Aneira sat in the sterile room refusing to look either agent, a Cathar female and human male, in the eye. Her posture was perfect, hands in her lap, staring unblinking at the wall behind them. Even though neither agent had said a word, it was obvious the Cathar was in charge. The male, probably only a few years older than herself, was trying to play the role of her ally in this interrogation, or would have if she had acknowledged his presence.

"Aneira Horner, am I saying that right," Agent Dithasa Lhim asked with a cheerful demeanor that was insultingly fake. "Says here your nickname is Annie. Can I call you Annie?"

"No," she replied icily. It was the first thing she'd said since the meeting began.

"To which question?"

"Both."

"Then what can we call you," her male partner asked, his attempt at a peace genuine.

Softening marginally, she made eye contact and replied, "If you insist on calling me by my first name, then you can at least do me the courtesy of saying it correctly, Agent Shan. It's pronounced Aynira."

"That's a bit too Imperial sounding," the Cathar interrupted. "Might raise too many eyebrows, it would be better for everyone if we could call you something a bit more relaxed. What's wrong with Annie?"

"Only my family can call me that," Aneira replied defiantly, glaring at the other woman. "Stop wasting my time, I'm here for one reason."

"About that," Agent Lhim started, resting her forearms on the table, "I don't think…"

"That much is obvious," Aneira interrupted, privately enjoying the way Agent Lhim's façade cracked just enough to show her anger. Clearly, she wasn't used to being address like this. "I wasn't asking your permission. I came to you first since SIS is the obvious choice if I want to sneak back to the Empire to do this. However, rest assured one way or another, I'm going to kill the Imperials who set up my family. Now, you can either work with me and I help advance your objectives as well, or I will look elsewhere. The question is, do you want the credit for these kills to go to someone else?"

"I'm not sure we can trust someone so young pulling the trigger," Lhim countered out.

"I was a cadet in the Imperial Officer Training Corps," Aneira replied, leaning forward to emphasis her point. "Had my father not been executed by the end of the year I would have been sent to basic training and entered the military. I have been trained to be proficient in firearms since I was old enough to hold a weapon, including sniper rifles Father and I would use on hunting trips. I currently hold the record for the highest score in the Empire's Marksmanship competition."

"Shooting a target or even an animal isn't the same as taking a human life," Theron pointed out.

Aneira focused a cold expression on him until he squirmed and looked away quickly. When he looked back, she said calmly, with the same expression, "If you think killing a person would give me pause, clearly you know nothing of Imperial training. Rest assured Agent Shan, so long as I have a clean shot, I will not hesitate to put a bullet through their skull." She returned to her original posture, eyes focused on the wall, and said in a calm voice, "Think it over, come back to me with your answer. We're done for now."

"We're done when I say we are," Agent Lhim snarled.

No matter what either agent said or did, Aneira did not respond, instead spent the rest of the meeting staring at the wall behind them. Angry, Agent Lhim stormed out while Agent Shan hung back.

"Probably not the best idea to get her riled up."

"But it's so easy," Aneira replied, a ghost of a smile appearing, "and so far your Republic has been lacking in entertainment."

"It's your Republic now, too," he gently pointed out. "This became your home the day you took the oath of citizenship."

Aneira raised an eyebrow in response. "Is it? I haven't exactly been made to feel welcome."

"People are leery around Imperials, can you blame them?"

"Why must I act as a proxy for things I never did?"

"To be fair, your Empire has a lot to answer for."

"'My Empire,'" Aneira repeated, eyes going hard. "Which is it, Agent? Am I a Republic citizen or a faithful servant of the Empire?"

"That's… that's not what I meant, I wasn't thinking," he tried back peddling.

"The words spoken without thought reveal what we truly believe," Aneira interrupted, voice laced with anger. "That was something Father told me when I was young, one that has proven true time and again."

"I didn't mean to offend you," Theron apologized.

"You didn't," she sighed sadly, "just confirmed what I already knew. I will always be the Imperial defector, no matter what I do."

"That's not true."

"Don't lie," she snapped. "Regardless, it doesn't matter. I hardly expect to survive my mission to see justice done for my family, what you think of me doesn't matter."

"You're more than you give yourself credit for," Theron offered.

"No, I'm not. Now unless you're going to give me authorization to start picking off my targets, we're done here."

