The Empire is failing at maintaining what it promised. It's happening right in front of your eyes, but the indoctrination and the propaganda are rooted so deep within you that you're blind to the truth.

Eva lies with her head on the concrete ground sideways, gazing straight ahead. Her body shivers as she feels cold in this freezing prison block. She can see the vapour of her own breathing coming out of her mouth as she lets out a shaking sigh. It merely reflects a tiny bit of the inner turmoil that is brewing within her. Lying on the ground with her arms and legs still chained to the metal seat, the words Lu spoke to her remain reminiscent in her shattered mind. Lu being the Spy, the backstabber all along still shakes her and has left her heart broken with sorrow and pain. Her eyes ache as the tears slowly dry up. Lying with her cheek on the concrete floor, the tears formed small pools on the ground, having streamed out of her aching eyes. She has no idea how long she's been lying here, sideways with her cheek on the ground, looking at the floor that ends at the wall. Knowing she was in great danger and could never see Eline again once Lu would take her to the Rebel fleet, Eva tried to break her chains. She still had her comlink tucked away between her chest and her suit. She tried to free herself to take it and make a call to Peyton or anyone else, but she became too desperate and shifted her seat out of balance. Eva fell over, and slammed the side of her head on the ground, leaving her with a mild headache that made her clench her teeth and grow sleepy, so sleepy that her eyelids felt heavy and her surroundings felt like it's spinning out of control. The pain in the rest of the body is still there. The burning sensation she has in her chest still remains from the punch CK-3 inflicted. She can still feel the droid's metal claws enclaving her throat, leaving behind several aching red spots on her neck. Her forehead still aches from the droid's punch that made her lose her consciousness, and the steel chains that spread around her body still bite into her skin like hungry monsters. The cut wounds they have left behind ache, and the blood that seeped out has dried up on the concrete ground.

Lying on the ground for so long caused Eva to lose her grip on time. An hour could have passed, or 12 hours or even a day, but it feels like an eternity, and the pain all over her body slowly subsides except for the pain in her heart. The damage Lu's stab wound left behind is unable to heal, and the shards are cold with sorrow. Eva feels like she's empty, having no heart functioning anymore, and she continues to lie on the ground with her cheek on the cold concrete.

Hopeless, Eva knows she's trapped, unable to escape her claustrophobic prison block. She can still feel her comlink stuck between her chest and her training suit, but with no hands to move, Eva can't use it to send a message or even just a ping so Peyton or anyone else in the Imperial forces can triangulate her position. Aside from her hands, she can't move her legs, not even a little. She has no way of escape, and the hopelessness she feels in her shattered heart remains reminiscent. Deep within her, her fury that was once fiery red now wants to cry in agony. Eva wants to cry, but she has already cried so much that her eyes can't do it anymore. Her eyes ache and are red from the countless tears they dropped, leaving Eva unable to relieve her hopelessness, sorrow, and pain.

Suddenly, she hears the lock pins screech and the door behind her opening. Eva can hear it slide swiftly into the wall, and she hears a man letting out a sigh.

''Trying to break out again?'' says a male voice.

Eva keeps her eyes straight ahead, too distracted by her inner turmoil that's still brewing, so much so that she doesn't answer. Not a word, not even a peep.

''Alright. Let's get you back up.''

She feels two cold hands touching her back as they enclave the iron rod of her seat's backrest, and the man pulls her up from the ground. Eva is pulled up, feeling the cold concrete in her cheek no more, and as her seat comes to a stop with its four legs on the ground, her head abruptly jerks sideways. The bun of her hair comes loose and the long strands dangle down over her eyes. Through the blond strands, Eva's empty eyes land on a Rebel soldier wearing a dark blue jacket, grey jeans and brown shoes, but her eyes slowly go up and she notices the man is a Twi'lek. His skin is ocean blue, his eyes yellow, and his lekkus vanish behind his back. A hint of disgust flashes through her as she looks at the Rebel alien. His skin is inhumanly blue and his eyes shine like a monster in a cave. Behind him in the doorway of her prison block stands a woman, a human with long black hair and pale skin, with her brown eyes looking at Eva.

