A few hours later they entered the republic base in which the detention centre was situated. "Halt!" yelled the guard at the main gate. "Identify yourself!"

Vette smiled and tried to sound as calm as possible. "At ease, soldier. I'm Jedi Yadira Ban and I have a Sith prisoner. Lord Thanos here was responsible for the attack today and I want to make sure that he gets his just punishment."

The guard, a male human, eyed Quinn curiously. "I've never seen a Sith this close…"

"And the next time you'll see one, he'll gut you," stated 'Lord Thanos' in a low voice. To Vette's surprise that was all it took to get into the base, the guard directed them to a building in the west of the compound and insisted on giving them an escort.

"Thank you for your concern, soldier. I'll gladly accept your offer," said Vette and was indeed relieved that the soldiers came along. Nobody would stop them now, the disguise was perfect.

At the detention centre they were welcomed by a republic Commander. "Master Jedi! Pleased to meet you I'm Commander Vas."

"The pleasure is all mine, Commander. I'm Jedi Yadira Ban and I bring you Lord Thanos, the one responsible for the attack today."

"Outstanding! We're currently holding another Sith who was also part of this heinous crime against the Republic!"

Vette rejoiced but tried to stay calm. "Ah, I heard that a Sith was apprehended, may I speak to him before I interrogate Thanos?"

Quinn grinned and mocked: "You really expect a Sith to talk you? No wonder that the Republic loses its hold on the galaxy if they're relying on…"

Commander Vas punched him in his face. "Nobody is talking to you, scumbag!"

Vette was shocked but managed to rearrange her expression in time to appear calm. She grabbed Vas at his shoulder. "Calm down, Commander. Do not give him the satisfaction to lose your composure."

Quinn managed to keep his act up. He spit on the floor and jeered: "My my, what rude manners you have, Commander. One could almost think that you're frustrated that you're nothing but a glorified sentry on this rock while the real heroes of the Republic are fighting for the freedom of the galaxy."

"Men! Put this son of a hutt in a cell next to the pure-blood Sith! Let's see how though he is when he sees what we are going to do to his comrade!"

Vette was taken aback again and tried to keep her countenance. She asked with the calmest voice she could muster: "What do you mean by that, Commander? Torture? I don't think that the Jedi Council would approve of these methods."

Vas turned around and faced her. He was visibly agitated. "You Jedi are always so hypocritical! You appreciate the information we get out of this prisoners, but you are too squeamish to ask how we get results. We get the job done, and that's all that matters."

Steady, Vette, Steady – you have to pull through, she thought and replied: "I'll report this, but we have more urgent matters at hand, Commander." She followed the soldiers who lead Quinn towards a holding cell at the far end of the room. There was just one other cell occupied. As they passed by she saw that Badesh was sitting on the floor meditating. As soon as she looked at him, he opened his eyes and stared at her. There was no surprise apparent on his face, surely he had felt them entering the room.

Vette had a look around; there were few guards in the room. It was a golden opportunity to free Badesh – but how? "I feel much anger and dark energy from this Sith," she began, "how do you secure him? I see no Jedi guards."

Vas grinned condescendingly. "Stasis-field, before we let a pretty Jedi like you go in there we activate it, it is weak enough to keep him conscious, but strong enough to tie him down."

"So, right now there is only this force-field between him and us?"

Vas frowned and answered: "Yes… but why…" Before he had a chance to react Vette activated her double-bladed lightsaber and drove it into the controls next to the holding cell. The moment the force-field was down Badesh leaped at Vas and broke his neck, Vette threw him the lightsaber and drew a blaster, she shot the guards who had escorted Quinn while Badesh jumped at the two remaining soldiers at the other end of the room. Within seconds all republic personnel was dead. Vette freed Quinn and gave him a blaster.

"We have to act quick, my Lord. We'll put on the guard's uniforms and accompany Vette out of the base," he said to Badesh. The Sith only nodded and they stripped the soldiers of their armours. Vette guarded the door while the men changed. As soon as they were ready they left, the uniforms weren't fitting either of them properly, but they wouldn't arouse suspicion if not inspected too closely.

They reached the main gate without causing an incident. But the guard who had arrange the first escort for Vette looked at them in a sceptical way. "Master Jedi… those aren't the guards I sent with you, where…" But before he could ask Quinn had snuck behind him and killed him with a vibroknife to his back. Vette pretended to speak with the guard in case someone was watching them while Badesh moved towards Quinn. Together they leaned the guard against the wall of the guard station. Then they left.

They had almost reached their shuttle when they heard a klaxon howling. But within minutes they'd left the planet's atmosphere and flew towards the Fury.

"My Lord, perhaps you should inform Darth Nox about your successful escape. He provided information about the prison and enabled us to devise a plan," suggested Quinn as he initiated the docking sequence. Badesh nodded, Vette had the impression that he would like to say something else, but as usual he remained silent.

xxxxx

As suggested the Badesh called Darth Nox and bowed before him as soon as his holoimage materialised. "My Lord, I'm told that I'm in your debt for my rescue. I want to assure you that I always repay my debt."

