Jay wanted to cry. She wanted to curl up in the corner and weep, burying her head in her arms to escape this nightmare in which she found herself. She wanted to return to her cell, to the stormtrooper guards with their stun prods and cruel words.

But her captor refused to grant her such mercy.

"I will not ask again, Captain," Darth Vader boomed, hoisting her up into the air with a sweep of one gloved hand. "Who is your accomplice? Who paid you to sabotage the counterinsurgency mission?"

Jay choked and clawed at the invisible hands that tightened around her throat, eyes watering as a strangled choking sound fought its way from her throat. Thunder rumbled overhead as she writhed in fear and pain, legs kicking and flailing against open air. The bright, whitewashed walls of the room hurt her eyes, but it was nothing compared to the pain that blinded every other sensation as Vader smashed her against the table again.

She screamed as her forehead slammed against the tabletop, stars bursting in her vision. Before she could recover, she was thrown hard into her seat and slid back a few inches from the force of the push. Her chair tipped back a dizzying amount, then landed again with a hard and jarring clack. She blinked blood from her eyes, wiping at the fresh cut and matching bruise forming on her forehead.

"Do not test me, Captain," Vader snarled, lowering his hand and giving her a momentary reprieve from the choking grip around her neck. She instantly sucked in a stinging lungful of breath, letting out a wracking cough while rubbing her throat and gagging. "I will kill you if necessary."

Vader watched her with his pitiless and expressionless masked gaze as she hunched over and wheezed, lungs burning for air. He tipped his helmeted head slightly to one side, then stretched out a single hand toward her. She could feel energy pulse between his palm and her throat, once again cutting off her breath. She gagged once more as her throat closed and clutched at the invisible hands wrapped around her throat.

"Give… me… the name," the black-clad nightmare hissed. His hand — and the invisible bonds created by it — squeezed tighter with each word that passed from his mask's angular vocabulator.

"I... don't know what you're," she coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood. "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm... innocent!"

Again, she felt herself hauled into the air. Again, Vader's power forced its way into her mind, probing her deepest thoughts, searching for something, anything that would speak against her. She tried to fight against his terrible will, but could no longer summon the strength to resist him. Her vision went dark and she fell limp, suspended in mid-air as tears snaked down her cheeks.

The Dark Lord stared at her, eventually letting her slip back down to the ground. She sprawled against her cold metal chair, too weak to move. Vader stare seemed to cut right through her, staring into her innermost depths and sifting through her thoughts like a massif hunting down a piece of meat.

When he spoke, his voice echoed toward her as if from down a long tunnel. "Why do you resist? Why do you not simply give me a name?"

"B-because..." she gasped, feeling his power sift through her, an ice-cold snake slithering around in her head. She grimaced and dug her hands into her scalp, trying to dig the sensation from her skull, but knew there was no way to resist such terrible power. "I… I didn't do anything. And you know it!"

Vader didn't move. "I do."

Jay stared at him in open shock, struggling again against the invisible bonds holding her in her seat. What? He knew she was innocent? Then why was he still holding her here?

"I can sense the truth in your words," he said, resting his fists on his hips. The motion spread his billowing cape, making him look easily twice his already considerable size.

"Then... why?" she sobbed, with barely enough strength to pull herself upright in her seat. "Why are you doing this?"

Vader took a wheezing breath and stepped closer. "I received word you were interacting with terrorists, selling Imperial military plans to rebel factions along the Outer Rim. And there was indeed a credit surge of over one hundred thousand credits the day you were captured, meant to look like payment for your crimes. Yet you have not committed treason, despite what your superior officers claim."

"Then... then why are you still here? Why am I still here?"

Vader tilted his helmeted head. "If I release you and pardon you of all accusations, those who do plot against the Empire will be galvanized into further action, believing they can feign innocence and walk free."

He clenched a fist and Jay felt invisible fingers once more closing around her neck. She wheezed, unable to clutch her throat and fight against Vader's indomitable will. The Dark Lord stared at her before stepping away and turning his back to her. "You are a small piece in a much larger game, Captain. And now, you are an example to all who would rebel against the will of the Emperor."

He inclined his helmeted head. "It gives me no pleasure to do this, Captain Kolta. But your torture and death is necessary. For the Empire."