''And you're up again,'' says the Twi'lek man with a calm voice.

As the disgust slowly rises higher than the sorrow in her chest, Eva looks at the Twi'lek with narrowing eyes. She sees his alien eyes shifting to her cheek and he reaches out for her.

''Your eyes and cheek are very red,'' says the Twi'lek. ''Let me take a closer look.''

As his hand comes quickly closer, Eva instantly moves her head away, her eyes narrowing with disgust.

''Keep your hands off of me, you alien!'' she hisses.

Her teeth are clenched as the Twi'lek retracts his ocean-blue hand and his yellow eyes tell he's insulted, his yellow eyes aimed at her with much focus and slightly narrowed. Though it's a fact, 'alien' is often used as an insult to races inferior to humans. It implies one is another's lesser-worth, supposed to serve in enslavement, and Eva wants no hand of a lesser-worth alien touching her. The only alien who gets to do that is Ashara, and no one else.

Clenching her teeth, she gazes with disgust and anger at the Twi'lek Rebel.

''Kid, if you have something to say, keep it to yourself,'' he says, looking down on her. ''I'm here just to check in on you and make sure you're doing fine.''

Keeping it to myself? Making sure I'm fine? You're a joke, thinks Eva, and suddenly, a smile forms on her face and she chuckles, breathing heavily as the anger brews within her.

''As if I take orders from you, Twi'lek.'' Eva hisses, her teeth nearly cracking as she clenches them tightly.

The Twi'lek slightly tilts his head with his eyes focused on her. ''How so?''

Suddenly, a flame of her inner fury breaks out and Eva's short-lived smile vanishes as she presses her lips tensely together. ''You're not superior to us, never,'' she hisses. ''You Twi'leks are weak, unreliable and choose war. You don't have the right to command me, and you don't belong here in a superior galaxy. You and your Twi'lek race belong to the labour camps to remain enslaved!''

Then, the Twi'lek opens his hand palm and slaps Eva in her face. It echoes through the room as her head jerks sideways. The chains rattle, her body tensing up with a shock of pain, and she gasps for air. The Twi'lek's smack leaves her with an aching cheek as Eva tilts her head backwards. Her eyes roll away as she pants, feeling the heat of the pain in her cheek.

''I do not tolerate any of that,'' says the Twi'lek with a shiver of anger in his voice.

He reaches out for her chin and he gently moves it towards himself. Eva's eyes are forced to look at him as she feels his cold hand grasping her chin.

''No person should disrespect my race after all the genocide that your Empire committed against my people,'' says the Twi'lek. ''Do you understand that?''

Eva feels the shock of pain subsiding, and though it was an attempt at correcting her bad behaviour, it does the opposite and she feels the anger burning hotter than before.

She scoffs with anger. ''Your brother almost evaporated me with his thermal detonators. You understand that, scum?''

The Twi'lek then reaches out for his pocket, lashes out a grey stick and nearly jabs it into Eva's chin. She startles and instantly tilts her head up with shock.

''You know what this is?'' asks the Twi'lek, his voice filled with frustration.

Eva shifts her eyes down, her breathing shaking. Her head shivers with shock as her eyes land on the stick the Twi'lek is holding below her chin. The anger she first had diminishes as she recognises what the man is holding in his hand, and her head starts shivering with fear. She recognises it as a baton, but she notices it's not just any ordinary baton.

The Twi'lek sees the sudden fear in Eva's pupils as they grow larger. ''Yeah, you know what it is,'' and then his baton releases an electric charge.

Eva's heart skips a beat and gasps for air as the baton zaps relentlessly below her chin. She can see the blue lightning spitting out of it, and she realises it's an electrobaton. Zapped for five seconds and it's over. Your heart ceases to beat and Eva fears touching it for even a millisecond.

Suddenly, she sees the human woman stepping into the prison block.

''Okay Butan, that's fine,'' she says, her soft voice echoing through the room. ''We're here just to check in on her.''

The Twi'lek stops zapping his electrobaton and turns around to the woman.