Nox clasped his hands behind his back. "There is no doubt about it." With that he ended the holocall.

Without further delay Badesh raised Darth Baras on holo. "Lord Badesh! I have to say I'm surprised to see you. My sources told me that you were captured during your mission."

"Indeed, Jaesa betrayed me but thanks to Captain Quinn and Crewman Ce'na the traitor has been dealt with and I was set free."

Baras chuckled. "So you did promote the alien? And I had such high hopes for you, you are after all a pure-blooded Sith."

"There is no need for theatrics, Baras. We both know that you incited Jaesa to do this. I just wanted to tell you personally that I don't take kindly that you didn't try to kill me yourself – you have no honour."

Baras folded his arms and replied calmly: "Oh, believe me, the young one was overzealous. Of course I suggested that she should kill you, but I didn't think that she would strike so soon." The Darth looked at the Captain who stood at parade rest next to Badesh. "A pity that Kilran told you about my little machinations, Quinn. I'm sure you would have found an elegant way to kill Badesh." Baras turned his attention back to Badesh. "I will crush you, runt, and there is nothing you can do against it. My power is far greater than yours."

"We will see who is the stronger Sith is, Baras." Badesh ended the holocall, he leaned shortly against the holocommstation. Then he inhaled deeply and turned around. "It seems that we're in need of allies. Quinn, plot a course to Hoth."

"Yes, my Lord."

Vette spoke up. "My Lord? Why are we going to Hoth?"

Badesh's eyes glistened as he answered: "My sister is on Hoth, Baras will without doubt enlist her as his ally lest he can lure me in a trap. If we play this right Baras will eventually lower his defences… and I will rip the mask of his face."

xxxxx

Right after Badesh had dismissed them, Vette had decided that she needed a very long shower after today's events. She had never trusted Jaesa, she even hated her, but she couldn't help that a strange feeling took hold of her as she mused over the apprentice's actions. Come on, Vette, no need to overthink this thing – she just wanted revenge on Badesh for destroying her pretty little Jedi-world and was stupid enough to try it so soon. And still… wasn't it exactly how things in the Empire worked? The Republic did indeed have its flaws, but at least it didn't include this level of self-destructive tendencies. Speaking of self-destruction… Quinn had actually beaten her almost senseless, and yet she longed for another intimate moment with him. Vette turned off the shower and stepped out. He even admitted that he would sacrifice her for the good of the Empire, but one could argue that he was, at least, honest. In this moment she looked haphazardly in the little mirror which hung in the bathroom. Vette draw nearer and saw her scarred face. She touched her scars, bright cicatricial tissue made her past wounds clearly visible. No, I've earned his loyalty and I won't accept his priorities. If he does like me, then Quinn will have to change!

Vette found the Captain in the cockpit of the Fury. They wouldn't arrive at Hoth for another three days, but of course he checked the route and calculated a more efficient course. Quinn looked up, and for a moment Vette thought she saw something like a smile playing about his lips. Involuntary she smiled back before she pulled herself together. "Um, Quinn, I would like to talk to you…"

"As you wish," he replied smoothly, "what is it?"

Vette didn't know how to start and looked nervously at the galaxy map. "Well, um, it about what you said in the cantina back on the imperial space station. And it's about the time when you broke my jaw."

A stern look returned on his face. "I see."

"Do you? I thought about it – and I just wanted to make clear that you crossed a line back then. And I won't let it happen again, ever. Your blind obedience has almost cost you Badesh's trust and if you should choose to do so again I can guarantee you that it will cost you more than that. I trust you – even after the way you behaved when Jaesa was on board – I want to trust you, but I have to be sure that you won't do something like this again. And consider this: you were always best when you acted upon your consciousness, namely at Druckenwell and when we saved Badesh. You defied Darth Nox because you knew that it was the right thing to do." Vette felt how adrenaline pumped through her veins, he averted her gaze. With a trembling hand she nervously touched her face as she waited for his reaction. Finally she looked up and saw that Quinn stood unmoved beside the galactic map. His face didn't express his usual stoicism but rather a contemplative expression. He stepped closer to her, until she could smell his after-shave.

"I'm a soldier, Vette. What do you want from me?" Quinn said with a low voice, his close proximity made his question more intimate than the mere words let on.

Vette steadied herself and said with a firm voice: "Your loyalty. I want to have an assurance that you won't fight against me just because a crazy Sith demands it. You have responsibilities, yes, but not only towards your superiors but also towards your teammates."

"You're in error, Vette, I don't have a responsibility towards superiors or teammates, but towards the Empire itself."

Vette smiled sadly. "For a smart man you're incredibly stupid sometimes, Malavai. Have you ever thought about what the Empire is if not the people who live in it?" She fell silent, both of them looked out into the galaxy.

After a few moments Quinn spoke: "Although your argument is foreshortened, you do have a point. I… well, I… I won't betray your trust – I swear it." Vette didn't say anything, instead she took his hand and simply held it.