Then the invisible power radiating from him surged forth like a wave crashing against the beach. A telekinetic blast hit her hard in the chest and knocked her out of her seat. Her cry of shock and pain was sucked from her lungs before it could even begin to form. The Force swirled around her, hoisting her into the air as thunder rumbled outside. Then, with a minuscule twitch of his gloved fingers, Vader threw her hard against the back wall and the world faded into darkness.

She didn't know how much time passed, but she woke to the cloying scent of smoke in her lungs. She tried to open her eyes, but couldn't. She tried to move her arms, but couldn't do that either. She heard an explosion in the distance and felt the ground shaking beneath her feet. She could hear screams and the distant snap of blasterfire. What was happening?

"Don't worry," a familiar voice whispered. She felt strong hands lift her into the air, cradling her like some child in the arms of their parent. She wanted to struggle, but managed nothing more than a pathetic kick of her feet.

"I'm getting you out of here. Just stay still and trust me."

She recognized that voice. Tammer! Tammer was rescuing her. She was safe with Tammer...

But when she managed to open her eyes the slightest bit, she saw that she was not being rescued by Tammer, but by Vader! His rasping breath once more filled her head as he carried her through smoke, flames, and screaming stormtroopers.

No. It wasn't Vader. It was someone else, wearing black body armor.

"I don't know if you can hear me," the new figure said, "but my name is Cin Vhetin and I'm getting you to safety."

Vhetin? Vhetin was that bounty hunter, the one who had attacked the prison. She didn't know what to think, but he'd said he was taking her to safety. Maybe...

Then the world went ice-cold and she began to shiver. Once again, her mysterious rescuer became Darth Vader. He reached down, grabbed her face roughly with a single gloved hand, and began to squeeze.

"You are nothing," he boomed again. Always the same words, over and over again. "A pawn, to be used and expended at the will of your superiors. And your torture and death will break the resistance of those who would indeed rebel against the Empire."

His grip tightened, squeezing her throat until her vision began to darken once more. She clawed at his angular mask. It didn't stop him, nor did his grip on her face lessen. She gasped and choked, struggling against his grip.

"I can't…" she tried to suck in breath. Her knees buckled, feeling beginning to seep from her extremities. The world went cold. "I can't…"

"The safety and security of the Empire is all that matters," Vader thundered. "Regardless of intention, you jeopardized that security. For that, you must die."

He squeezed even harder and she felt a sickening crackle in the back of her neck. The world was filled with the repetitive wheeze-sigh of Vader's breath. She fell into darkness, until all that existed was that terrible mask and the terrible man hidden behind it.

For the Empire…

Jay screamed and sat bolt-upright in her cot.

Everything vanished. The distant battlefield, her mysterious rescuer, and even Darth Vader. As soon as she opened her eyes, it all blinked out of existence like a damaged hologram.

Her gaze raced about the room, searching for some sign of her tormentor. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The grip on her throat had vanished as well and she finally managed to suck in a full breath free of Vader's power penning her down. She was alone in the sleeping quarters. Everything was silent save for the quiet hum of the ship's engines and the room was still and calm.

She closed her eyes and struggled to take deep, calming breaths. Her body was shivering uncontrollably, and the sheets were soaked with cold sweat. With an exhausted sigh, she lay back on the cot and tried to relax, one hand pressed against her clammy forehead. Her heart was still racing in her chest, and she rested one palm over her chest to feel her heartbeat thump against her fingers. It was strangely calming.

Darth Vader wasn't here. He never had been. It had all been nothing but a nightmare.

She could feel it as if she was still there, on Corulag: the roar of the thunder, the feel of Vader's invisible hands as they throttled the life out of her, the loud mechanical wheeze of the Dark Lord's breath, and the pain and shock as she was beaten repeatedly, interrogated so she would spit up the name of a man who didn't even exist.

Though her body had mostly healed from the Sith Lord's interrogation, her mind had yet to recover. Every time she tried to get any sleep, she was met with the same dream. It haunted her relentlessly.

He haunted her.

She sighed and sat up again. It was clear she wasn't going to get any sleep, at least not for now. It might do her good to take a walk and ease her frayed nerves. She swung her legs off the cot and stood, heading for the door. She grabbed her tattered Imperial jacket from its hook near the wall and pulled it over the simple sleeveless shirt she wore beneath. Once done, she keyed open the door that led to the central corridor of the ship. As long as she was up, she should see how close they were getting to their destination.