''I don't allow my race to be insulted like that, Tal,'' he says. ''It's xenophobic, Imperial lies. She should be punished for her bad manners.''

''I know,'' says the lady, and she pushes the Twi'lek away towards the wall, ''but that's not the right way.''

Eva's eyes dart around as the Twi'lek's back bumps into the wall, her heart still pounding relentlessly. The woman holds her hands on his shoulders.

''Back home, we punished misbehaving children with a smack or the room's corner,'' says the Twi'lek, his eyes tensely focused on the woman with frustration. ''We should do the same for xenophobia and attempt at justifying genocide.''

''But babe,'' says the woman, ''violence and torture are not what we do, nor what we stand for. We're not the Empire nor Gerrera. We try to overthrow the Empire, not copying their practices.''

Eva looks at the couple with a pounding heart, but it starts slowing down as the woman's soft voice sounds soothingly calm. Deep in her shattered heart, she fears what the Rebels in this room are capable of and what she is unable to do. Deep down there, Eva is still convinced they're all murderous monsters, demons, but seeing how the human woman handles the situation in such a calm manner has a soothing effect on her and the Twi'lek as well.

''The xenophobia isn't her fault,'' says the woman. ''She's just a lost kid.''

The Twi'lek seems to slow himself down, and he lets out a sigh of frustration, shifting his eyes to Eva. She can see how much she insulted him, how much it struck his alien heart when she said that his species deserved to be enslaved by the Empire. However, even after how much she spat out, the Twi'lek holds his composure and the woman lets go of his shoulders.

Though her heart is calming down, the fear remains as Eva's eyes dart to the electrobaton still enclaved in the Twi'lek's hand as he nods to the woman.

''Good,'' she says, softly. ''Now, get me the medpack, I'll clean her up.''

''Will do,'' replies the Twi'lek.

''Thanks,'' and she moves closer to the man and presses her lips on his blue cheek.

Eva sees the woman giving the Twi'lek a kiss, and a hint of disgust suddenly bubbles up in her stomach, almost feeling sick. That human and the alien are in a relationship? Yuk.

The Twi'lek looks one more time at Eva, and she sees the frustration still remaining in his yellow eyes. After a quick glance, he walks around the woman and leaves the prison block, and he quickly returns with a white, metal box with the red sigil barely visible on its lid. He hands it to the woman and leaves her and Eva behind. She turns around to Eva, and as her gasps of fear echo through the room, the woman approaches the chained-up girl and lowers herself. Eva's heart pounds in her throat, but figuring out what she's going to do, the tense, claustrophobic atmosphere seems to calm down.

Eva shifts her eyes to the medpack as the woman opens it. She seems to elegantly take off the lid and it reveals some bandage and other little boxes. At first glance, even when she's a Rebel, this woman seems nice and caring and doesn't give the painful betrayal feeling Lu gives. The woman's brown eyes shift to Eva, absent from the flame other Rebels have burning in their eyes. Slowly, Eva learns that this woman may not be the Rebel demon most others are, since this Rebel seems genuinely caring.

She can feel her warm breath as the woman locks her eyes on her.

''What's your name?'' she asks softly.

Eva's eyebrows rise a bit, confused at why she would need her name. It causes a bit of discomfort to rise in her chest, and the woman seems to notice it by the silence Eva allows to fall into the prison block.

''I'm Talianis,'' the woman replies. ''Just call me Tal.''

Now knowing the name of this nice woman, Eva feels the discomfort diminishing a little. She feels like Tal is trying to make her feel comfortable in a space that is anything but, a claustrophobic, cold room that now feels like it's opening and warming up with the woman's soft and nice voice. Eva swallows heavily, and she opens up a little.

''I'm-, I'm Eva,'' she responds.

Tal nods and a smile forms on her face, seemingly happy that she now knows the name of the girl she has locked up.

''So you're the girl I've been hearing about from my Captain all along,'' she replies. ''Nice to meet you.''