Aneira could hear them talking outside the door. It had been 6 months since she'd been in this room being interrogated by Agent Lhim, and she did not relish being back.

Her first mission had been a success, to put it mildly. Her target was a Sith apprentice on a world bordering Republic and Imperial space. He had been the one who had swung the lightsaber that killed her father. He was viewed as the easiest target of the group on her list, and had been given the go head as a test. It helped that he had been suspected of organizing raids to terrorize nearby independent colonies to force them into aligning with the Empire. Her mission had been textbook: infiltration, single shot to the skull that killed him instantly, exfiltration with no pursuit. It had been deemed a fluke, and so she'd been given another assignment. When the second and then third had all gone the same way, the SIS began to get suspicious.

The door finally hissed open, and Agents Lhim and Shan as well as another man she recognized as the senior agent in charge of them, Ardun Kothe, entered the room. He strode to the spot across from her and leaned forward, placing his arms on the table separating them. Lhim and Shan stood behind her in formation that felt almost protective. 'Odd,' Aneira thought.

"How," he demanded. "How do your missions go off so perfectly?"

"Not big on small talk, I see," Aneira sighed. "I'm fine, thank you for asking."

"He's not someone you should mess around with," Theron said quietly.

"Especially now," Lhim added.

Fighting a sigh, Aneira looked the senior agent in the eye and answered honestly, "It would appear as if I'm getting inside help."

"You admit to having previously undisclosed Imperial connections," he questioned.

"I said no such thing," Aneira replied calmly. "I said 'it would appear', not 'I have someone on the inside'. Key difference."

"And who would do that?"

"I have several theories," Aneira shrugged.

"Care to enlighten us," he demanded, rising to his full height and crossing his arms across his chest. Aneira fought an eyeroll at his failed attempt to look intimidating.

"This may come as a shock to you, Senior Agent, but many in the Imperial Armed Forces do not enjoy Sith interference. Countless lives are lost due to Sith power plays or simple incompetence, and there is little they can do about it. There are many who would not be sad to see Sith influence wane, even temporarily. There are others who would take advantage of the chaos created by the power vacuums we are creating."

"You're saying Imperials are turning a blind eye to you because of Sith politics," he sneered.

"My father always alluded to friends in Imperial Intelligence," Aneira replied with a shrug. "Darth Jadus controls them, he is not a kind master."

"Your really expect me to believe that someone inside Imperial Intelligence is helping you simply because they liked your dad?"

"What you believe is really no concern of mine," she shrugged. "However, since I know none of you trust me, just ask the men you've had shadow me or check my comms that I know you've bugged."

"I can verify she's had no outside communication with anyone from the Empire," Agent Lhim confirmed

Aneira was shocked that the Cathar would come to her defense given their history, but thought better than to question it. "I'm not saying I fully understand why, but it's the only explanation that makes sense. Imperial Intelligence is everywhere. It's their job to monitor the Republic and their citizens alike. Their facial and DNA scanners should have picked me off multiple times and would have sent an alert to the Watcher assigned to track me. Instead, I have almost free access and that last mission…"

"What about it," Kothe asked, eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"I didn't kill Lord Cantar," Aneira confessed. "I didn't have a clear shot, and so I didn't pull the trigger. I was just getting ready to radio in a failure when I saw a flash to my right, roughly 500 meters away. That was the shot that killed him."

"Who was it?"

"I don't know, I never saw their face. And while Imperial forces swarmed that location, I was able to get away."

"It would give credit to the Intelligence theory," Agent Lhim observed. "They get to clean house of Sith they don't like and have a Republic scapegoat to pin it on."

"I want you to keep a close eye on this situation," Kothe ordered, looking over her shoulder at Shan and Lhim. "If this is true, I don't like the thought of being manipulated by Imperials, but I'll take every advantage I can get."

"I want that information," Kothe demanded.

"Where's Agent Lhim," Aneira asked, ignoring the Senior Agent. She was being debriefed after her last mission not only took out her target, but also yielded high level, time sensitive data. Data she was using for leverage to finally get the answers she wanted.

"Outer Rim," Theron answered. He was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. "She got a promotion and is now leading a strike force out there."

"Good for her," Aneira replied companionably, secretly enjoying the Senior Agent's subtle tells that gave away his frustration.

