A/n: sorry for the extremely long delay with updates. My computer died and I lost a ton of writing. I have been very busy since and my muse dead. However since this fic had been getting attention lately, I managed to kick my muse into gear a little to finally get an update out. I'm still very busy but I will be trying to update fics again. Thank you to everyone who has stayed loyally waiting for updates and to those who have taken the time to review. :)
Ysanne Isard watched as the man who was due in her lab for the next phase of her experiments kicked and fought the four stormtroopers dragging him along the corridors with surprising energy for one who had been starved as long as he had. The pilot Raynar Drenall certainly lived up to Corellian's reputation of being vigorous and able to withstand adverse conditions. She stood back and observed silently as the stormtroopers struggled to secure him to the chair, laughing lightly as he managed to land a solid kick on one sending him sprawling backwards. They had wanted to stun him, but she had informed them such a jolt would interfere with her work. In all truth stunning him would make no difference to the results, but it gave her amusement to watch the Rebel fighting so desperately for his freedom. It was in start contrast to her work with Dodonna who was so subdued she was able to take him completely unrestrained around the facilities. He had never once tried to fight her, and she doubted he ever would. With no family left he was as married to his work, if the Rebellion could be considered work, as she was. Many nights she worked late or did not even bother to return to her apartment at all, sleeping in her offices instead. It was perhaps a strange thing to consider her similarities to a Rebel prisoner, but understanding the psychology of those she worked on was essential to the success of her experiments.
"Prisoner T2178 has been restrained fully Ma'am" one of the stormtroopers said to her. "Is there anything else you require of us Madam Director?" the stormtrooper asked. As the stormtrooper spoke something in their voice caught her attention.
"Yes, remove your helmet... TK127." Isard commanded. The stormtrooper hesitated for a moment, then lifted the helmet off her head. "So you are a woman under all that armor." She remarked. TK127 sighed and nodded.
"I am Madam Director. I hope you do not feel this will influence the quality of my work and have me reassigned." She said. Isard scoffed at the woman still holding her helmet under her arm.
"On the contrary, I plan to promote you to Captain of the Guard. I know how difficult it is to advance in the Academy as a woman. That you passed with high enough marks to be stationed on Coruscant tells me a considerable amount about your abilities. I too faced instructors who consistently marked me lower. I know you must have done considerable work to get here and I intend to use your skills to the fullest." Isard explained to the now mildly startled woman. "What is your name TK127?" she asked.
"Uh, it's Teela. Teela Lyak." She said flustered, blushing at the praise she had received. Though what the Director had said was true- she had worked hard to get this far- she knew Ysanne Isard was not a woman to throw out idle praise. It wasn't just rebels who regarded her as Iceheart. Most within the Empire did as well- just away from where she may hear about it. Her temper readily extended to imperials, and Teela knew enough to know she was not a woman to be crossed. Though she was not as feared as Darth Vader, from what she had seen of the Director she doubtless would be if she had the faintest trace of Force sensitivity. Rumors flowed about her closeness with the Emperor and what exactly she had done to curry such favor, but having watched her fierce dedication to work, Teela suspected whatever the nature of that, Ysanne Isard had earned her position on her own hard work.
"Very well, I'll make a note. I have work to do now, but I want you to report to my offices at 2200, understood?" Isard asked and Teela nodded.
"Absolutely ma'am." She replied.
"Very well, you are dismissed for now." Isard said. Teela nodded, replaced her helmet and left the lab with her fellow troopers.
Turning her focus onto the well restrained prisoner, Isard stepped closer to him. "Still fighting I see." She remarked blandly. The Corellian glared at her viciously and tried to spit at her.
"And I'll keep fighting til the day I die you kriffing shutta!" He snarled at her. Isard clicked her tongue and shook her head as she picked up a force pike.
"Where are your manners?" She asked turning the pike on. Each word of the question she asked was punctuated by a jab from the pike "Is that any way to treat a lady?" She questioned rhetorically.
"You aren't no lady." Raynar spat at her once he recovered his voice from the spasms of pain.
"Still going to fight me are you?" She asked and he gave a cocky grin.
"You'd better believe it shutta. I ain't goin down without a good fight." He confirmed.
