Spoilers for the Trooper, Bounty Hunter, Agent, Smuggler, and Jedi Consular storyline.
Rated T - Language, violence.
This defection was quite different than her last, Adoko Gale noted. Previously, she had simply given herself up at a swanky casino on Nar Shaddaa to be welcomed into a Strategic Information Services' op without event. A lot had changed since that time. Adoko had been taken back by the Empire and brainwashed. The war had reached a head and the work of spies was no longer valued as much as it had been during the Cold War.
This time, Adoko Gale was not given a delicious drink to swig while discussing her terms of defection. No, she was immediately arrested and her weapons confiscated. This only happened after much resistance and foul worlds uttered. Adoko trusted her weapons more than anyone. They were never going to betray her. She was forced out of her stylish combat skin and into ill-fitting prisoner garb. Of course she had expected all this. She had been trained to expect this.
A pair of burly Republic soldiers dragged her down a non-descript hall and into a blank room with a metal chair and table. The men dropped her onto the uncomfortable seat and stood by the door, staring daggers at her. Adoko understood the contempt they felt toward her. During her time as a cypher agent for the Empire she had taken countless Republic lives. In their eyes, Adoko could see their hunger to kill her. Her hands were bound by a plasma bond behind her back. She was completely vulnerable to an attack if they wished to beat her senseless. No, they wouldn't do that, she thought. This was a high and mighty Republic. They would not bring themselves down to the level of the Empire in terms of poor prisoner treatment.
"Cypher agent Adoko Gale. Codename: Cypher Nine. Intelligence number: 14327." A female voice pulled Adoko's gaze from the cement floor she had been staring at. A slight human woman had entered the room. She wore loose tan robes and an expression of exalted morality.
"Since when did the Republic start having Jedis do interrogations?" Adoko asked with a smile. "Things are getting serious." She couldn't help but say with a snide look to the Republic soldiers at the door.
"Yes," The Jedi spoke softly as she took the seat across from Adoko. "I am here because interrogating someone with your immense skill at deception deserves the utmost attention."
"I guess I should be proud," Adoko said. The Jedi surprised her with the hint of a smile.
"You are defecting with the promise of information regarding the Empire's military tactics." The Jedi said from memory. Adoko opened her mouth to speak but the Jedi beat her to it, "However, you will only speak to Major Nonalo Alsorran." The Jedi was of middle age. Her light brown hair was pulled back tightly to her head, giving her expression a severe look.
"Correct," Adoko said.
"Why will you only speak to the major, Adoko?" The Jedi's use of her name rubbed Adoko the wrong way. What stood between an agent and immediate death was her identity, Adoko had been taught. It was her greatest weapon. Her trump card. She felt exposed without it.
"You'll find out when I speak to her, won't you." Adoko smiled. The Jedi smiled back with dead eyes. Disquiet slipped into Adoko's mind. Was this a Jedi trick of the mind? Or just her head playing tricks on her. During her early years as a cypher agent, Adoko had felt the immensity of a Dark Council member bearing down on her with his sheer force of will. That had been suffocating, while what she felt now was only pressure.
"She has a strong mind," The Jedi murmured. Adoko let pride grow on her face. The intense training she had endured to become a cypher was not child's play. "What made you come to us?" The Jedi's voice was so calm it made Adoko angry. She had grown accustomed to the various levels of fury that issued from the Siths of Dromund Kaas, the capital world of the Empire.
"How many times do I have to tell you, lady? I'm not talking 'till Alsorran gets here." Adoko spat. Despite her desire to defect to the Republic, the ill-will she harbored toward Jedi would not be easily swayed. The Jedi stood, her face empty of all emotion. Adoko watched the Jedi make eye contact with one of the soldiers before exiting the room. The soldiers turned to Adoko with evil glints in their eyes. One remained beside the door as the other walked toward the fastened Adoko Gale.
"You remember your time on Voss?" The solider asked in a gruff voice. Adoko simply stared up at him.
"I've been many places, honey." She flashed a grin. The solider struck her hard across the face. Her vision became blurry.
"You killed my brother, you filth!" The soldier yelled. "He was only 17! He joined up because he wanted to be just like me. And you killed him! Killed him like he was nothing."
"Are you quite done?" Adoko asked sharply. The soldier gritted his teeth before punching he in the jaw. Adoko took the beating in silence. She would not give this Republic grunt the satisfaction of an admission of pain. With the muted sounds of Adoko's flesh being pounded in the background, the Jedi master waited outside the room with the slightest hint of a smile on her face.
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