Eva nods. Deep within her, Eva feels disbelieved that even in a time of war, this woman is this nice to her, as if it were her own mother. Eva thought she'd be treated like any other prisoner of war, treated worse than what the ISB is capable of, but seeing the difference between the Twi'lek's tone and that of Tal leaves her with a mark engraved in her mind. Even when she knows Tal is her enemy and that of the Empire she loyally serves, Eva's pupils widen in disbelief as she unknowingly learns more that not everyone is a Rebel demon. She's abnormally human for a participant of the Rebel Alliance she always thought to be a band of inhumane demons. However, it doesn't make her an ally. Tal still serves the opposite side, a terrorist group targeting her Empire.

''Keep your eyes on me,'' says Tal with a smile.

Her soft voice calms down her pounding heart, and Eva faintly nods, and she lets Tal do her duty. As long as it isn't an alien, it's fine.

Tal nods as well, and she picks a flashlight from the medpack and shines it at Eva's left eye. She flinches a bit, but she keeps her eyes on Tal as she examines her.

''I'll give you some OptiHydraeze,'' says Tal, and she looks down and puts away the flashlight in the medpack. ''I think you've been so upset that you've depleted the tear film and swollen your eyes.''

Tal looks up from the medpack. ''Do your eyes feel sore?''

The knowledge she possesses, the care, the empathy, the softness, they make Eva feel like she's looking at Ashara. Tal is just like her, a female servant caring for the medical well-being of others. No harsh voice like that of the taskmasters, just the soft voice of a genuinely caring girl. Tal and Ashara are just like each other, even when both are each other's biggest enemies. Even when Eva is her enemy, Tal cares about her. Lu cares maybe a little, but she doesn't seem to show as much empathy and care as Tal. Her question is just like one Ashara would ask with the same, soft voice.

Eva nods. Tal too, and she takes a small tube of OptiHydraeze out of the medpack, but then, Eva sees she's taking an injection needle too. She suddenly feels a shiver down her spine as she sees it in Tal's hand, and she takes a big gasp of air. An injection needle is fine, but using it to treat her sore eyes hits a sensitive nerve, and Eva feels her body tensing up.

Tal shifts her eyes up and sees Eva's red eyes focused on the injection needle and she notices the discomfort in her.

''Don't feel worried,'' says Tal, shifting her head a bit closer to the girl. ''I won't inject anything.''

Eva's eyes dart to Tal. What do you mean, you won't inject anything with an injection needle?

Tal injects the needle into the tube and extracts the serum, and moves herself closer to Eva, nearly touching her chained-up body. She can see the substance sitting in the injection needle and it makes her heart pound with nervousness. However, if it was Ashara holding the needle, Eva would've allowed it. Tal feels like no different person.

Tal finishes preparing the needle and looks up at Eva.

''Eyes on me,'' she says.

With her heart pounding, Eva focuses her eyes on Tal. The woman draws closer to her with the needle and one by one, Tal lets it float above her eyes and lets some cold drops of OptiHydraeze drip. The cold drops feel like rain, feeling like ice, and Eva instinctively blinks. After having administered some of the substance to her right eye, Eva feels the freezing droplets spreading over her eyes, and they quickly diminish the soreness. Eva blinks relentlessly a couple of times as the substance on her eyes feels uneasy, but suddenly, the aching vanishes like a heavy weight falling off of her shoulders. Her eyes adapt to the low temperature of the substance and the nervousness flushes away.

Her healing eyes land on Tal. She moves closer and inspects Eva's eyes.

''I can already see a difference in your eyes,'' Tal responds. ''How does it feel now?''

Eva swallows. ''Better,'' she says, nearly a whisper.

Tal smiles. ''Good.''

And feeling better with her in the room, Eva lets Tal inspect her red cheek. Feeling a soft pad with a wet substance swiping over her aching cheek, Eva never expected herself to be this soft to a Rebel. She always handled Rebels like a hivemind. If one Rebel's a demon, so must the other be, but the soft and caring tone of Tal disproves her, and as she finishes treating her sore cheek, Eva feels a question arising in her mind, and she wants it to be answered. Why is she so different? Why isn't she a demon too?

As Tal puts the lid back on the metal medpack, Eva gazes at her with the question in her eyes. She feels a bit of nervousness rising in her chest, wondering if it could be a question she can ask.

