards the table in the center of the room. She had been working with all them during the base's construction, but this was the first time they all got together to plan a future course of action. She noticed Moff Ovech was not present, most likely doing rounds with his troops, otherwise all the advisors, as well as everyone who'd been rescued from the Spire sans Maj. Horner, was there.

"Before we can hope to be effective against the Eternal Fleet, we have to improve our soldiers' moral," Aygo argued without preamble. "Right now, we were able to get them to come together to build this place, but I don't have much faith in anything more complicated just yet. They're too busy waiting for the other side to betray them."

Brooke was glad this had been brought up, she was concerned about that too. "Any thoughts?"

"Well you could start by improving the coffee," Aneira suggested as she approached the group, limping up to the table across from Adm. Aygo. She was in a Republic light armor uniform without any plating, the pant leg on her right side tied up at the knee. She had cut her hair so it was now shoulder length and partially covered her face over the eyepatch. An Imperial private was trailing behind and placed her cup on the table before dutifully taking a spot behind her. She nodded to it and said, "I've had some nasty coffee over the years, so I don't make this claim lightly, but this is, by far, the worst I've ever had. It tastes like you mixed bantha shavings in a Hutt's bathwater. Seriously, whoever oversees requisitions needs to get on this shit, like yesterday."

"It's good to see you again, Colonel," Adm. Aygo greeted sincerely.

"Colonel," Brooke asked, eyebrow raised.

"After she was declared KIA, Garza and several Senators launched a successful campaign for her to receive the posthumous promotion," Theron explained.

"I'm going to make sure Saresh regrets that one," the colonel vowed. "Oh, and Aygo, you may want to rescind that sentiment."

"Excuse me?"

"Remember like a thousand years ago when we were in that intra-service advanced tactics course together?"

"Yes," he answered, confused.

"Remember how you always made sure I was volunteered to shout orders or lead groups or doing any sort of speaking?"

"Yes," the admiral again answered, this time shuffling nervously as he had a guess to where this was going.

"Remember how all our instructors were veterans from the previous war, including our divisional staff sergeant who survived the sacking of Coresceant?"

"Yes."

"And remember how they used to ask me where I got my Imperial accent?"

"Yes…"

"And do you remember how, when they found my family lineage, they would smoke the shit out of me, especially that one sergeant who made sure it happened every fucking day?"

"I don't remember it being that extreme," Aygo answered lamely.

But she continued as if he hadn't spoken, "And remember how I swore I'd get you back for that?"

The admiral visibly gulped as Col. Horner stared him down. The room got silent as everyone waited on her next move. Several, remembering her outburst on the Gravestone, looked ready to get in between them as the silence dragged out.

"Well guess who's in charge of your paperwork nerf fucker," she laughed as she slid several data pads towards him. "All of the them need to be redone and on my desk by end of shift."

He looked relieved for a moment until he saw just how many she slid at him. "This will take me all day!"

"Then you should get started," the colonel answered, eyebrow raised. Smiling impishly, she said with an accent she'd fought to get rid of after that training, "You know how us Imperials feel about our paperwork. Be grateful I'm not asking for it in triplicate."

"You Imps fight dirty," he muttered.

"Speaking of unit cohesion," Brooke interrupted, trying to get things back on course, "do you have any ideas?"

"Bar fight," Col. Horner answered without hesitation, accent gone.

"Excuse me?"

"Bar fight," she repeated with a decisive nod. "Look the whole point of boot camp, besides teaching basic military structure and chain of command, is to get everyone to work together. One of the first ways they do that is have everyone beat the shit out of each other to get out any pent-up aggression and learn a healthy respect for everyone's abilities."

"I don't seem to recall anything like that," Koth pointed out.

"Some experiences vary," the colonel replied. "Some of us learn how to be war fighters, some of us get coloring books and nap time."

"I prefer 'creative outlet booklet' and 'prescribed mid-day rejuvenation period'," he replied.

"I'm not allowing you to start a brawl," Brooke shot down.

"I didn't say brawl," Col. Horner argued, "just a melee between former enemies needing to work out some aggression in a setting that usually serves alcohol and provides a place for onlookers to relax."

"No."

"Damn Jedi," she muttered. "Fine, I'll go find Ovech. Maybe he has a few ideas. Let's go nub," she ordered the private behind her as she took off, moving quicker than Brooke expected on her crutches.

"Nub," Koth asked.

"New Useless Body," Theron answered. "Military slang for new personal until they prove themselves."

The briefing continued for another hour when Moff Ovech and Col. Horner approached. As the got closer, Brooke trailed off to hear what they were in deep discussion about.

"See, that's what I said, but someone put the pussified Jedi in charge and she clearly said no bar fights, so we need a new plan," the colonel sighed. Brooke raised an eyebrow at the insult, Cipher snickered and looked away.

"Damn Jedi, absolute kill joys," Ovech grumbled.

"Don't even get me started…"

"What if we put them all in an arena and call it 'simulated combat training'?"

"Same thing, but with cameras. We can even make a highlight reel of the more entertaining rounds for 'training'. I like it! Hey, Jedi! I think we came up with something!"

"I heard," Brooke answered, sighing heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She was torn between irritation and amusement at the soldier. "As long as it's highly supervised, that should be fine. And Lana has to be in charge."

"You always have to ruin my fun," she grumbled as she went off again with the Moff.

Later that afternoon, Koth entered the hanger bay with a few of his guys. He signaled them to wait while he went to check with the ensign in charge of requisitions. While trying to finagle when exactly his stuff would be in, he heard the unmistakable voice of his least favorite colonel talking with some of her people. He was still pissed about her attack, but it was Lana's dismissal of him for her that hurt worse. She was right that he never had held undying affection for her, but to be tossed aside like that? For her? Yeah, that wound was going to take a bit to heal. He'd been putting up a good front for the sake of the Alliance, but he preferred spending as little time in her company as possible.

"Look, just get it as soon as you can," Koth interrupted, wanting to put some distance between himself and the hanger.

He was nearly to his guys, when he saw Col. Horner limp up and say, "Rylo, you useless window licker! Should have figured I'd find you with this seedy bunch. You ran off with the dirty fucking Imps after Ziost, after all."

Koth was so angry that she'd brazenly insult his guys he saw red and charged after her, not hearing Rylo's laugh or response.

"It's not my fault some us made a point not to stay under Saresh's command," he replied with a laugh.

"Low blow," she joked, eyes narrowed in mock irritation. Her laughter died quickly when Koth got in her face.

"Apparently you didn't get the message," he snarled, "so let me make it as clear as I can. You don't get to push my people around."

"What are you going on about," the colonel asked, more confused than angry. All movement stopped in the bay to watch the interaction between the pair.

"You think I didn't hear what you said to Rylo? You shouted it loud enough so the whole base could hear you."

"I think you misunderstood," Rory tried to explain, hands raised at the elbow in surrender as she balanced on the crutches. "We were in the same command before I was transferred to Havoc and then we fought Revan's guys on Yavin together. Wasn't trying to pick a fight with anyone this time," she assured, "we just go way back."

"Yeah, so I keep hearing," he snapped, his anger getting the better of him. "I've heard all about how far back you guys go. Getting real sick of having it shoved in my face."

"We're not talking about Rylo anymore, are we," Rory questioned, looking him over, even more confused.

A voice in his head told him to shut up and walk away, but his pride was too damaged for him to listen. "You know damn well who I'm talking about. I'm sure Lana told you all about us," Koth sneered. He was annoyed at how she was playing stupid with him. Unless… "Lana never told you about me and her, did she? Does it bother you? Knowing Lana came to me for comfort while you were gone?"

