Tali, formerly Cipher 9 of Imperial Intelligence, contemplated her current situation as she was led, hands chained in front of her, down a hall towards what was most likely her daily torture/interrogation session. It was more torture than anything, but nothing that Imperial Intelligence hadn't prepared her for. For the second time in her relatively long career, Imperial Intelligence as she knew it was gone. Only logical conclusion given the amount of Sith and officers that died in the brief war with Zakuul.

She was technically a citizen of the Republic, or was until the Black Codex erased all records, since SIS either was too incompetent to realize her true allegiance or saw some boon never marking her as a spy. Imperial Intelligence had recruited her as soon as she was old enough seeing an advantage in having a Mirialan agent. It was only after she was well into training she discovered this had been no accident, that her family had been loyal Imperial spies for generations.

Her husband, Vector, fortunately was not with her when she was captured. He would not have been able to withstand the torture even with his Joining. He was out there somewhere, most likely on Alderaan with the Oroboro nest awaiting her return. She was told he died with the rest of her team when they destroyed her ship, complete with a video of it's supposed destruction. It was a good forgery, she thought to herself, and had she not known that SCORPIO had recently upgraded the ship allowing for a sharper turn speed of .54%, as opposed to the slower one of the video, she might have been convinced they were all dead. She gave them a good show, certainly, let them think they broke her. It's how she got an advantage, let them arrogantly assume she was so easily beaten. It's how she eventually one upped the Star Cabal, and these fools weren't half as competent as them. If Hunter were alive he would be having a blast toying with them. Or was it she? Did it even matter anymore? Did it even matter then?

'I have to hold on,' she thought to herself, 'too many need us alive to succumb.'

When she got into the room, they hooked her chained hands up to a lever above her head and raised her so her feet barely touched the ground. This may have had an effect on the spineless Zakuulans they brought through here, but to Tali it barely registered as mild discomfort.

When they stepped back, she saw she wasn't alone this time, the others who were brought here 5 years ago were chained as she was and had clearly been enduring the knights' torture prior to her arrival. She mentally ran through the list of everything she had read in their respective intelligence file, a small brain exercise to stay sharp. Left to right:

Pierce, Jack: alias. Birth Name: Maxwell, John. Human male. Age: 32. Affiliation: varies, but sides with Republic interests. Born on Balmorra, parents alive but entrenched in civil war. Mother: Johnson, Elena. Last known aiding Imperial forces. Father: Maxwell, Jaxson. Last known commander of a Balmorran resistance cell. Brother: Maxwell, Pierce. Taken by Sith at young age, unknown if survived Sith trials. At 16 stole a ship and began life as smuggler.

Dax: short for a mispronunciation of Puxêi, alias, Minnisiat word for Hunter. Chiss male. Birth name: unknown. Age: unknown. Background: unknown, but given Chiss society and combat proficiency, military background highly likely. Past encounters showed an obvious disdain for Sith, likely correlation to occupation as bounty hunter. Affiliation: mostly Imperial contracts. Champion of the Great Hunt, close associate of Mandalore the Vindicated.

Horner, Aneira: Nickname: Rory. Human female. Age: 35. Affiliation: Major with Republic Special Forces Infantry Squad 326, code named Havoc Squad. Parents: Executed for treason against Sith Empire, avoided same fate by escaping with Republic infiltration squad. Responsible for capture of original Havoc team that defected to Empire, disarming the Gauntlet, and neutralizing General Rakton. Clear disdain for most force users, emphasis on Sith. Pragmatic, was one of the first to join with Theron Shan and Lana Beniko to stop Revan and later focus efforts with an Empire/Republic alliance to strike against Vitiate counter to orders from Supreme Chancellor Saresh.

"Leave her be," Jack shouted angrily, breaking Tali from her inner monologue. She followed his line of sight to see the Major, stripped to her undergarments like all of them in a petty attempt to break them down. She was bleeding in multiple locations. It didn't appear to be anything serious, Tali surmised, mostly just scars that had been reopened, but the damage to her right eye was new. Judging from the bleeding, she was in danger of losing it if no aid was provided soon.

However, what concerned Tali most was her expression. The major's arms were slack and her face appeared to be blank, as if she had completely disassociated herself from what was going on around her. In Tali's interactions with the major she was professional when she needed to be, but always emotionally invested. If she had started to shut down emotionally, then Tali feared they might have broken her, and then there wouldn't be much time left before she was gone.