''T-, Tal,'' Eva stammers.

She looks up from the medpack.

''Why aren't you-, a demon like the rest?'' Eva asks, her voice shivering.

Tal tilts her head. ''A demon?''

She lets out a faint sigh, a bit of disappointment in the girl's inability to look through the propaganda she's been told all her life, and catching herself, Tal shifts her eyes to Eva again.

''No one's a demon around here,'' says Tal, shaking her head a little. ''I know it's hard for you to understand it since you've been living in a world of a single perspective, but-, we're no demons. We are just people from the worlds that your Empire sacrifices to let other worlds thrive like yours. In order to create, you have to destroy, and that's what the Empire is doing, destroying the worlds and peace of others to create the perfect Imperial worlds. I'm from Onderon and the Empire that replaced our kingdom exploits our resources.''

Tal shifts her eyes down to the metal container and taps faintly with her fingers on the lid while Eva watches her and listens.

''My family still lives there, and they live in extreme poverty. Can't even afford running water when the Imperials decided to redirect the water from a nearby source to a hydropower plant for the new shipyards. I don't even need to take the worst example of the Empire destroying worlds to let their own thrive, but what you need to understand is that to many outside the Imperial worlds like Vaulent 6, life has become so unlivable under the reign of the Emperor.

Tal looks up, and Eva can see a hint of sorrow in her eyes.

''We couldn't live anymore, including me, so we decided to stand up, form the Alliance, and fight the Empire for those who can't fight for a life like yours, just a relaxing life with a steady income and running water with freedom and the right to choose their own government. I bet you had a relaxing life with your parents and a steady income to buy you anything you need.''

Eva feels a hint of sorrow in her heart as she thinks back to her life before the Academy before it happened. The job at the BlasTech facility paid well enough, and her mother's job in the fields with a taste for biology was enough to afford anything Eva and Eline needed. Though Eva didn't need much at the time, she remembers when her mother talked about Eline's membership in the Imperial Scouts. It cost much, but not out of their financial range. Eva's parents had the stable income to afford such a membership, but hearing that Tal and her family didn't have such a life before they started fighting makes her subconsciously realise the quality of her own life is unimaginable in other worlds, even those that are under the control of the Empire. Tal's homeworld, Onderon, has been under Imperial control since the beginning of its reign, but hearing that life didn't improve makes Eva realise that the Empire's benefits do not apply to all. Slowly, Eva starts understanding the fight of the Rebels, and with a hint of empathy building up within her, she faintly nods. Tal nods too.

''Exactly,'' Tal replies. ''The life so many in this world have is impossible for most others outside, and that applies to all of us here. That's why we fight.''

Though the soft voice of Tal is calming, Eva feels the silent atmosphere becoming thicker for her to breathe in. She almost starts to feel bad for Tal, hearing how bad life is. However, Eva can't get herself to question her own Empire. She has sworn her allegiance, her life, to the throne of the Emperor, and the reign of the Empire is still superior to the rest. The stability, the order, and the security truly benefit the galaxy, and Eva sees it benefiting life in her own world. Without the Empire, Vaulent 6 would've disappeared into the background as a backwater, obsolete industrial world. Thanks to the Empire, Vaulent 6 remained an economic powerhouse of the Mid-Rim. If that is possible, so is it for other worlds such as Onderon, and Eva doesn't doubt the power and the benefits the Empire has. However, the bit of empathy Eva has developed has been engraved in her mind to stay with her.

Tal lets out a faint sigh. ''I don't need you to switch sides. All I need you to do is understand why we fight.''

Eva shifts her eyes up to Tal and she nods. She feels uneasy about suddenly developing empathy for a representative of people she has always seen as immoral demons, and subconsciously, Eva learns a war isn't one-sided. It always has more than just one perspective with each their own reasons to fight.

Tal nods too, and a thin smile forms on her face, happy that Eva can at least understand the fight of the Rebel Alliance. Tal puts the medpack on the ground next to her and holds onto it, preparing to stand up, but before she does that, she takes one last look at Eva.