Koth's words had her reeling on the inside, but she wasn't going to show it. Whether this was revenge from earlier or just a pissing match, she wasn't going to let him get to her. Her mind moving quickly, she devised a way to get back at him that would cut deeply. "Not at all," Rory answered, pulling off an unfazed look she didn't feel.

"Really?" Koth was stunned at her response.

"It was a stressful time," Rory replied with a shrug, "everyone needs an outlet. And once I came back she ditched you for me. Stings, doesn't it?"

Anger flashed and he lunged for her, only to be stopped by Lem. "Come on Cap'n, you don't wanna pick a fight here." The bigger man had to drag Koth out before he did something stupid.

Rylo stood where he was, not sure how to respond.

"Get out of here, kid," Rory sighed. "We'll catch up over that drink when your boss doesn't want to kick my ass anymore."

"Good idea. See you around, Colonel," he said with a wave, leaving the hanger bay to catch up with Lem.

Chapter Text

Koth shoved his way out of Lem's hold, angry he'd been dragged away like that. "Backstabbing ingrates," he snarled at his crew.

"It was for your own good," Lem said placatingly. "Didn't want you to do anything dumb."

"Or, you know, dumber," Tora snickered. "You might wanna cool off there, hot head."

Koth knew he must have overreacted if that was coming from Tora. "All right, get out of here. I'm going to walk around and clear my mind."

He intentionally walked away from them, wandering the hallways with no real purpose until he saw a familiar figure walking towards him. "Ace," he called out with a smile, waiting for the Cathar to meet up. He was glad to see him, if anyone could help him feel better about earlier, it was the quiet Jedi. Koth was surprised, but grateful, how quickly they'd become friends. If ever there was a time he needed a good one…

"Master Vortena," the Jedi greeted politely, but did not stop walking once he reached Koth.

"I thought you didn't use titles with your friends," Koth asked, falling into step with him.

"I don't," he replied. "I heard of your confrontation with the colonel." Koth felt his gut twist in shame. "What Col. Horner said to you was cruel, but so is what you said to her first. Difference is, you picked the fight but she was able to hit a nerve."

"Are you angry with me?" It surprised Koth how much the idea of that bothered him.

"No," Ace trailed off into a tired sigh. "I'm disappointed. I thought you were a better man than that. Excuse me, I need to meditate." Koth watched his friend walk away, pissed at himself.

"Damn it," he exclaimed, punching the wall in frustration. Stars burst in front of his eyes as his hand exploded in pain, he'd hit the wall harder than he'd meant. Now it felt like he might have broken something in his hand. "Fuck, shit, fuck, fuck, damn," he swore as he cradled it, wondering if things could get worse.

"Koth."

He straightened immediately, not wanting to turn around. He would have known she was standing there even if she hadn't said his name. When Lana was angry, like now, her presence could not be ignored. Steeling himself, he turned to face her. He flinched at the hurt in her eyes. Anger was there too, but it was the knowledge he'd hurt her that had his head hanging in shame.

"Tell me it's not true," she demanded. Her eyes were hard and her voice was cold. "Tell me the story I heard of what happened in the hanger is exaggerated."

"I'm sorry." It was all he could say.

"How could you," she demanded, anger eclipsing hurt.

"Cause I'm sick of being replaced," he answered. "Twice by you, and then just now when I find out she's old war buddies with someone on my crew."

"Koth, no one is replacing you," she softly assured. The pity in her eyes was almost worse than the hurt.

"You did," he snapped before he could stop himself. Voice full of regret, he whispered, "Sorry, that was uncalled for."

"Yes, it was," Lana replied, arms crossed defensively.

"I'm no good at this stuff," he sighed. "I'm sorry what I said in there hurt you." Sorry for how it hurt Ace, he thought. "But you're not innocent in this."

"Me," the Sith demanded, eyes narrowed.

"You betrayed me."

"Koth we've been over this…"

"I'm not talking about that, or only that. Holding back that you were working with Senya wasn't right."

Lana nodded in acknowledgement and replied, "For what it's worth, she was angry with me for not telling her about your crew. We disagreed about that. Loudly."

"Guess that's something," he huffed. Knowing she was protecting his guys helped lessen the pain a bit. "Can we get passed this?"

"I'd like to," Lana answered. "You were a good friend when I needed it, and I don't abandon my friends."

"Just need some space," he offered. When she agreed, he sighed, "Probably for the best. Will you be at the cantina tonight?"

"I planned on it, we all need a break." It went unsaid who she going to go with.

"Well, hopefully I'll see you there," he said, walking away.

Lana berated herself as she approached Aneira's quarters. It had been a mistake getting involved with Koth, she knew it at the time. Lana had always taken pride in her self-control, a trait not usually held in high regard among Sith. That meant she was even harder on herself for giving into Koth months ago.

'You were lonely and afraid,' a voice in her head whispered. She silenced it as quickly as it had come. There was nothing she could do about it now.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed the chime on the door requesting entrance to Aneira's room.

"You can come in, door's open," she heard the soldier shout

Lana quietly entered the dark room. The only light came from the waning sunlight in the large window. Aneira was seated in front of it on one of the few chairs in the room as she looked out over the Odessen landscape. The soldier didn't look away from the view as she entered, and Lana took the opportunity to study her profile. Unlike Brooke, her appearance had changed during her 5-year imprisonment. Her face was thinner, her eyes were haunted and constantly scanning for threats, and her skin had gone pale from a lack of sun exposure. She'd also recently cut her hair, a decision she'd been meaning to ask about, but wasn't sure how to bring up.

"Vaylin liked long," Aneira answered, sensing Lana's question. "Wish I could say I just wanted a make-over instead of admitting to it being because of her, but there it is."

"There's nothing wrong with your reason for changing your appearance," Lana argued. When Rory merely huffed at her, she added, "Besides, I like it shorter."

"Something I can help you with," Aneira asked, changing the subject.

"I heard about what happened in the hanger bay. I came to see how you were doing. You're upset," Lana observed.

"Not that you need to pop the cork with someone in my absence," she waved off, ignoring Lana's raised eyebrow. Facing the Sith, she clarified, "I'm more annoyed you chose Koth. Seriously, there wasn't anyone else? HK didn't have a vibrating option?"

Instead of answering, Lana crossed her arms and glared at Rory's smirk.

It quickly faded as she looked back out the window. "No, I'm not bothered you were able to find comfort with someone else. I gave up on that dream long ago."

"What dream?" The soldier said nothing, just stared off in the distance. "Aneira, talk to me," Lana pleaded.

She said nothing for a long moment. Finally, she sighed, "My family's hunting lodge on Naboo. It was small, well by other officer family's standards. Also, in neutral territory since Naboo is one of the few independent worlds out there. We could've easily settle down and continue our responsibilities with our respective sides. Couple of dogs, couple of kids, no war, quiet…" Her voice trailed off. Shaking her head, she continued sadly, "The thing about dreams is they're a double edge sword. It's nice because it can be whatever you want, but that just makes the realization even more bitter that it can never be."

"Aneira," Lana started, sadly. Clearly, she'd spent a lot of time thinking about this. It was more appealing to Lana that she was currently willing to admit.

"The dream was impossible from the beginning," she waved off. "All of my family's holdings were seized over a decade ago, this war will never end, and everything else… that was just wishful thinking."

A contemplative silence descended while Lana tried to figure out what to say.

"I mean, seriously? Koth? No one? Absolutely no one?"

"Ok, yes it happened," Lana groaned. "No, we're no longer a thing and have broken it off entirely."

"Yeah, I picked up on that in the hanger bay," Aneira snickered.

"I have nothing more to say on the matter," Lana warned.

"That's fair. I'm really not interested in details, if it makes you feel better."

