Tarkin circled slowly around her like a predator and its prey. His eyes drifted about her, examining her for weaknesses and strengths. She stared defiantly back at him, eyes boring holes into his head. Tua hated people like him, people who knew that what they were doing was wrong, and drew strength from the fear they instilled, took pride in it even.

She sat in an empty room, save for a desk and chair, with the two men. Tarkin, was the older one had aged enough so you could see his cheekbones, sharp and defined. His hair was gray, posture stiff, eyes cold, hard, and calculating. He was decisive,swift, and cold-blooded. Ruined by the influence of the empire.

The younger man, Agent Kallus, had strawberry blonde hair and the most ridiculous muttonchops she had ever seen. His eyes were malicious and cold, much like his superior, his nose had a light dusting of freckles about it, and his body was tall and built. Tua could tell he would kill anyone who defied the empire in a heartbeat if ordered, without remorse.

Kallus eyed her with a scowl painted on his face, not hiding the fact that his eyes roamed her body.

Tua was about average height, her chin was small,nose thin and long, but her brown eyes stood out being big, they gave her an innocent look, that tricked oh so many people. Her long blonde hair was braided neatly, and body was slightly built after years of fighting against the empire. She had been used as a distraction on more than one occasion, apparently she was quite the eye catcher, not that she really cared. Her main focus was her cause, not her body. She was passionate, stubborn, smart, and slightly naive. Which was what had led to her getting into this situation.

Her team had gotten information about a group of wookies from an nameable source, needless to say, she believed it and rushed to catch the so called "captured wookies", only to be caught herself. she had been the one to break into Lothol's imperial station while the crew waited for her signal, but in her capture, had her transmitter broken.

Tarkin turned towards Kallus,

"Shes no jedi but I believe we have caught the leader of the group?", Kallus nodded, "She'll do well." Tua smirked as she was the unofficial official leader of the group, keeping the cynical and sometimes immature men of her crew together and in place. Then put on an emotionless mask, do well for what? She refused to ask though, attempting to show no curiosity in the subject. She understood that he would tell her.

And indeed just as she thought it Tarkin bent down to her eye level and said harshly,

"We're going to make an example of you. To show all those who deify the empire, what will happen if they continue to do so." He grabbed he chin and forced her to look at him, squeezing so tight she felt like her jaw would come off.

"They'll watch you BURN."

Tua said nothing, her face emotionless, only her eyes betrayed her and showed the fear that caused her heart to pound.

Tarkin released his death grip on her and turned towards the door, though not before giving a significant glance to Kallus.

The latter walked towards her and stared her down.

Torture.

He grabbed the backed of her chair,

"Well Minister, or should I say ex Minister, I am going to enjoy giving you what you deserved. Traitor." He spat at her as he slid the chair across the floor. Tua winced as the chair hit the wall, her head hitting the frame. He stalked over to her and grasped her hair , slamming her head against the wall causing dark spots to explode in her vision. He tore at her short sleeved shirt, ripping off the red armor, exposing her bare skin to the cold air and her gray sports bra. She shivered and struggled against the bonds around her wrist. She understood that this was torture, meant to make her blood run cold and silence her, but she feared what type of torture it was.

Kallus reached into his back pocket and pulled out, a knife? Her eyebrows raised at this and he sneered. Tua understood the empire was a technological organization. Almost everything ran on electricity, was high tech, expensive, complex, and could be hacked. A knife wasn't something to expect. He leaned forwards. Setting the knife against her shoulder, the cold steel of the blade cutting through her before the blade. It pierced her skin, and she struggled against him. The jagged end was brought slowly through her skin carving something she was unable to see, then was brought out the pain feeling like being burned in a pool of lava. He brought the knife down onto the skin next to it and carved the next letter she assumed. This continued for what felt like ten agonizing hours, which in reality was probably ten minutes. The wound bled and she felt the sticky, warm blood run over her front. It wasn't gushing but it also wasn't a small trickle. She looked down through slowly clearing vision at the word carved into her skin. TRAITOR.

Tua coughed and despite her eyes being slightly wet she said,

"The empire is full of those who see wrong and betray those inside it. You've done nothing but remind me of the reason I've left. The empire was built upon traitorous actions."