For some reason, the idea of reaching the planet Mandalore, home of the infamous Mandalorian warriors, filled her with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. She had used the onboard ship computers to read up on the planet before settling down for what she'd thought would be a peaceful nap.

The HoloNet file wasn't too enlightening, offering little pertinent information about the world save that it was an agrarian frontier planet with kilometers of unexplored wilderness and a small but volatile population. The latest census claimed the population was about eighty-five percent local Mandalorian. Local Mando frontiersmen had also spread out to several other planets in the sector, including Concord Dawn, Ordo, Draboon, and the ruins of Taris. All were profitable trade hubs, being right off the Hydian Hyperspace Way.

The Empire had sent out a report several months before with a list of all planets off-duty military personnel should avoid. Anti-Imperial sentiment in the galaxy was at an all-time high lately, especially among some of the more violent races under the Empire's rule, and she remembered Mandalore being near the top of that list. What these armored warriors would do to her if they found out she was a former navy pilot...

Whoa, she thought. Slow down. These two Mandos found me and they've been nothing but kind since I've met them. If I want to impress them enough for them to agree to train me, I need to calm the kriff down.

It was true that, for all the determination she'd shown earlier when she'd decided to become a bounty hunter, she did have serious misgivings. Bounty hunters weren't usually known for their kindness, and many were seen as little more than thugs, hired killers with a craving for blood and chaos. Mandalorians were the cream of the mercenary crop, trained from infancy to hunt and kill their prey. At best, they were seen as war-mongering mercenaries. At worst, they were a culture of savages.

So she was finding it difficult to reconcile the galaxy's image of both Mandalorians and bounty hunters with the two she'd had the fortune – or misfortune – of meeting face-to-face.

Rame Omotao was easygoing, funny, and effortlessly charming — something that had truly surprised her. The galaxy had branded bounty hunters as among the lowest of the low, the scum of the galaxy, but as hard as she tried she was not able to convince herself that the gray-haired warrior was a bad person. He seemed genuinely concerned about her well-being, which she found very odd from a person who hunted down living beings for profit.

Cin Vhetin, on the other hand, was a different story. He was quiet and uncommunicative, usually only speaking a few words at a time. He kept to himself and rarely took the initiative to strike up conversation with her, usually lurking in either the cockpit or his quarters. However, during the rare occasions they had spoken he was nothing but polite, if a little brusque. She didn't get the impression that he was overly unkind, but as far as being a good person and someone she could trust... she couldn't tell yet.

Taking a deep breath, she gathered up her courage and knocked on the door to the cockpit. She hear armor shuffling within and a heavy clank as the door unlocked. After a few moments it hissed open to reveal Rame standing on the threshold, dressed in his full-body silver and red battle armor. His helmet was clipped to his belt by some kind of specially adapted hook, and his pistol was holstered on his belt.

"Hey there," he said with a welcoming grin. "I was just about to wake you up. We're almost home. Come in, come in."

As she stepped into the roomy cockpit, she noticed Vhetin securing his black and gray helmet over his head. She frowned a little at that; he always seemed to have his helmet on in her presence. It was like he was deliberately trying to hide his face from her.

Maybe he's just shy, she thought. I've seen stranger things.

"You're in for a treat," Rame was saying, gesturing for her to sit in the gunner's station while he took the copilot's seat. "According to our rules, not many aruetiise are allowed down so easily. We're usually a very secluded group."

"Usually?" Jay echoed.

Rame grimaced. "Unfortunately, at the end of the Clone Wars the newly-formed Empire stationed a garrison near our capital city to keep us in line. It's a pain in the ass to have them spying on all our business, and it's garnered some pretty hostile attitudes toward outsiders. More so than usual."

"Can't you do anything about it?" Jay asked. She'd heard that Mandalorians were the toughest mercenaries in all the galaxy. They were feared far and wide, and the sight of even a single armored warrior was enough to make even the most hardened criminals back down and run from a fight. At least that was what she'd been told.

Vhetin spoke up for the first time. "We've yet to kick them out. Our leadership doesn't want to escalate this into a diplomatic incident or, te Manda forbid, a full-scale war. So we've settled for taking occasional potshots at the garrison base and making damn sure they know they're not wanted. Apart from that, it's nothing but passive aggression and frustrated tolerance."