"A bit," Lana confessed.

"Glad we cleared that up," Rory grunted as she pulled herself up with the crutches. "This gathering at the cantina is about to start. Shall we?"

Lana followed the soldier out of her quarters and waited until they had started down the corridor before speaking. "You've been avoiding me," Lana accused without heat.

To the soldier's credit, she didn't try to lie. "I have," she sighed. "I've had a lot of things I needed to sort through and I had to do it on my own."

"Without so much as letting me know how you were?"

"That's what Dax was for," Aneira replied. "I knew if I contacted you I wouldn't be able to focus, you've always been kind of a distraction for me."

Lana felt some of her built up tension melt away, and asked softly, "How are you doing?"

"Well enough to not be a liability."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know," she sighed again, letting her mask slip enough for Lana to see just how worn down she was, "but it's the best I can do for now. And it is getting easier."

"You know I'm here if you need anything, right?"

"I do."

"Good."

"I… may not be able to handle staying too long," Aneira confessed after a moment. "I can only handle large crowds in small doses."

Lana nodded in response, "I'll be sure to run interference if anyone says anything."

"Thank you. It's nice having someone I can rely on again. It's been so long, I'd forgotten what it was like."

They walked in silence for a bit, things feeling easier between them than it had in a while. Taking advantage of the lighter mood, she teased, "You know it's an informal get together, you could have worn something other than a uniform."

"I know," Aneira answered. "I'm hiding."

"Excuse me?"

"Something my father taught me," she explained, her voice going soft at the memory. "Did you know he was terrified of Sith ruins?"

"Didn't he start his career in the Imperial Reclamation Service?" Lana asked, recalling what she knew of the late General. He had spent several years with the Reclamation Service before getting sent to the front lines during the war with the Republic. After meeting Aneira she'd made a point to research everything she could on the soldier and her family. At first, it had just been for any tactical advantage she could find for when they were inevitably forced to fight each other. Later, it was because she was genuinely curious about her.

"He loved archeology and discovering the past, but he had seen too many times what happened around ancient Sith creations. I asked him once how he could do his job despite his fear. He answered he put on a uniform."

"I don't understand."

"At the time, neither did I," Rory answered. "He explained that all soldiers have fear, all have prejudices, all suffer from something as individuals that hold them back. We wear a uniform to hide all that divides us. When encounter an enemy, they don't see individual soldiers, but a unified force."

"I never thought of it that way," Lana said thoughtfully.

"You wouldn't," the soldier answered without malice, "Sith are trained to honor the individual. We have to think different."

"Your father was a wise man."

"Yes, he was," Rory answered, throat tight.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"It's ok," she assured with a small smile. "I don't get to talk of him often, it's always been somewhat frowned upon."

"Why?"

"For the same reason every Life Day I find an isolated corner and put in headphones and make sure no one knows I'm listening to Imperial festival songs. I may have no desire to return to the Empire, but that doesn't mean I want to let everything about my past go. That said, in my chosen career field, that would have made SIS or Army Intelligence look at me suspiciously, and an accusation of treason is one thing I don't want in common with my father."

Lana wasn't sure what to say in response. She normally had no sympathy for traitors, but to her the soldier next to her was an exception.

Before the silence between them could get awkward, Rory said quietly, "Before I lose my nerve, it's really good to see you." She looked down after speaking, avoiding eye contact as her face bloomed red and she bit at her lip nervously. "I've missed you."

Lana felt heat spread in her chest and smiled warmly at her soldier. "I missed you too. It's been too long since we talked about non-mission related things. Although, it does feel like it's missing something without you causing trouble in some fashion."

"Careful what you wish for," Rory warned with an impish grin.

Lana was going to ask her what she meant, but they'd already made it to the cantina. Rory made her way to the bar and hopped up on one of the barstools. Lana was close behind her as Koth approached from behind the bar.

"Here, on the house," he said to Rory, sliding an already filled glass to her. "Think of it as a peace offering for earlier."

"That's very kind," she replied evenly, looking him over. "It's only fair to return the favor, as an apology for attacking you on the Gravestone. Nicholson," she called out, never taking her eyes off Koth.

An off-duty soldier came running up. "Yes, Colonel?" His accent gave away his former Republic allegiance.

"Can you get a drink for my friend? I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid I'd spill it everywhere," she explained unnecessarily, voice conversational. Lana looked closely between the two, recognizing something was going on, but not sure what.

"Right away," he replied as he took off.

They stared each other down as the soldier got the drink. People were watching them, some trying to be discrete, others not bothering with the pretense, all hoping for some kind of showdown. The soldier was gone for less than a minute, although the tension between them made it seem longer.

"Here you are, ma'am," he said, offering a tumbler of amber liquid.

"Thank you, sergeant. As you were," she dismissed, eyes still never leaving Koth as she slid him the drink. Grabbing the one he'd given her, she raised it, "To forgetting old grievances."

"To new beginnings," he agreed as they lightly clinked their glasses. They both took a drink, never breaking eye contact. There was a palpable disappointment from on lookers when they lowered their drinks and nothing happened. Even Lana caught herself letting out a sigh of relief.

"What did you think I poisoned it, or something," Koth asked upon seeing her expression. "I mean, I did have Tora spit in it before you got here, so that's kind of the same thing."

"That's ok, I arranged to have Nicholson and his buddies spit in yours," Rory replied. Lana glared at both of them at their confessions.

"Woah, we're just kidding," Koth laughed, hands raised in surrender.

"Joke between soldiers," Rory agreed.

Lana heaved an exasperated sigh and left to greet Theron as he made his way down the steps.

"You know I wasn't kidding," Koth said once he was sure Lana was out of ear shot, both of them watching her.

"Yeah me either," she replied conversationally as she picked up her glass. Taking a drink, she made a sour face and hissed, "Tastes like engine exhaust and bad life choices."

Koth was about to reply when he looked at his drink and saw a red liquid swirling around. Looking over the Colonel's shoulder, he saw the soldier who had brought him his drink. There were four other guys with him, one who was eating something covered in a red sauce. They all raised their glasses in salute, each smirking at him.

"No balls," Rory challenged.

"Aw well," he said with a resigned sigh, "I've had worse." He downed it in one gulp, egged on by the cheers coming from the guys at the table. "Your turn," he hissed, liquor burning.

"May you be in Heaven long before the Devil knows you're dead," Rory toasted before chugging her drink to the cheers of Koth's crew. Lana looked at them both suspiciously, but decided it best if she not look too deeply into it.

Chapter Text

Brooke was the last to arrive, with exceptions for Master Kor, Darth Nox, and Darth Imperious. Nox and Imperious were in the middle of a training regimen with some of the Sith acolytes and she doubted Kor would show. These kinds of gatherings weren't really his thing. Everything was already in full swing as she approached Theron.

She noticed Dax was sitting at the back of the cantina, drinking and talking quietly with some of the guys working for Hylo. Cipher, Koth, Lana, Rory, and Theron were all near the bar, and it seemed like they were in deep discussion. Theron saw her and waved her over, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"What did I miss," she asked as he handed her a drink.

"Quite a bit, but don't worry, it's just about to get good. Col. Horner is about to explain the necessity of her recent requests to Dr. Oggurobb."

"I can't be effective if I'm hopping around this base on one leg," Rory argued.

"That's not the issue," Lana replied with a frustrated sigh. Brooke knew the eccentric colonel's request had to be good if Lana was already pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I can completely justify each request," she insisted. "I don't want to just throw some droid leg on there, so that's out. The first prosthetic I need is for combat situations, the base can fit in a boot and the rest can be covered by armor. The second one doesn't need to be as durable and can be hidden by a dress uniform."