Kallus slammed his lips against hers, silencing her. The "kiss" was made up of hatred, and he gnashed his lips against her own. Causing them to bleed. He pulled away wiping his hand on his lips, removing the blood smearing it all over her own. Then tore off a strip of fabric from of her shirt and said,

"This should silence you, Silver-tongue."

Tua leaned forward and hissed,

"You're afraid of the truth."

Kallus growled but said nothing as he tied the fabric around her mouth, creating a gag. He yanked off her black boots. Knife in hand, he cut off the legs of her pants, creating shorts. She attempted to kick him, finally remembering her legs but he caught it. It being her right uncuffed leg.

He took the knife once again and stuck in her thigh deeper than before. She cringed as he dragged it through her fair skin in what she could feel was a spiraling pattern. Tua knew it wasn't meant to be pretty, no he wanted her to suffer as long as possible. The cut winded its way all the way down her leg and her eyes began brimming with tears that refused to fall. Tua began remembering why she was there, the faces of those whom were killed in the peaceful protest she had joined. She remembered her brother, whose face had turned pale when he heard about losing his home to drilling plots. Fleeing, flashing, the flow of people running away from the stormtroopers.

Kallus got up from his kneeling position and towered above her, she was fighting against these people, for her family, and innocent people of any race.

He leaned towards her and said,

"Are those tears? Hmph I expected you to last a few minutes longer. Just start crying, you're weak."

A fire lit up in her eyes, her passion had been reignited by his words. She was strong, along with anyone brave enough to fight, strong enough to fight against what she had been taught all her life, strong enough to admit she was wrong to believe it. She glared up at him, biting the makeshift gag and swung her arms up at his face. Her balled fists met with his face and an audible crack echoed throughout the room.

Despite the burning, aching protesting of the bloody leg she kicked him. Once. Twice. Three times. Kallus roared, mostly in anger and grabbed her forearms swiftly yanking her wrist from the bond. He forced Tua's arm straight out and twisted it, until a resounding snap sounded.

"Arghh!" Tua screeched, Kallus dropped her arm leaving it hanging limply. His eyes filled with an untamed animal-like rage as he slapped her face and pulled his Bo-rifle out from behind his back. He whacked her over and over again. The electricity shocked her skin, like touching boiling water only one thousand times worse. Her body was overloaded with the intense chest pain, and the feeling left her too shocked to tell what was happening during the torture.

He finally stopped and Tua began panting for breath, recovering as slow as a tortoise. Kallus wrapped his hands around her neck and leered at her.

"Wouldn't you just love to die right now, selfishly free of the worlds problems leaving the rest to suffer." It was meant to be a statement about her but Tua knew better, this was what he wanted not her. Her breathing became rougher as her airflow became more and more restricted. He crushed her lips once again, and soon the struggle to breath got stronger. He was trying to keep her from recovering, from being stronger than him. The rage in him made its way into the kiss, as he pressed harder and harder. He was scared. Tua almost pitied the man. Almost.

Her vision began to darken around the edges as she began to lose consciousness, and she fought him harder, kicking, wriggling, writhing.

Suddenly the wall next to her burst open. And a man ran through the gaping hole in the wall.

Ancient.

He was the teams residential Jedi, a Pa'aun actually. His skin was gray like most of his kind, his head was hairless, and the long red fangs under his eyes made him seem intimidating. The only things that made him stand out from others were his eyes. The all gold irises were a sign of a sith, one trained in the dark side. He had left as well. He charged forwards clad in black armor, and side-kicked Kallus away from Tua.

His eyes shone with pure hatred. Ancient had used the force in front of his team before but only on special occasions and never like this, never killing in cold blood. He called out to the force and through sheer will lifted him from the floor. An invisible hand reached out and caught his throat. Kallus clawed at the unapparent foe choking him, his eyes rolling up into his head. Chocking noises escaping his throat, Ancient glanced down at Tua and saw in her eyes the fear. She feared him not Kallus, she feared him in this state. She feared he was unreachable. He dropped Kallus and turned towards Tua, but not before delivering a blow that would knock the man out.

He unbound the gag and used his light saber to slice her leg free of the cuff. He attempted to help her stand but she waved him off stubbornly,

"I can stand on my own." ,She wheezed attempting to get to her feet, only to fall onto her knees as a sharp pain jabbed her side. Only then did she finally have time to notice the gash on her side from the Bo-rifle and the spinning of the room.