"Quit with the game," he snapped. "I want that data, you know we only have so long before it's useless."

"Then I suggest you give me what I want," she replied emotionlessly, staring him down.

After a tense minute, he broke eye contact and looked over at Agent Shan. "Play it." As Theron activated the monitor that faced Aneira behind him, he continued, "It took a while to verify this video we intercepted. I can now confirm 6 months after your father, Captain Aiden Kataran was executed as well."

She had an objection on the tip of her tongue, but the feed had started. It showed her cousin on his knees, Lord Cantar right behind him. There was no sound to the video and the angle suggested it was a hacked security feed. At some signal the Sith activated his lightsaber and in one fluid motion slashed at Aiden's neck, decapitating him.

"No," she shouted in disbelief, "no, it's not possible! His parents…"

"You really thought their influence was enough to save him," Kothe asked. "Your own accounts detail how close you two were growing up. Clearly that was enough for the Sith."

"He should have been far enough removed. I don't understand."

"He was your father's nephew, clearly that was enough," Kothe interrupted.

She looked back at the screen in disbelief. Theron had reset it, so it was a still frame of Aiden on his knees not…

Aneira slid the pad with the data to Kothe before standing and walking to the screen.

"You have my condolences," he said before taking the data and quickly leaving.

Theron hadn't moved from his spot as he silently watched her. Clearing his throat, he tried to speak a few times before finally saying, "Aneira, I'm so sorry about all this… I'm…"

"This shouldn't have happened," she interrupted. She had grown up with Aiden, he was the only family she really cared about. "His mother was Father's baby sister. I had hoped it was enough of a separation between us…" Her throat closed-up, and she turned away to hide her tears. "Leave me, agent."

He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead sighed and quietly left the room, leaving Aneira alone in her grief.

Aneira sighed as she stared at the wall of the empty interrogation room. She was really starting to hate this place.

The door finally hissed open and Agent Shan entered, a data pad in hand.

"Theron, we really need to stop meeting like this. People might start to talk."

"Lucky for us then this will be the last time," he answered, face serious. "How was boot camp?"

"About as well as can be when you have an Imperial accent and your drill sergeants still remember the Great War with the Empire. Bonus, it gave me a good idea what I can expect when I get assigned a unit."

"And that is?"

"You lot are terrible at coming up with insults. Best I heard was 'Imp Bitch.' Not impressed."

"Other than that, how are you doing?"

"Fine, now let's get this over with. I have orders to report to my training command and I'd like the chance to settle in before I class up."

"Now who's not big on small talk," Theron teased. "Alright, official stuff: As per our initial agreement, you are officially cleared of any restriction on obtaining a security clearance, and SIS has gone ahead and cleared you for Top Secret. Anything higher and your command will have to submit the paperwork, but as long as it goes to me there shouldn't be any issues."

"Good to hear. Is there anything else?"

"Nothing official, but something that's been bugging me."

"What's that?"

"The targets you went after."

"What about them?"

"You tracked down and took out every Sith that was involved with what happened to your family, but out of the officers, you only killed a handful of them and killed others unrelated to what happened. Anyone else I would have figured they got the information wrong, but the ones you got wrong were all the superiors of the ones that betrayed your family. Most of them got promoted as a result."

Aneira looked him over, eyes calculating. "Given what you know about me, what's your best guess as to my thinking?"

"That you wanted those men promoted, but I can't figure out why."

A cynical smile appeared as she answered, "Did you know in the old Sith language 'treason' and 'failure' were the same word?"

"I did not," he answered, unsure where this was heading.

"I couldn't influence Sith hierarchy, but dying from a non-force user had to be shameful enough to send them to Sith hell, which I personally like to picture with rainbows and baby animals everywhere, but I digress. Military hierarchy, on the other hand, is quite easy to control if you know who's in power. I killed General Horman, just for General Westfield to take his place. A week later, thanks to information obtained from my strike, you were able to hit weapons depot the newly promoted General controled. Do you know what happened to General Westfield?"

"I heard there was some movement as a result of that…"

"Then let me save you some time: he was executed, publicly, for his failure."

"You're arranging all of them to share the same fate your father did," Theron concluded.

"Congratulations agent, you finally figured out how I plan on getting revenge."

"All the raids we've done, all the lives we took, that doesn't bother you?"