"It's the peg leg that is of concern, Colonel," Lana interrupted, the use of the soldier's title betraying her frustration.

"Tactical peg leg," Rory corrected. Shrugging, she explained, "I might as well compete the pirate look. I've already lost my eye, I prefer to drink rum… I can keep going if you wish, but it's going to get inappropriate fast."

Lana waved her away with her free hand while her other continued to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Are you sure that's a good use of the doctor's time," Brooke diplomatically asked.

"I'm sure I'm kicking your ass points wise," she shot back with a smirk. "Got 15 points this conversation alone."

"I hadn't realized we were continuing the game."

"You miscounted, it's closer to 10," Cipher corrected.

"Nice try, cheater," Rory argued back. "It's 15, which means this round is mine. You both owe me a drink."

"What are you going on about," Lana questioned, looking between the three of them.

"You still haven't gotten over how I beat you last game," Brooke laughed as she signaled another drink for Rory.

"The only thing I haven't gotten over is that you didn't tell us it was coming so I could have had my armor cam recording," Rory replied. "Seeing everyone's reaction on Yavin when Theron called the Grand Master 'Mommy dearest' while arguing with Mar was totally worth the credits."

"I was more impressed he pulled it off with a straight face," Cipher conceded, passing a glass to the soldier.

"That's why you had me do that," Theron asked, raising an amused eyebrow at Brooke.

"It's a long story…"

"And absolutely her idea," Col. Horner chimed in as she lined up the drinks she'd gotten from the women, smile getting larger at the Jedi's glare.

"Short version," Cipher explained, "on Rishi we recognized a need to lower tension a bit and what we came up with was getting others on our respective sides to say the most outrageous thing possible without starting a war. Winner got a bottle of liquor of her choice."

"How to you get from lowering tension to convincing Shan to call this mother 'Mommy Dearest'," Lana questioned.

"Honestly that part is a little fuzzy," Col. Horner confessed. "Most of liquor C2-D4 brought for the meeting between Shan and Mar was consumed prior to commencing the game. Don't worry Theron, we'll throw in a bottle of your choice for being such a good sport," she offered.

"Appreciate it," he laughed.

"Dare I ask what the current game you're all talking about," Lana asked.

"Don't look at me," Rory deflected when everyone's attention shifted to her. It quickly moved to Cipher 9.

"Not a chance, this was her idea, she can explain," she said looking at Brooke.

"Thanks," she muttered before taking a deep breath. "Ok, so after the aforementioned 'Mommy Dearest' line, we knew we'd never be able to top that so we decided we needed a new game entirely. It was at this point Cipher made a comment about Master Kor's seemingly unending patience and thought maybe trying to rattle him would be fun."

"I did not say that," she objected.

"Close enough. Hey, do you wanna tell the story," Brooke questioned when Cipher looked ready to interrupt again. She quickly backed down, and the Jedi said, "Didn't think so. Anyway, I pointed out the only way to really rattle him would cross the line from funny to mean, and the point was for a little fun, so we scrapped it. Shan- the Grandmaster, not Theron- was our next choice, but she was already highly suspicious and none of us wanted to deal with a lecture. It was at that point Aneira made the comment we could never do that with a Sith since they wear their emotions on their sleeves."

"And highly volatile," Rory inserted. "That was also an important factor."

Continuing as if the soldier never spoke, Brooke explained, "Then I might have said something along the lines of Lana being the only Sith I'd ever met to have anything close to a Jedi calm…"

"What," the Sith demanded, her look growing thunderous as she glared at the women.

"So, then Cipher was all like, 'Well, Mar just gave her my promotion so we might as well haze the shit out of her,'" Rory interjected again.

"I didn't say that!"

"You implied it."

Seeing the look her former boss was giving her she clarified, "I said I wanted to make sure you could handle the stressors of this job."

"I dunno, implying a Sith can't handle a job might be worse than hazing them," the colonel pointed out with a smirk.

"Most definitely," Brooke agreed.

"What exactly does this game entail," Lana ground out.

"Points awarded on your reaction," Rory answered. "Getting snapped at is 1 point, getting pointed at angrily is 2, facepalm/pinching the bridge of your nose is 3, loss of speech 4, anything involving the Force is an automatic forfeit since that means that person went too far. Any combination of the non-force reactions was double points. My personal goal was to give you an eye twitch."

Lana angrily knife handed the colonel and tried to say something, but no words would come out.

"Not to brag or anything guys, but I think this might be my game."

"I have to agree with that statement," Cipher pointed out, watching the angry Sith lord carefully.

"And you were lamenting I hadn't caused any trouble lately," Rory joked.

"Remind me to never say anything like that again," Lana sighed. "At least I wasn't your first target."

"Or called the Jedi Grandmaster 'mommy dearest,'" Cipher snickered.

"How were you convinced to do it," Lana asked the former spy.

"Finally found out how a herd of tauntaun made it into the Galactic Senate Chambers," he answered.

"Only from Republic High Command to the Senate," Brooke clarified. "No idea how they got to the army base."

"Guilty," Col. Horner said with a smile as she toasted the Jedi. "Elara and I got drunk one night and ordered a herd to be sent there. So, that was you who got them in there? Makes sense, only a Jedi could pull something like that off and not get caught. Told you I didn't make that story up," she said to Lana.

"What I want to know is how the three of you became friends," Theron interrupted. He turned to Rory and asked, "Didn't you want to shoot Cipher?"

"I want to shoot every spook I meant, no offense to present company."

"And I don't have the highest opinion of military types," Cipher replied. "On Rishi we discovered we hated force users more."

"And we were toasting our impending demise at their hands," Rory finished. "Funny how we keep making that toast."

"Just proves we were right all along," Cipher answered with a smirk.

"Cheers," Rory toasted happily, clinking their glasses.

"And how did you join them," Theron asked Brooke.

"I'm a sucker for good rum," she confessed, "and they were hogging the good stuff."

"You let her join, despite being a dirty force user," Koth asked.

"Eh, she had an entertaining impersonation of the Grand Master," Rory answered with a shrug.

"And several high-ranking Republic officials," Cipher added.

"My favorite was Saresh."

"You'll have to show me that sometime," Theron smirked.

"Have I missed anything good?"

"Ace," Koth toasted from his spot on the bar. "Good to see you!"

"Your first name is Ace," Rory asked the Cathar, eyes wide. "If I'd known it was that cool sounding I would have been calling you that."

"Sounds better than 'dress wearing force flinger,'" Brooke snickered.

"Don't be jealous I haven't come up with a good nickname for you yet," the colonel replied.

"You know, other than 'pussified Jedi'," Cipher added with a smirk.

"We would have waited, but we didn't think you were going to make it," Lana redirected.

"Do you all really think I'm that boring," he asked good-naturedly with a smile.

"Should I tell the truth?"

"Lie, lie, lie, lie," Koth laughed as he passed the Jedi a drink.

"I'll answer it," Col. Horner volunteered.

"You do that and I veto the peg leg," Lana shot back.

"Tactical, it's a tactical peg leg," she corrected. "Why does everyone forget that part?"

"Seems like I missed quite a bit," Ace commented as he took a sip. "I'll make sure I'm not late again."

"Not as much as it sounds," Koth said as he leaned against the bar across from him. "You heard about the Colonel's entertaining request from the doctor. The only other thing was Lana's reaction the game Horner, Brooke, Cipher have been playing."

"You mean the one where they mess with her," Ace asked.

"You knew about that," Brooke laughed.

"I didn't realize it was a secret," he replied, completely serious. "Besides it was a little obvious. Why else would a Cipher Agent mess with a Sith's chair to make it squeak."

"That was you!"

"I confirm nothing," the spy said, covering her smile with a drink.

