Warning... the very end of this chapter has kind of a mention of sexual assault, nothing graphic, though. Just figured I should mention something...

Chapter 2 interlude- Aboard the Emperor's Fortress

The three occupants sat quietly in the large room. In the past few days, they'd been moved from small cages in a ship hanger to something more akin to a detention center. Their cages were replaced with actual cells that had room to walk, a toilet, and even a bed—or a slab of metal jutting out of the wall that served as a place to sleep. Doc assumed that it was night—or at least a time that most of the crew was asleep, judging by the lack of activity, but he still couldn't sleep. He walked in circles in his cell, the same repetitive pattern somehow keeping him from thinking too much.

And there was so much to think about. He didn't know what would happen to them—would they be killed by the Imperials? Would they spend the rest of their lives as Imperial prisoners until they were tortured to death?

He also thought about Adalii. They had all been moved just days after they first saw Adalii as a sith, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep from thinking about her and what they could be doing to her. Especially horrid were his thoughts on what the overseer could be doing to her, what exactly his definition of 'having fun' was. Because he had ideas, and no matter how bad the images his mind inflicted on him, he knew that it could get worse, and it probably was.

Doc paused his pacing to see her enter the room.

Although, this time, she seemed different. Without the overseer, there was a trace of her that Doc could see. The way she walked, the way her dark hair was pulled into a neat ponytail, something. Though maybe that was just wishful thinking on his part.

She approached the lined-up cells.

Doc couldn't see Kira, but knew that she was in the middle cell, whereas he was on the farthest.

Her voice sounded tired and Doc wondered if she had just woken up. "What do you want?"

Adalii didn't seem so sith-y this time, and she was at least covered in black robes that exposed no unnecessary skin. "I wanted to see who was down here—not that I have to explain myself to you."

"Yeah, well, can you hurry up and leave? I would rather go to sleep than look at you," Kira groaned.

"You're not even scared," It was said with barely-hidden awe as her eyes widened somewhat at Kira.

"No. But you are."

Adalii stood resolute. Fists at her sides. "No, I'm not."

"Yes you are. When you were a jedi, you never got scared," Kira muttered. Her tone made it very clear that she was trying to get a rise out of her old master.

"You're lying," Adalii ground out, her voice sounding as tense as it was dangerous. "I'm not scared. I never was a jedi."

Kira made a sound that was something like a chuckle. "Oh, but you were. A good one, too. You were my master."

"That's not true. I would know—"

"Why? Because your overseer boyfriend would have told you?"

Adalii lost some of the light in her eyes. "He's not my boyfriend." She shook her head. "I know my own mind. I would know if I was ever so weak to be like you." She was angry now, and it showed in her eyes.

"You were like me, and then you were weak enough to give in."

Adalii snorted. "Please. The dark side gives me strength. I'm obviously stronger than you."

Kira raised a challenging eyebrow. "Oh, really? Show me."

"I would, but I'm not allowed to harm you. Not yet anyway," Adalii snarled.

"You won't because you're still in there."

Her statement confused Adalii.

"You're still a jedi," Kira threatened.

"No. I'm…" Her voice faltered, and she winced like she was in pain. "I'm not."

"Yes. You are."

"I never was, and I never will be," Adalii was panting, and a small rivulet of blood trickled from her nose. Doc didn't know what was going on, but her didn't like it. No. He hated it.

He frowned. "Kira—"

"You can deny it all you want, but you'll never be able to lie to yourself. You know you were a jedi. You can feel it."

"Kira, stop it!" Doc finally shouted, noticing the greater stream of blood from Adalii's nose. But it seemed that he was ignored.

"Stop lying!" Adalii shouted, ignoring the now much stronger flow of blood from her nose. "I never was a jedi." She stepped closer. Her body language threatened Kira. "You—you're lying, pathetic jedi scum. You deserve no mercy, and you will get none. I will see to it personally that you will beg for death. You will curse every sustaining breath that your lungs force you to take until I finally kill you, making sure that you suffer every moment until." She stepped back, and any trace of Adalii that was there when she entered was long gone.

She turned her head to look at Doc, her red eyes curious and uncomprehending. She lifted her hand to the space above her lips, bringing her fingers down to observe the sticky red coating. She moved to look at him one more time, something infinitesimal changing within her. She turned around and left the dungeon, leaving the three prisoners behind.

When the door closed behind her, Doc frowned. "What the hell, Kira?"

"What do you mean?"

"That's still Adalii."

Kira sulked. "That wasn't Adalii."

"That was, and you just…" He shook his head. He didn't know what she just did, but he could figure that screwing around with someone's sith programming enough that they started bleeding from the nose wasn't a good thing. "You're blaming her for all this, and it's not right. You're letting yourself get angry, and you shouldn't."

"Oh really? Do you want to give me more lessons on being a jedi? You're obviously such a good and prosperous person, yourself," Kira spat.

He sighed. No, he wasn't a good person, but he knew that hurting Adalii was the last thing they needed to be doing. "From what I've heard, Adalii would've never treated you like that, or even blamed you for being under the Emperor's control." He could hear Kira tense, and he knew that she was calming down and seeing that she was wrong. "Good night." He muttered, and no one said anything else for a very long time.

Adalii reached her quarters. Closing the door behind her, she reached to turn the lights on.

A hand clamped on her wrist, harsh and strong and unforgiving. She couldn't see but she knew it was the overseer, and she knew that he knew where she'd been. Her arm was yanked hard enough that it made her shoulder feel excessively stretched. She was pulled against his body.

His breath was hot and unpleasant against her ear. "And where have you been, acolyte?"

Her heart pounded with a fear that she hated herself for feeling. She swallowed. "I was just…" His hand tightened against her wrist. "exploring."

"Hmm," He bit her neck. Fairly hard too, and Adalii realized that he seemed to bite her quite a lot. He stopped just as Adalii felt her skin break. "Wrong answer. Try again."

Her neck throbbed, and some vague, obscure voice in her mind seemed to nag her about potential infection. "I saw the prisoners."

"Oh, acolyte," His voice told her what was coming. "How am I going to punish you?" His hands skimmed over her body and pulled her even closer and she felt him, hard and pressing against her abdomen. He chuckled. "Let's start by getting you on your knees."

Adalii felt bile rising in her throat as the overseer forced her down until her knees touched the ground, but she still obeyed. She had to.

Wow, it's been a while since I updated this :-P TBH, this was just kind of lurking for a really long time before I finally decided to post this. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll try to do something a bit lighter than these past two chapters for the next one. Thank you for reading, and reviews are greatly appreciated :)