"No, you can't." He stated in his accented voice. He lifted Tua up into his arms and ran out of the room. Her vision began to get worse as he ran, the blood loss finally getting to her.

"Move! We're leaving!", Ancient yelled to the two men ahead of him using blasters to fight off troopers. The larger muscle of the group, Grint, ran ahead of the smaller thinner man, Aresko, fighting off the troopers that came at them from the front. Soon black filled Tua's vision as sweet sleep finally came.

Tua awoke to being slammed onto the floor. She was swept up before she could comprehend what was happening and whisked away onto the Valkyrie's docks while it took off. The sound of blasters being fired behind them leaving her ears. Grint and Aresko seated themselves next to Zare, and leaned forwards, yelling at Rhudor. Something about hyperspace.

Tua was laid down on the uncomfortable cot they kept in the pilots area, mainly for the days when Rhudor was forced to drive non-stop, as Rhudor himself announced,

"Entering hyperspace!"

Zare swiveled around in his chair to face Tua,

"What happened-" His voice died off when he spotted the bloodied and battered woman. Aresko and Grint turned as well, to see what had caused the young boy to quiet down so quickly. Grint gasped and Rhudor finally got up. His eyes searched the room until they rested on her and he yelled,

"Holy-", only to be cut off by Ancient.

"Get me a first aid kit."

Rhudor left before the Sith even finished, he was worried but she could also see through her hazy vision that he was feeling uneasy at the sight of the young womans bleeding leg.

Her eyelids had begun to flutter shut when she felt a tapping on her forehead, the noise echoed through her skull and she moaned.

Tua opened her eyes and found that Ancient had begun to tap her face, keeping her from leaving them. Two seconds later Rhudor burst through the door and held out the kit to Ancient.

"Tua I need you to tell me which side the cut is on." He whispered, though to her it sounded like yelling. She leaned to the right to reveal the deep red gash on her side only to groan and curl up at the feeling of the skin stretching.

"Grint I need you to hold her up straight while I clean it.". The big man walked over to the cot and pulled her into a sitting position. Tua hissed through clenched teeth and struggled against the mans hold.

"I'm sorry Tua but you've got to stay still."

Ancient applied a hard pressure to the wound attempting to stop the bleeding with pressure. After finally getting the blood flow to stop Ancient applied the rubbing alcohol to the cut after wiping the skin around it clean with a rag, Tua balled her fists as the cleaning solution stung the wound like burning coals. Tua yelped when she felt a small prick on the sensitive flesh.

"Relax I'm just stitching it shut."

Ancient paused letting his words sink in before continuing his work. Tua squeezed her eyes shut until it was over and she felt a bandage being wrapped around her torso.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Broken." She mumbled through bloody lips. Aresko stood and whispered something solemly in Ancients ear. The Pa'aun glanced at Tua before giving a reluctant yes. The thin young man grabbed her arm as Grint put a hand over her mouth, Aresko pulled, yanked, and twisted her arm until it was set correctly back. The entire time Tua's screams were muffled as the pain caused her eyes to sting. Nobody asked the man where he learned that, he had grown up poor of course he had to learn how to keep himself healthy and address wounds. They used a large piece of cloth and created a sling for support.

Ancient couldn't really do anything for the word carved into her shoulder except for clean it and stick a band aid on it.

He then proceeded to clean her entire right leg. Tua's face turned red as his hand roamed her leg, she figured the others would believe it was because of the pain, which was only half true.

"Thats all I can do." he said as he handed her a washcloth, she struggled to stand independently refusing any help as she limped over to the washroom.

She studied herself in the mirror. Her hair was in complete disarray which right now was the least of her worries. Half of her face was red from the slap she had received, while her neck and collar area were covered in black,blue, and purple bruises. Her lips were covered in small cuts, and blood was smeared all over her mouth. All in all she looked as bad as she felt.

Tua washed her face, used her one good arm to smooth out her hair, and held the cool cloth to her face causing the mark to slowly fade. Once her face was no longer red, and she deemed herself presentable Tua limped back out to the waiting group of men. Grint lifted her back onto the cot.

"You're gonna have to sleep here until were sure you've made a decent recovery."

Tua internally groaned before lying down, a blanket was placed onto her as she drifted off to sleep.