"What else," Lana demanded.

"Chronological or alphabetical?"

"You know what, I don't want to know," Lana huffed. "But the game ends now."

"Fair enough," Cipher agreed.

"Also, there was something about tauntauns sent to your senate," Koth finished, clearly fishing for the rest of the story.

"Not one of my prouder moments, but necessary," Ace said sagely.

"Wait, shut up," Rory interrupted. "Master 'I'd rather follow the Jedi Code than breathe' sent the tauntauns?"

"He was the only one no one would question," Brooke shrugged.

"A senator representing a world with a strong mining economy was pushing to acquire contracts that would have destroyed their natural habitat on that planet, and he refused to listen to reason," the Jedi explained.

"I need a minute to process this," the bewildered colonel stated. After a long pause she shook her head and said, "Nope, still can't wrap my head around the fact the cleanest Jedi in the entire damn order committed an act of intimidation and domestic terrorism as a form of protest."

"I did no such thing," Ace replied defensively.

"That's how it was described in the ass reaming I received," Col. Horner laughed. "Garza was more annoyed at how this affected her political capital and almost turned me over to Senate Security as a scape goat."

"What stopped her," Koth asked.

"Dorne gave her enough blackmail pointing out a whole host of minor infractions and ineffective fail-safes that allowed us to get away with it in the first place. Seems small, but it was very clear someone had written the regs a certain way to get kickbacks. It would have shit canned the careers of at least 3 admirals, 2 generals, and made the entire Senate Armed Services Committee looked dirty."

"You're lucky," Brooke commented.

"No, I'm prepared," she replied with a grunt as she hopped off the bar stool. "And on that note, it's time for me to head out."

"So soon," Brooke complained.

"Sorry I…"

When Aneira seemed to falter, Lana smoothly jumped in. "There are several early briefings that demand the Colonel's and my attention tomorrow. It would best for us both if we were not up late."

She gave the Sith a grateful smile before wishing everyone good night and headed out, Lana not far behind.

"You could have stayed, you know," Rory told Lana as they made their way to her quarters.

"True, but the only one I wanted to see was leaving," Lana pointed out, enjoying the blush that bloomed on Rory's face.

They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, stopping once they reached her door.

"I guess this is goodnight," Rory said, leaning heavy on her crutches.

"I'm just two doors down if you need anything," Lana offered.

"I'll keep that in mind," Rory said, awkwardly rubbing her neck before. She let out and embarrassed laugh, saying, "I feel like an awkward teenager again."

"I know the feeling," Lana confessed

"Good to know I'm not the only one," she said as she punched in her room code. As soon as the doors swished open, Rory made her way into the room, turning her head to say over her shoulder, "Goodnight Lana."

"Sleep well," Lana wished before the door shut behind the soldier. She made her way to her own room to meditate, a feeling of contentment settling over her.

"I see you made peace with Col. Horner," Ace observed quietly as they watched the pair exit.

"We came to an understanding," Koth agreed.

"I'm glad," the Jedi said. "We have enough obstacles to overcome without infighting."

"Did you really send a herd of tauntauns to your senate," Koth asked again. "Still can't believe it, you don't seem like the type."

"That's the point," Brooke interrupted, "it's always the quiet ones you have to watch for, no one ever expects crazy shit from them."

"It's the only time I've ever done anything like that," Kor said as he took a drink. "Usually I'm not prone to that kind of activity."

"Understatement," Brooke snickered. "Anyway gentlemen, it's been a pleasure drinking with you. We need to make this a regular thing."

"Leaving already? Lightweight," Koth taunted.

"I have other plans," Brooke answered, looking pointedly at Theron. He blushed furiously when Koth started laughing, and quickly stood offering his hand to the Jedi.

"See you in the morning," Theron said as he and Brooke made their way to the exit. Everyone else had already left for the evening, leaving Koth and Kor alone with the passed-out members of Koth's crew.

"I thought your order frowned on things like that," Koth asked.

"These are unusual times," Kor replied, "However, Brooke has always walked her own path straddling the Order's rules."

"I can see it," Koth said as he refilled both of their drinks. "What about you?"

"As the others have been very quick to point out, I strictly followed the Code. That wasn't always the case and there were several indiscretions of my youth that almost sent me down a dark path."

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking," Koth added hastily.

"It's all right," Kor sighed. "To hide it would mean I feel shame, shame leads to fear, and fear is what led me to almost kill an innocent man."

"You," Koth asked incredulously.

"There was a girl, a padawan like me, and we had a secret affair. We got sloppy and an elderly groundskeeper who had done a lot to raise me caught us. We panicked and one thing led to another… it wasn't until he was gasping for breath, begging for mercy I realized I was force choking him. I immediately let him go. The look he gave me before running away still haunts me. I turned myself into the council and begged for forgiveness. They gave me another chance, and I focused on never diverting from the Code again."

"You talked about the Jedi, but did the groundskeeper…?"

"He forgave me, but he never trusted me again. The penance I must carry for my crime."

"Seems to me that would never have happened if you didn't need to hide your relationship," Koth observed.

"The rules exist for a good reason," Kor said definitively. "Unchecked passions lead to dark acts which is the way of the Sith."

"I'm not saying destroy a village because someone there made you angry," Koth argued, "but everything in moderation. Denying yourself is just as bad as overindulging. Your reaction to getting caught shows that trying to block everything out can be just as dangerous. Look at Brooke, she's found a balance in finding someone by her side to share her burden."

"The danger comes when the passions run too strong and you lash out."

"Which is why you surround yourself with people who will keep you from doing that," Koth argued.

"You may not be completely wrong," Kor conceded, pondering the pilot's words.

 "You enjoy making me blush a little too much, you know that," Theron pointed out with a smile.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," Brook smirked, feigning innocence.

"Right," he said sarcastically. "And while you tease me for a source of entertainment, I need to go take a cold shower."

"Who said I was just teasing," Brook asked, stopping in front of him and looking in his eyes. "It's been too long since we've been alone and I've missed you. Unless you'd rather not…"

Theron quickly interrupted her with a deep kiss before pulling back. "If I ever don't want to be with you, do me a favor and shoot me since I've clearly been brainwashed."

"Noted," Brooke answered with a smile before pulling him down for another kiss.

Chapter Text

Lana had just finished her nightly meditations when her comm. chirped.

"What is it," she answered, worried what could be wrong. She didn't sense anything amiss, but no one would contact her this late unless it was important.

"Your offer still stand?"

"Rory? Of course," Lana answered, shifting from a professional tone to a less formal one. "When did you want to come by?"

Just then she heard her door chime. She opened the door and smiled at her before noticing an Imperial private standing behind her holding an expensive bottle of Correlian brandy and two tumblers.

"Can't carry it on my own and had to enlist help," she explained before turning and ordering, "Move it nub." The soldier quickly stepped inside and placed the items on the table in Lana's sitting room.

"Anything else, Colonel," he asked, standing at attention.

"That was it."

"My Lord," he asked Lana, bowing respectfully.

"That'll be all, return to your duties," Lana dismissed.

"Right away," he saluted before quickly exiting.

"Have a seat," Lana offered as she gestured to her only couch as she picked up the bottle.

"Thanks." Rory looked around the room before asking, "What is with Imperials and decorating. I swear everyone from Dromund Kaas has the same bland style, at least on Ziost we had some color in our interior decorating. You do know there are more colors than just black and red, right?"

"Of course," Lana replied with mock seriousness as she poured them each a glass. "There's also gray, dark gray, light gray, gunmetal gray, and my personal favorite matte gray. There are rumors some Imperials decorate with shades of charcoal, but only barbarians do that."

"Ok, I walked in to that," Rory laughed as she took the offered tumbler.