He turned away and began typing commands into the ship's control system. The deck jerked beneath her feet and the ship began to decelerate, the control panel letting out a steady series of beeps. Jay could feel the deceleration in the pit of her stomach even though they were still traveling faster than light. Then the bounty hunter reached up to a long lever on the control panel in front of him and gently pulled it back. The ship let out a high-pitched whine and finally exploded back into realspace.

Everyone in the cockpit was thrown forward by the force of the deceleration. The lights in the cockpit dimmed for a moment, then warmed once more as power was restored. Vhetin quickly set to work on a post-hyperspace inspection, tapping commands into the console in front of him with near-blinding speed. Rame sighed and put his hands behind his head, a happy smile on his face.

"Osik," the gray-haired Mandalorian sighed. "It's good to be home."

Jay's eyes were almost instantly drawn to a huge planet off to the right of her vision. It was massive, blotting out almost the entire viewport. Different shades of green and beige were scattered across the planet's surface, and she could pick out two large oceans. Clouds swirled over the darker green parts of the planet, obviously forests and rural areas, and she could even see a hurricane forming over one of the oceans. Nowhere could she see the huge industrial sprawls that had spotted Corulag's surface, or the slate-gray residential areas of planets like Imperial Center. She saw little more than plain, unfettered wilderness stretching across as much of the planet as she could see. It was easy to see why Mandalore was considered a frontier world, and it was one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen.

Ships of every conceivable make and model darted to and from the planet's surface, like flitterbees traveling back and forth from a hive. As she watched, two sleek silver-black fighters, the likes of which she had never seen, fell into position next to the ship. They performed barrel rolls and erratic zigzagging maneuvers in front of the ship with screaming engines. After a few moments, three more of the same kind of ships appeared and joined their companions in looping and spinning around the ship. As Jay watched, smiling, she was reminded of certain species of porpoises at play.

Rame cracked a smile and shook his head as the ships darted back and forth in front of the ship. "Hotshots," he muttered with a smirk. "Prototype test-pilots for MandalMotors. For them, everything's a game."

The ships peeled off, spinning and looping around each other before disappearing into the space behind the ship where Jay could no longer see them. She turned her gaze back to the planet, still smiling, and suddenly felt her heart sink with worry. In addition to the myriad of unique vessels making their way to and from the planet, she could also see the familiar shapes of Imperial TIE fighters and the huge triangular bulk of a Star Destroyer floating in orbit.

Rame frowned and leaned forward in his chair. "A Destroyer? That's a new addition to the local scenery."

Jay glanced at the two hunters, suddenly uncomfortable. It was only a little over a day after her rescue from her prison. She was an escapee from a high-security prison under the supervision of Darth Vader himself. The Empire was sure to be searching for her. If they found her, it would be back to prison and execution within the blink of an eye. The two bounty hunters would probably suffer an even worse fate.

"Are you sure it's safe here?" she asked nervously as several TIE fighters swerved mid-flight and began heading toward them. Unlike the sleek fighters before, these ships did not look playful in the least. She could almost hear the telltale screech of their ion engines as they drew nearer.

Vhetin spoke, sounding thoughtful. "The Destroyer is probably just passing through the system on garrison rotation. It's probably not a threat, but it does mean we need to take extra precautions just in case."

"Right. Um, in the meantime," Jay said, tracking the incoming ships, "those fighters are getting closer. You think they want us, or are they just passing through as we-"

Rame interrupted her, his voice tight. "Those ships are hailing us, Cin."

Vhetin let out a sigh and a quiet curse as his hands began flying over the ship's controls, performing a myriad of actions in mere moments. He raised the shields, charged the cannons, and sent a confirmation message to the incoming TIEs. "Rame, hide her."

The red-armored Mandalorian jumped into action. "You think they'll board the ship?"

"I don't think so, but it's best to err on the side of caution. Hurry."

The TIE fighters screamed past the cockpit viewport, the sound of their ion drives unmistakable even when muffled by the ship's bulkheads and the vast vacuum of space. Rame took Jay's arm and said, "Follow me. Quick."

Jay had time to hear a voice crackle over the intercom. "This is Mandalore Imperial Fleet Command. State your name and business. Fail to comply and we will open fire."

Then she was led out of the cockpit and the door slammed shut with purpose.