TWO DAYS LATER

Tua blinked as the harsh light if the ship assaulted her eyes. She heard a small cough and turned her head towards the sounds origin. Rhudor smirked at her as he said,

"Finally you're awake. You've been out for two days."

Tua shifted under the covers a bit more groaning at the dull throb in her side.

"Ancients already renewed your stitches, so you're allowed to move about. Just no jumping, climbing, running-"

"What AM I ALLOWED to do then?" Tua interrupted, her throat scratchy from disuse, agitated by the chipper in the mans voice.

"Sleep, eat, walk, breath."

Rhudor listed, chuckling at Tua as she rolled her eyes.

"You can still get food since the kitchens on this floor." He said softly.

"Great." Tua said voice dripping with sarcasm as she moved out from under the covers, climbing carefully off of the cot. She used her good arm to pull off the sling as Rhudor coughed, a light dusting of red coating his cheeks . Tua raised a brow and looked down realizing she was in nothing but her sports bra and ruined "shorts" from two days ago. She glared at Rhudor and tugged the blanket over her shoulders.

"Not a word."

She took a light step towards the door, wincing at the pain enveloping her entire body, and began her limp to the kitchen. The kitchen was gray, dull, and small. Something Tua usually complained about, but right now only felt grateful for the limited movement it gave her. Her eyes scanned the shelves for something her body wouldn't object before she settled on cereal. Simple, light, perfect.

She poured herself a bowl and then sat down at the small table in the "dining room". Movement in the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head, she was startled to find Ancient occupying the seat next to her.

"Good morning."

She eyed the mans "breakfast" : raw, bloodied meat torn by his fangs, and almost vomited at the sight of it. His eyes trailed down to his meal and he pushed it out of her view.

"So how are you feeling.", He asked.

"Like a speedor ran over me.", She said dryly. Ancient said nothing, he simply folded his hands together and leaned towards her. She stuttered out,

"W-what are you d-doing?"

He reached towards her shoulder, as realization dawned on her.

"N-no I've g-got it." She attempted to bat his hand away, but he ripped off the bandage before she could get a grip on his wrist. She flinched and looked down at the white flesh.

"It already scabbed over?"

"Yes, though I had to change you're bandages twice."

"I'm gonna be useless on missions."

"Until you heal you're not leaving the Valkryrie."

Tua groaned.

"I know what you're going to say, and no you're not better. Until then you will be under constant surveillance."

He said.

Ancient stood solemnly and leaned down to inspect the bruises covering her collar. Her face flushed, and she turned her head away. Though the Sith was seemingly distant, almost everyone understood there was a small attraction between the two, though nobody spoke up about it so it was a sore subject. He grabbed her face in his hands as gently as possible and said,

"What did they do to you?"

"You should be able to figure that out."

Ancient pursed his lips, the ex Sith had been tortured and left to did out in the deserts of lothol. He used to be apart of the horrible things that occurred daily in the empire, he had suffered for decades ever since his childhood. Delt many deathly blows to many innocent people, children and adults alike. He shared none of what he had done with any of the crew.

"I didn't want you to go out there first."

"I know."

"Humans are so fragile, so delicately complex."

"You have more than one heart."

"Thats besides the point. This is what I was afraid of! This is why I don't want you or Zare out on the fields!"

"We're not helpless! We can handle ourselves!"

"And yet when I carried you, you passed out!"

"But I woke up."

"You slept for two days after. Not to mention I found you practically unconscious!"

The twos faces were inches apart, and neither would back down.

"This is what I was afraid of you knowing me would lead to worse things."

Tua frowned,

"Either way I would be doing this! This isn't because of you. I made my choice, for others. When we found you you were exactly like I was if not worse .And don't you dare tell me that I don't know what the empire is capable of because I've been through hell and back fighting against it!"
Silence followed as the two stared coldly at each other.

Ancient stood stoically as he stepped away from Tua, he took her uninjured hand and laced his fingers with hers.

"I care about you. If this is what you want to do, fine. But just know, I will support you and will be here to back you up. You are my leader."

Underneath the sincerity in his words she heard exactly what he was trying to tell her.

"Thank you.", she whispered.

And just like that their sweet moment melted away as the footsteps and voices of two people were heard. Ancient reluctantly dropped Tua's hand and picked up his plate, passing Aresko and Grint.

"What was all the yelling about?"

"Nothing."