"Yes, you did," Lana smirked at her, "but you're not wrong about the overabundance of black and red combinations. Personally, I prefer more of a green/blue theme, but since we're strapped for resources it seemed like a frivolous expenditure and I went with more practical items."

"There's practical and then there's this. Next time spring for the frivolous."

"I'll take it under advisement," Lana joked dryly, sipping her brandy.

"Have you ever regretted defecting," Ace asked, as Koth looked contemplatively at his glass.

"Yes and no," he answered truthfully. "I've never regretted doing what I still believe the was the right thing, I do regret that I didn't do more to fight the war crimes being committed on the Core Worlds. Maybe if I stayed I could have pushed back against the worst of what's been done. I also hate how my crew was caught up in Senya's hunt."

"Like you, she also did what she believed to be right," Kor said softly. "I can sense her regret."

"About what," Koth demanded angrily, "hunting my crew like dogs or that her children became tyrants?"

"Both," the Jedi answered, surprising the rebel. "You are not the only one that's been betrayed. Something to keep in mind."

"I guess," he grumbled into his drink. "Doesn't mean I trust her."

"Somehow, I feel like that sentiment may be mutual."

"Answer me this," Lana asked as she topped off their glasses, killing the bottle, "why the peg leg. I know, I know, tactical peg leg," she quickly corrected when Rory looked like she was going to interrupt. "I want the real reason," Lana pressed. When Rory hesitated, she countered, "It's either that or you tell me about the nightmares that have been keeping you up."

"How do you…?"

"Force bond," Lana answered, "remember? Now which is it?"

Rory sighed before downing the rest of her glass and placing it gently on the table in front of her. "Earlier today Dax and I were in the lab going over different prosthetics the doctor could come up with. He remarked one of them looked like little more than a peg leg and I made some joke about getting one. He snickered, said you'd never allow it. Right after I heard an Imp and Pub soldier start taking bets about whether or not I would get away with it. The Imp was convinced you'd shoot it down, and just when the Republic soldier was about to fold another Republic soldier who was on Yavin spoke up, saying I'd fight you until I got it and no one was going to stop me. Said he heard about my… outburst… at Mar and Shan on Rishi and clearly I wouldn't be intimidated by you."

It seemed like longer than 5 years when they first met to create an alliance to stop Revan. So much had changed since those days. Lana thought it was funny how looking back that seemed like a simpler time.

"Then an Imperial soldier agreed and started talking about how I snuck into the Imperial Guard training facility counter to Darth Mar ordering the Republic forces to stay away," Rory continued. "They completely forgot Cipher was with me, the story now that I took them all on single handedly and then spat on Darth Mar when he showed up. The fact is, Colonel Horner is larger than life to both sides. I still don't know if I can be her again, but I can fake it. Starting with something as simple as a peg leg no one thinks you'll let me get."

"Which explains your interactions in the cantina," Lana said as she finally started to understand. "They had to see you argue with me."

"Sorry about that," Rory apologized sheepishly. "It also probably won't be the last time."

"I assumed as much." It surprised Lana at how little the thought bothered her.

Rory looked at the chronometer and sighed as she stood. "I'm sorry for keeping you up so late, I'll let you get some sleep."

"You could stay here if you want. Don't give me that look," Lana shot back at the amused smirk she was getting from Rory, "it's to help with the nightmares you refuse to seek help with."

She was about to argue before sighing, "Why not? Can't be any worse than what I've tried so far."

"Glad to know we can agree on something without arguing," Lana replied dryly as she led Rory to the bedroom

Brooke smiled as she reveled in the afterglow. Sure, she may not have lasted as long as she would have liked, but she could work on that. Judging by Theron's… enthusiasm, she doubted he would object. She was quietly pleased he didn't last much longer than her. She wouldn't have judged him if like Lana he'd found comfort with someone else, but she was entirely glad that didn't seem to be the case.

Once they had both come down from their high, Brooke curled into Theron's side as he pulled her close, both relishing the feel of skin against skin.

"I missed this," she sighed.

"I bet, especially considering who you have for company," he joked.

"Not funny," Brooke pouted sleepily. "Besides, he could never make me feel like that."

"Good to know I rate higher than a wannabe immortal Sith."

"It's the little things," she yawned as they both fell into a peaceful sleep.

The room was dark and reeked of machine oil and the static-y smell that followed lightening. It was a smell Aneira had come to associate with despair. She was hanging by her arms naked as Vaylin prowled around her with a sadistic smile. Had the last weeks only been a dream? A flash of hope for the High Justice to rip away to break her down further?

"You'll always be mine, sweet thing," Vaylin whispered in her ear as she stood behind her. She was close enough that Aneira could feel the heat coming off her. "No matter how far you run, no matter what hole you find to hide in."

She woke with a start, fighting to get her breathing under control. Lana slept peacefully next to her, on her side facing the colonel, snuggled into her blankets. The way she was sleeping made the mighty Sith look like a child bundled up, an observation Rory decided would be best for her health if she kept to herself.

She thought about trying to go back to sleep, but her mind refused to stop replaying the images and emotions induced from the nightmare. Giving up with a quiet sigh, she reached for her crutches, carefully got out of bed, and quietly made her way to the large window on the other side of the room. She looked out over the landscape, trying to calm her mind to keep her Sith companion from waking.

"Too late," Lana said as she quietly approached, amused at the soldier's intentions. Clearly, she hadn't figured out how this bond between them worked.

"Can't blame me for trying," she replied as Lana slipped her arms around her waist from behind. Rory stiffened at the contact, a response that Lana fought not to be hurt by. She knew it would take time for Rory to be comfortable with her touch again, and vowed to move slowly with her. She waited for Rory to pull away, ready to drop her arms, but instead the woman in her arms sighed tiredly and melted into the embrace.

"I'm here for you, Rory, in whatever capacity you need," Lana promised quietly, internally breathing a sigh of relief she didn't pull away.

"I want to not be afraid of everything again," Rory whimpered turning her head to look up at the Sith with a broken expression. "Anything you can do for that?"

"That is a battle you must fight on your own," Lana answered with a small sigh, slowly bringing up a hand to lightly stroke Rory's cheek. "But I will promise to be there when you need a reminder that you can overcome what Vaylin did to you."

Rory scoffed, "You don't even know half of what was done, how she marked me."

Lana tried to keep the pity out of her expression, but knew she was unsuccessful as she continued to gently stroke the other woman's cheek and whispered her name.

"I'm quite the catch, huh," the soldier asked bitterly. "One leg, one eye, scarred, PTSD…"

"Wear your scars with pride. Those who have none have not felt the hardship of life or the feeling of pain. That you can carry on despite what you've been through shows the strength of your metal."

"Where'd you hear that spectacular bit of nerf shit," Rory sneered as she pulled her face away from Lana's hand.

"Something my father said to me after I completed training on Korriban," Lana answered calmly. "He had been a soldier in the war with the Republic, but left as soon as his enlistment was up for a quiet life as a tradesman. He had hoped I would get a chance to live a peaceful life away from war, but once I started showing an aptitude for the force he knew it was a matter of time before I was discovered. His lessons changed from how to troubleshoot a broken piece of equipment to how to cope with taking another living creature's life."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"I know," Lana interrupted, a small smile to show she wasn't offended, "it's all right. May I share more of his wisdom?"

Rory nodded, eyes downcast in shame for taking her pain out on Lana.

Not having it, Lana placed a hand on her cheek and gently guided her head up to meet her eyes. "True strength isn't never getting knocked down, or even getting up every time you get knocked down. It's never quitting even when you feel you can't go on. Every day is a battle in the war of life. Each battle is important…"

"But it's the outcome of the war that truly matters," Rory finished with a rueful smile. "Either that's something they teach to every soldier or our fathers served in the same unit during the war, because he used to say that all the time."