"Agent Shan," she replied emotionlessly, eyes cold, "after what they did to my family, let me assure you, it's been my pleasure."

"Right, that's not at all disturbing," he muttered, looking away.

"The point of the soldier is to kill and risk their lives to protect the ones at home. Some us enjoy it more than others," she explained with a shrug. "Now if there's nothing else, I have a training command to check into."

"We'll be in touch," Theron said as they both stood. "Good luck out there. I hope you find… I don't know closure? A purpose? Something other than mindless killing."

"That makes two of us," she sighed as she walked out.

"Private First-Class Horner, congratulation on your promotion," Theron said as he appeared next to her at the bar.

"Agent Shan," she greeted, toasting her drink in his direction. "It feels weird seeing you without something recording us."

"How do you know there isn't," Theron asked as he signaled for a drink.

"What kind of weird shit are you into Rory," a brunet asked, wrapping her arm around Aneira's shoulders. "And who is the eye candy?"

"Theron Shan, SIS," Aneira introduced.

"Ava Jaxo," the brunet said as she flirtatiously looked him over. "So you're the one who helped Rory get into the Army, she mentioned she had help getting her clearance."

"Rory," Theron asked, eye brow raised.

"She needed a nickname, and it was the only one she would go along with. Tried going with her real name, but she's too uptight about it."

"It's not my fault you dirty peasants can't enunciated correctly," Aneira replied with an arrogant sniff.

"Glad to see you're making friends," Theron observed.

"Afraid I'd go rogue back to the Empire?"

"Not my personal concern, but I'd be lying if I said no one in SIS isn't worried about it," he conceded as the bartender placed a drink in front of him.

"After all the bodies attached to me, I doubt they'd welcome me back."

"Depends on where you're looking," he replied as she took a drink. "You're rather popular in some circles."

"Flattered, but uninterested," she hissed through the burn of the alcohol. "I go back, I'm stuck working clandestine shit. I'm having too much fun blowing shit up here."

Jaxo rolled her eyes at her friend, before turning to Theron, "It's true then that she worked for you guys before joining the Army?" Theron saw Aneira stiffen in response and refuse to look at either of them. "Rumors have been swirling since boot camp and she won't tell any of us."

"That's all classified," Theron answered, "but suffice it to say, she proved her loyalty to the Republic multiple times over."

"My buddy in Spec Ops got a look at her official kill count and said it includes Sith."

"Your 'buddy' needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut," Aneira muttered.

"I try not to contradict military guys, bad for interdepartmental relations," he deflected.

"Just answer," Aneira sighed. "She won't give up until she knows."

"Three Sith, two moffs, and 4 generals," Theron answered. "All in Empire territory."

"Shit, no wonder the Deadeyes want you so bad."

"Pass. No interest sitting on my ass for days at a time in the hope the perfect shot appears. Rather meet my opponents head on."

"So I've notice," Jaxo sighed. "All the same, I'll be sure to put a good word in with you with Garza, she's always looking for good people. And on that note, I gotta transport to catch. Good meeting you agent, hopefully our paths cross again. Later Rory."

"She seems…. nice," Theron offered as he watched her navigate the crowd. "Very friendly."

"Is that why you're watching her ass," Rory asked nonchalantly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he stammered, turning back around.

"It's not like I haven't done it," she replied with a shrug. "Anyway, is there something I can do for you? I actually had plans tonight and hanging out with you wasn't part of it."

"Aw, now you've gone and hurt my feelings," Theron sighed.

"I didn't know they gave those to mindless drones," Rory replied innocently. "Recent upgrade?"

"Someone's in a fun mood tonight," he grumbled into his drink. He finished it off and said, "I was just checking in, making sure everything's going smoothly…"

"Letting me know you spooks are always watching," Rory interrupted.

"Not how I would have phrased it, but there's that too. Stay out of trouble," Theron warned as he stood.

"I'll have you know I'm the picture of a model soldier."

"Only if you define 'model soldier' as an alcoholic who picks fights in random bars and spends half their time on restriction."

"Like I said…"

"See you around Private."

"Don't you threaten me," she shouted after him as he disappeared into the crowd.

A/N: I was ify about putting the thing in about her cousin, but wanted to show her losing any ties to the Empire. Also don't think it's too out of character for the Sith or Intelligence to clean house in cases of treason.