Vala grit her teeth as the prod came down on her neck again. The shock burst white behind her eyes ripping a scream from her ragged throat.
"This will end if you tell us who helped you," Moff Gideon said from his seat. With a wave of his hand, the trooper pulled back. Gulping down breaths, Vala blinked her vision clear and glared at the Moff.
They had been interrogating her for days. They would wake her in the middle of what was her night, drag her to a room with a wall of horrid contraptions, and torture her until the Moff either got tired or she passed out. Then, if needed, they would send a doctor in to dress her wounds.
They only did enough to keep her alive. Not enough to stop the pain or let her rest. Just enough to make sure she didn't go septic.
Her mind frayed from it all. Sleep was growing more difficult. Too often she woke confused at where she was or, worse, screaming thinking she was back in the lab. Vala hated herself for her weakness. There was little to be done besides biding and buying time where she could.
The trooper tugged at her restraints, sending a stab of pain through her arm.
The Moff watched her with a bored expression. "You know, Ancil used to brag about you. Said you would be among the best officers of your class." He rose from his seat and circled her. "He had your life planned out. A position on an Admiral's ship waiting for you. And you pissed it all away. Why?"
Vala didn't bother answering. The memories were already haunting her sleep, they weren't things she wanted to think about now. Right now, she needed to focus on not passing out. She needed a plan. Something to get her out or at least keep the Moff distracted from Grogu.
Moff Gideon waited patiently for her to respond.
"He did mention you were prone to stubbornness. I suppose it's something he couldn't cut out of you." He said with a touch of humor.
Vala bared her teeth, a retort on the tip of her tongue. Another shock turned the words to ash in her mouth.
"Well," the Moff clapped, "as fun as this was, I should check in on our little subject." He turned to the door with a swish of his cape.
The mention of Grogu chilled her. In all her time being dragged back and forth, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of him and had heard even less. Alone in her bunk, her brain concocted the worst images. Grogu cut open on a table. Grogu filled with tubes and screaming. Grogu, eyes vacant, being cataloged away. Another specimen in a log.
"WAIT!" Vala shouted her mind racing. "Wait…it was Weaton. Weaton helped me get out. He pulled funding from the research project on stealth fighters to get me a transport."
Rounding on her, his smile fell. "Weaton has served the Empire loyally. His work has helped our troops to make leaps in the technology we have left. You expect me to believe he would steal from his own project…for you."
She wet her lips. "He was obsessed with me," she said, "When I got out, he tried to keep me trapped. I didn't let him. That's how he got that ugly scar on his cheek. Pull the records you'll see, he took out nearly 3,000 credits."
The Moff leveled her with a hard look. "I will see. For your sake, I hope it's true Kast. My generosity isn't limitless and Ancil can't save you here."