"Either is highly likely," Lana conceded. "Now how about we finish this conversation in bed? It would be more comfortable. Not to mention warmer."

Rory smirked and asked as she limped back to the bed, "I thought misery was one of those things that got Sith all hot and bothered."

"The misery of others," Lana corrected with a mock seriousness. "Key difference."

"Well no wonder you're with me, I've got that in spades," Rory answered, without the self-loathing that had been there earlier. Still Lana, didn't like that the joke had been made and decided to dispel that mood, and bet that the truth would be her ally here. She decided more awkward flirting was in order to lighten the mood.

"Every Sith does," Lana countered. "No, you caught my attention because of your musculature."

"I… what," Rory stammered, dumbfounded as she stopped on the opposite side of the bed from Lana.

"It's true," she shrugged, fighting to keep her amusement from showing and maintain the serious façade. "I've always appreciated a well-maintained form that comes from rigorous exercise and self-discipline. When we met, you were the epitome of those standards. Due to your recent incarceration, your muscles have atrophied slightly, but from what I've seen of your physical therapy plan with Dr. Orrogrub, I have no doubt you'll be back to where you were in no time."

"I can think of at least six different ways you could have said that you thought my body was hot and that you're looking forward to seeing me get back in shape," the soldier laughed as she climbed into bed.

"True, however, it would be less accurate," Lana replied with mock seriousness.

"Well since we're being 'accurate'," Rory said using her fingers to make air quotes, "you can't tell me there were no Sith out there with the musculature to your standards. I mean, look at Imperious."

"You'd be surprised," Lana said with poorly hid disdained. "Imperious is an anomaly, and while I can easily apricate his strength and skill, when we met, his focus was on another. I'm sure you can respect the folly of getting in between of bond such as that." When Rory nodded, Lana continued, "Most who maintained such a level of discipline either had one they called their own or slept with anyone who fancied their attention and I refused to be a notch in someone's bedpost. Using someone for stress relief was necessary to get through Korriban, but given the opportunity, I preferred for form a rapport with those I have relations with. Sadly, more often than not, they were built like Nox."

"What's wrong with her," she asked, genuinely curious.

"Her strength isn't with a lightsaber, it's with the force. While that still makes her formidable in battle, and she can easily hold her in a duel, she has little in the way of defined musculature, which I believe I have made clear is important for me in a romantic partner."

"Again with the dry terms," Rory muttered. "I know, I know, they're more accurate."

"That left soldiers," Lana continued as if she hadn't spoken. "While most I encountered easily fit what I was looking for physically they were lacking in other ways. Either they had that obnoxious hero worship that was undoubtedly beaten into them during training or they were angling for some favor. Neither of which I found appealing."

"Understandable."

"And then came you," Lana stated, catching Rory's eyes. "Special forces, so I knew you had to be in good shape…"

"Fact."

"…and it was far more likely with your reputation that you were thinking of ways to kill me…"

"Also a true statement, and believe me, I'd come up with some creative ones for you."

"… so no need to worry about aforementioned hero worship or angling for favors."

"Well it's lucky for you I came along when I did," Rory said with a smirk.

"I've certainly always thought so," Lana replied seriously. She slowly grabbed Rory's hands and lightly stroked her thumbs on the back of them. "We may have had a rough bit during Ziost, but I have never regretted our time together or our meeting."

Lana gently tugged on her hands once in a silent invitation, and after contemplating a moment, Rory curled into her side. Tucking her head under Lana's chin, Rory confessed, "Neither have I. And bonus for me, you're blond with an Imp accent."

"Yes…" Lana, confused, trailed off.

"You prefer a certain 'musculature', I've got a weakness for blond Imperials," she answered as she started to drift off.

"I thought you hated the Drumond Kaas accent," she recalled from a conversation on Rishi. Rory had grown up with a smokier accent typical of planets outside the capital and made comments how everyone from Drumond Kaas sounded too uptight with their accent.

"From stuff Imperials, yes. Hot blonds? That's another story entirely."

"Aren't I lucky," Lana huffed.

"Very lucky," Rory answered with a yawn.

Lana just shook her head with an amused smirk in response and held her soldier as she slept.

Chapter Text

Lana woke up the next morning to again find the bed empty. Panicking, she sat up and looked around to see a cup of coffee on her night stand and heard water running for the bathroom next to her bed. Shortly after the water was shut off, Rory limped out and gently lowered herself back on the bed.

"Good morning," Lana said once she was settled.

"Morning," she replied, leaning against the pillows. "Sorry if I woke you, but I got up a bit ago and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to make myself useful. And no, it wasn't because of another nightmare."

"How did you manage to get this in here," Lana asked, nodding to the cup as she took a sip.

"Very carefully," Rory answered. "Not my first time on crutches, there was one summer I practically lived on them after I broke my leg. You learn to quickly get around. I did spill a little trying to set it down, I'll clean it in a bit."

Lana waved her off. "You made me coffee, I can handle wiping a table."

"Which by the way, you may have skimped on furniture, but good to know you didn't on that. Even my parents never ordered stuff that expensive."

"We all have our vices," Lana sniffed defensively, "mine is high quality beverages. And as you rightly pointed out the stuff being served in the galley is low quality even by military standards."

"That was a diplomatic way to saying it's shit," she snickered. "I wasn't complaining, far from it. I was just surprised. I also made breakfast, by the way, but carrying food in here without spilling it everywhere is outside my abilities."

"You didn't have to do that."

"Eh, it was the least I could do after last night," she shrugged in response.

"You mean falling asleep mid flirt," Lana teased as she took a sip, laughing as the colonel blushed.

"That, and for before," Rory replied thickly looking away.

"I promised I was here for you, however you needed it," Lana reminded softly, placing a hand on Rory's.

She gently set her coffee down as silence settled around the pair. After a long pause, Rory linked her fingers with Lana's. Looking intently at a spot on the wall, she confessed, "The nightmares aren't the worse part. It's the memories."

"I can't ever begin to imagine what you endured."

"It's not just those memories, although, yes they suck. It's the memories she took from me."

Any words she could think of to say sounded weak, so instead Lana squeezed gently her fingers. A reminder that she was there for her.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts from the dark place they were headed, Rory changed the subject, "Cipher has been collecting what info she can about our past that we know Vaylin tampered with. I don't want to know how she's able to get so much, but it's been helpful. Unfortunately, my parents were declared traitors."

"Which means Intelligence would have wiped anything that wasn't useful to them," Lana finished.

"And I don't want any of that," Rory sighed. "I want something I can see my parents in, not faceless Imperial citizens. But that doesn't exist anymore and I don't know how to undo what Vaylin did to me."

Lana had an idea where to find something on her parents, but would wait until she was sure she could get a secure channel away from prying ears. "I may have an answer to that," Lana started as the woman next to her finally looked over at her. "We may have a lead on a counter drug for what Vaylin used on you. It won't completely reverse what was done, but it would make it easier to push away the memories she imprinted on you with the ones she tried to erase."

"How," Rory asked in disbelief, hope sparking in her eyes.

"Contact inside the Spire," Lana answered vaguely. All things considered, Senya deserved a bit of anonymity. "Cipher left this morning to follow up on the lead, we'll know soon if it pans out."

Rory looked over at the Sith, eyeing her with a mix of disbelief and hope. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm hardly a catch," Rory pointed out.

"I thought we went over this last night?"

"Just let me be appreciative you put up with me," she pouted.

"Alright," Lana conceded with a smile, "but just this once. Now, I believe you said something about breakfast?"