"Unfortunately for you, the only fighting you will be doing is against yourself." She said as she produced a large syringe. "The thing of this drug is, it doesn't actually matter where I inject it. It will cause burning pain and spasms throughout the entire body. That said, the pain is most acute at the injection site." Isard said, a wicked gleam crossing her crimson eye. "I'll be injecting the drug regardless of what you do, of course. My researchers need information on the effects with a more... Durable subject." She said. "However the location of the injection site depends entirely on how cooperative you are." She explained. Raynar gave a hard swallow catching her meaning.
"Whatever shutta. Lets get on with it." He said, slightly more subdued.
"Very well, before we get on with the testing, I want some information on your role within the rebellion. My intel informs me you were a pilot. Is this correct?" She asked. He gave a huff and nodded. No sense in lying about what she knew already.
"Yeah what of it." He asked. Smirking he took a gamble and added "Need someone to help you fly round the galaxy, if you know what I mean?" Isard gave a loud snort.
"You're hardly my type, even if you weren't my prisoner." She responded.
"Yeah guess I'm not old enough for ya eh?" Raynar quipped and Isard struck him hard across the jaw. He tasted blood as her fist connected with him.
"You haven't the brains for me to even consider it." She snarled. "Back on topic- what class fighter did you pilot, and what was your rank?" She asked.
"B-wing bomber." He said. "And rank varied from mission to mission."
"And the pilot who led the attack on the battle station?" She asked, watching his reaction closely. He masked well, but she saw the tiny amount of tension he betrayed at that question.
"Didn't know 'em." He said.
"What if I told you I would release you if you gave me a name?" She asked.
"I'd say you were full of bantha poodoo." Raynar replied. "Anyways, what does a name matter when they're dead?" He asked. Jabbing the force pike into his upper thigh she watched his face contort in pain for a moment.
"You know full well I am not referring to the pilot who initiated the attack. I want to know who took the shot." Isard snapped withdrawing the force pike and allowing Raynar to catch his breath.
"Kriff if I know then. That fight was chaos. I was focused on not getting blown to bits by those turrets in my runs. Wasn't paying attention to who shot what. Didn't even know half the pilots. Bunch joined up right before that fight. Didn't get a chance to meet them all." He said and Isard watched him closely. She was still certain he did know the name of the pilot she sought, but in this much he was telling the truth. He had not known all the pilots that flew that day.
"Pity. Well if you are not useful for intel, you can continue to be useful for research purposes." She said cooly, before plunging the needle into his thigh. He screamed until he lapsed into unconsciousness. Now the next part of her research could begin.
While the second part of the drug pumped Raynar's body full of adrenaline, a sim helmet flashed images at him rapidly and a chaotic battle. False voices came over the com giving him orders in his disorientated state. "Shoot the x-wing. Watch it shot. The TIEs are on our side. Help I can't shake him!" Was all he could hear. Quieter in the background a second noise repeated. The volume was set so low he was not conscious of hearing it, but three words repeated over and over in a modulated tone- "alpha barini hapshir". They had repeated this exercise several times since she had installed the neural implant, and thus far he had refused even under the confused altered state to shoot the x-wings. Today she had high hopes of success however. He had been kept in a sleep deprived starvation state for a week now to further lower his defenses. She also had another card up her sleeve should disorientation fail. Seeing him falter and grasp the controls unsure, Isard decided to play her card. Recordings of his fellow rebel pilots which had been retrieved from Yavin played, and it gave him the push he needed. Frantically he began shooting every x-wing on the display. Isard checked the implant was accurately recording his exact brain waves to trigger when the code phrase was given. It had taken longer than she had hoped, but phase one was finally a success. She would allow him a few days to recover once she reversed the drug and wiped his conscious memory of it then test the implant and trigger. If all went according to plan, Raynar Drenall would be making a valiant escape soon and with a little luck, returning to the rebellion to be a snake in their midst. Dodonna still provided her locations of rebel bases and meet points under drug influence. His knowledge wouldn't last forever, but while it did it was highly useful in blocking the rebels and cutting them off from supplies. Already Ord Mandell, Dantooine, and an outpost on Naboo had been identified as rebel strongholds and suppliers. She would find out how the rebels located each other and ensure Raynar had what he needed to make his way into their midst. Applying the reversal drug she stood back and waited for it to activate, thrilled with her progress in generating her first sleeper agent. She could not wait to make her way to imperial palace to deliver her results.