Next to her Dax was clearly angered over whatever had been done to the major. He kept his face mostly neutral, but the muscles in his arms strained against his bindings and a tendon on his neck stood out.

Nothing anyone was saying or doing was having any effect on her. She quickly devised a strategy based on her file. In volume soft enough to be disregarded by the knights but loud enough for the major to hear, Tali said, "A Horner never surrenders. Don't let your father have been the last warrior of your family."

Her eyes flicked to the Cipher agent's, a tiny spark in them.

"He was cut down like he was nothing," she forced out of her dry throat.

"Exactly," Tali replied before she could be silenced. "They feared one man enough to have to trick him and lay an ambush. The Sith feared him for his spirit, just like they feared you. Are you really going to give up after all you've survived?"

It wasn't much, but Tali could tell from Horner's eyes she'd hold on for a bit longer. Internally, Tali breathed a sigh of relief as one of the knights punched her in the gut to silence her. She hadn't worked out the details, but she knew somehow they were going to break out of this hell and all hands would be needed. Not to mention there was that last order she'd received from the Minister of Intelligence. She didn't want to think what Lana would do to her if she failed to keep the major alive.

"Inspiring speech," Vaylin said, appearance filling the room courtesy of the central holoprojector. She must have been monitoring today's session remotely while off planet. "I do believe you just convinced my favorite toy to stick around a bit longer. I do so enjoy how she fights me every time, and I know you do to. Don't you sweet thing?"

"Which part," the major asked. "The part where you sit and scream for attention or the part where you cry in the corner due to your obvious mommy issues?"

Raw fury engulfed the High Justice's face before she forcibly calmed herself. "Oh, the things I'm going to do to you once I'm done dealing with this little chore... Tanek, once you're done having your fun with her, make sure those wounds are cleaned out. Wouldn't want her to get an infection and die. I still have plans for her."

"Yes, High Justice," he responded before turning to the major as her image blinked away. "I'm going to enjoy this," he sneered as he removed his belt.

"At least one of us will," she replied, sounding bored. "Hurry up and get this over Needle Dick. The sooner you leave, the sooner we can all snicker at how small you are."

"Bitch," he snarled as he backhanded her.

"Piece of advice, Tanek," Dax warned as Major Horner spat blood onto the floor, "you'll want to make sure you kill us. If you fail, when we get out of here…"

"You'll never escape!"

"That's where you're wrong, buddy," Jack said with a humorless laugh.

"I've yet to meet any prison that could hold me," Cipher added coolly, meeting his eyes.

"And when I do I will destroy everything you hold close," the major vowed glaring at him as blood dripped down her face. "You chose to follow that sociopath, and your family will pay in blood for that."

"I am loyal to my Emperor…"

"We'll be sure to pass that on so they know why the suffer," Dax promised.

Just then an alarm went off. Tanek looked at them all nervously, before running out without noticing something had fallen off his belt when he quickly grabbed it or ensuring the door was locked behind him.

Easily rattled, prone to mistakes, a common trait of all the knights and soldiers Tali had noticed. A byproduct of all the coddling the people had received.

A power surge shot through the cell, releasing the lock on the restraints, freeing them. An unknown female voice spoke over the intercom, "This is the best I can do to help you. If you wish to live, you'll have to make it out on your own. I've done what I can to clear the way, the rest is up to you."

"Only a knight would have the codes to free us," Dax observed as he helped Maj. Horner stand.

"Not all of us blindly follow," the voice replied with regret. "In the room across the hall you'll find some basic armor and a blaster rifle for each of you. I suggest you hurry."

Taking her advice, Tali checked to ensure the hallway was clear before entering the room through the unlocked door. It was some sort of gear locker as there were Zakuulan military uniforms as well as armor the knights wore and a cache of weapons. Jack and Tali were the first to quickly dress and load up as Dax helped Maj. Horner. Since none of them were Zakuulan and would stand out in the military uniforms, they donned the knight armor that had a helmet to cover their faces. Tali noticed Major Horner had grabbed what had fallen off Tanek's belt. It was a knife that looked like a family heirloom with his family's crest on the grip where it met the blade. A costly mistake to leave that, judging by the care the major was taking to stow it. Her threat to track down his family had not been empty.

They agreed to go 3 different ways to maximize the chances of at least one of them getting away, Dax sticking with Maj. Horner. They wished each other luck and disappeared into the chaos.