It took Lana longer than she'd have liked to admit to track him down, but did her best to present a calm she didn't feel when he finally answered her call.

"I trust if you made this much effort to find me you have a good reason." Not a question. The former Minister of Intelligence wasn't known for idle conversation, a trait Lana appreciated.

"General Sarjen Horner," Lana answered, ignoring the eyes being narrowed at her, "I want everything you have on him and his family."

"Even if I had anything other than what was in the Intelligence dossier on him, why would I give it to you?"

"Let's end this dance," Lana said around a tired sigh, "I have neither the time nor patience. I know you were friends with the Horners, and I know the information that was sent to SIS that had them sending a spec ops team to Ziost the day of the execution came from your office."

"You still need to answer my question if you want my help."

"Aneira Horner," she answered. "I'm sure you heard about what happened to her after she was captured by the Eternal Empire."

"Sparse details," he conceded.

"When she wouldn't give them what they wanted, they tampered with her memory. By her own admission what she remembers of her childhood isn't right."

"What do you mean," the former minister demanded.

"She remembers constant beatings and emotional abuse."

"That isn't… those weren't the kind of people Sarjen and Catelyn were," he shot back, fighting to regain his calm.

"I know they were friends of yours," Lana repeated. "I know you would have kept something for Aneira when you were sure you could get it to her. This would be the time, Minister."

He rubbed his hands over his face tiredly. "I suppose you're right. With all the chaos, no one really wants me dead anymore. It was part of my insurance package. Sarjen had a list of names and blackmail on a large number of Sith and officers that he hid before they executed him. They think I have it, which I've used to my advantage. Truth is, if I do, he locked it up so only specific people could get it and I'm not on that list. I'll send you everything I have."

"Thank you," Lana said, bowing slightly.

"Don't thank me just yet," he warned, his eyes light with something that could have been humor, "wouldn't be surprised if he managed to have something on you. You were Dark Arkous apprentice at the time, after all. Just look after her, will you? I promised Sarjen I would before they took him, but I'm afraid I may have failed."

"I don't think you did too bad."

"For a Sith you're a terrible liar," he remarked dryly, but the trace of humor was still in his eyes. "It will take some time for me to make arrangements. I will let you know when you can expect the shipment."

"Come on, we have to hurry," Theron rushed. He was pulling a sleepy Brooke through the halls from her quarters to the newly completed hanger.

"Seriously, Theron," the Jedi complained, "after wearing me out last night you couldn't have let me sleep in a bit longer? Or at least brought me breakfast?"

"Save your glare," he snickered as they entered, "it was Lana's idea."

"Yes, well, I figured an important announcement like this should be done early," Lana replied, amused at seeing Brooke's eyes bulge out and the size of the crowd gathered. All of her advisors were assembled on the balcony overlooking the bay and below was full of Alliance personnel, from smugglers to soldiers.

"What's going on," Brooke asked, eyes comically large as she took everything in.

"It's time for your first speech as the Alliance Commander," Lana explained.

"Say that again," Brooke said, still in shock.

"Inmates elected you head of the asylum," Col. Horner said with a smirk from where she leaned against a wall next to Lana.

"There was no election," Lana clarified, "it was something everyone knew. There is no Alliance without you, Commander."

"I thought you hated titles," Brooke joked.

"I hate having them, but I do love granting them," Lana replied with a small smile as the group followed Brooke up the ramp. "Cipher sends her regrets for missing this, there was a contact she had to meet on a very strict time table."

"No rest for the weary," the Jedi replied with a sigh as she looked over the gathered crowd. Taking a deep breath to steady herself she searched for words of inspiration.

The noises coming out of the Zakuulan scientist were no longer human sounding, hadn't been for at least five minutes. Cipher had long since learned how to tune out background noises, but watching his body spasm in unnatural ways did unsettle her. She blocked it out, keeping a clinical façade as she watched, knowing others watched her. The screams stopped and his body stilled as he finally died, expelling fluids.

"And that, gentlemen, is why you are going to tell me everything you know," Cipher said calmly, turning to face the soldiers chained to the wall, not unlike how she spent the past five years: arms up and stripped to undergarments.

They were at one of her contact's safehouses on Quesh. The scientist responsible for coming up with the chemicals that had tampered with her memories was now dead. She had planned on killing him anyway, but he'd made the mistake of lying to her. He tried to claim he used a formula that she would have been immune to thanks to her previous tampering. In response, she injected him with a toxin favored by Killiks, something Vector had shown her years ago.

"We'll tell you everything," the younger of the two promised, eyes avoiding the body behind her. He had puked when the scientist had first started to convulse, Cipher wasn't surprised he was the one to break.

"Then let's get started."

"So, how do I even know you really represent the Outlander or her alliance," the Devaronian asked suspiciously.

"I trust you've heard Hylo Viz is working with them," Captain Pierce asked, leaning back in his chair and linking his hands behind his head, brown hair just long enough to run his fingers through as he kept his long frame relaxed. He was the picture of carelessness, but it was easy for the swindler across from him to see the shrewdness in his eyes. He nodded in response to the smuggler's question, who continued, "Well she told me that when I see you I'm supposed to inflict levels of bodily harm that violate every level of the bro-code."

"Ok, so you at least know Hylo," Gault conceded, "definitely points in your favor."

"Simply put, we all win here," Pierce said with a shrug, leaning forward and resting his arms on the table between them. "You get the support you need to pull off this off, the Alliance gets needed credits and reputation boost, and we walk away with more money than we've ever heard of."

"I say we trust him," his partner sounded off from where she leaned against the wall.

"Well if Vette trusts you…" Gault muttered. "All right, everything checks out about you and you give me the warm fuzzies."

"Flattered," Jack snickered as picked up his glass and downed the rest of his drink in one gulp.

"You should be! Now how about another round on me? To toast our new partnership!"

"I never say no to something free," the captain agreed as Gault got up, leaving the smuggler alone with the twi'lek.

"So, Vette… you seem like the friendly sort…"

She grimaced in his direction as she kept an eye on Gault. "Sorry, taken, to a Sith. He's kind of a big deal, you wouldn't want to mess with him."

"That's good, we all need someone watching our backs out there," he replied conversationally. "Which is why I was hoping you knew some contacts who could help me find my girl." That finally got Vette to look his way, and with something other than disgust. "See, I recently was a… guest… of the Eternal Empire and we got separated. So far I haven't had any luck and I was hoping you could help."

"I might know some people," Vette offered as she took the seat Gault vacated. "What's her name?"

"Akaavi Spar. She's a Mandalorian."

"You got with a Mando? Seriously?"

"It's a hell of a story," Jack replied with a laugh.

"I bet. I take it you checked her clan?"

"They're all dead," he answered, "it's one of the reason our paths crossed."

"I see," she answered sympathetically. He knew she was mentally calculating the odds she was still alive. It was the same odds he'd been running every day of his imprisonment, and they weren't good. "I'll put the word out and let you know if I hear anything. And favor for a favor… if you hear anything about a powerful Sith Lord ripping the universe apart looking for a cute twi'lek, you'll let me know?"

"Your boy toy missing too?"

Vette laughed in surprise before sobering and saying, "Yeah, he disappeared 5 years ago with all the chaos of the invasion. The ship he was on was destroyed, but he can't be dead… he's too stubborn."

Jack saw her starting to spiral, the same spiral he'd been fighting off himself. He reached a hand out and companionably put it on hers. "We'll find them," he promised her.

"And if we don't," she whispered, voice thick.

"Then we make sure Arcann and Vaylin know who's gunning for them and why," he answered, dropping his carefree attitude for something more serious, "starting with this job."

Vette looked up at him and nodded as she squeezed his hand.