''You're hungry?'' she asks.

Eva nods.

''Soon you'll get something to eat before we depart and go to the fleet,'' Tal responds. ''I'm sorry that we chained you up like this.''

Eva remains quiet, unable to say something back, and as Tal leaves her behind in the prison block, the conversation unknowingly engraved a mark in her mind. It changed Eva's perspective on war, and that perhaps, not all enemies are as faceless as she thought they were. She learns she has always been looking at the Galactic Civil War from one side, never taking the enemy side into account. Never did she think of an enemy with a face. To her, they have always been demonic creatures without morals and a face, especially what the Rebel Alliance has done to her parents and her sister. But even then, the Rebels are no monsters. They are more humane than Eva thought they were, and even when she tries to convince herself they're not, Eva can't think of anything but the conversation, hearing how bad others live outside the loyal, Imperial worlds. Her allegiance still lies with the Empire, and her position in the war is left unchanged. Eva can't imagine a world where she wouldn't have been born under the Imperial reign. She's grateful for what it has brought to her, a stable life and a safe world, and she remains loyal to the Empire, but now she understands why others are not.

Despite her understanding and empathy, Eva still has hate and rage contained deep within her, pushing her to break out of her chains. She knows she can't leave the world to the Rebel fleet. She has to stay on Vaulent 6 if she wants to see the face of Eline again, and Eva feels determined to free herself when she gets the chance. Fortunately, Eva knows from Tal that soon, she'll be fed before they take her away. That's her chance, but she realises it won't be a chance to escape. Her prison block is probably deep within the base of operations. The corridors she'll have to run through without any weapons will be filled with Rebels. They'll detain her as quickly as her break-out. Her only shimmer of hope to get out is the Comlink stuck between her chest and her Academy training suit. All she needs to do is take it and send out a ping. That's all she needs to do, but she'll need a free hand, and once the Rebels see her taking her comlink out of her clothing, they'll take it away. She'll need to take her comlink when they look away, and calculating the risks and the dead ends, Eva starts mapping out her plan to escape from the claws of the Rebel Alliance that have entangled her. With a heart Tal managed to calm down, and Eva's escape plan is formed. All she needs to do is wait until the moment arrives, and patiently without even attempting to break her chains, Eva waits for the Rebels to give her her food and free her hands.

After waiting for what felt like years, Eva hears footsteps growing louder behind the door of the prison block. Her eyes instantly dart to the metal door, and she hears the metal pins of the lock click. Her heart starts racing with anticipation as she keeps her eyes on the door. It opens and slides into the wall, and Tal and the Twi'lek enter the room. As they step into her prison block, Eva's eyes land on a metal plate with a simple piece of bread and a cup in the hands of Tal, and simultaneously, she holds a screwdriver in the same hand. With the plan echoing through her mind, Eva's eyes dart to the Twi'lek, observing what his position is, and she sees he's staying in the back. His electrobaton is stuck in his belt holster and his alien eyes are locked on her, keeping an eye on her. With the two Rebels in the same room, it feels like the atmosphere is in balance. A soft, caring person and a harsh, mean alien. The atmosphere that feels calming gives Eva's heart space to pound relentlessly, coming up to speed with her nervousness as the plan starts to unfold.

As Tal steps towards her, she lowers herself to the ground and puts the plate of food down next to her. She looks up with her brown, friendly eyes, and Eva feels bad for betraying them.

''Eva, we'll free your hands so you can eat,'' she says, her soft voice echoing through the room. ''Don't do anything erratic, or else he won't be as friendly as he now appears to be.''

The Twi'lek chuckles softly, and a smile appears on Tal's face. Eva takes a quick glance at the alien, and to her, he still looks as unfriendly as before. She shifts her eyes back to Tal as the woman holds the screwdriver in her hands and reaches out for the chains biting into her arms. Out of her sight, Tal loosens the chains and one by one, Eva feels the pressure they're putting onto her arms decreasing until she's able to move her arms out of them. Slowly, she moves them away from the chains and Eva feels a wave of relief washing over her, finally feeling her arms and hands moving like how they should. The bitemarks the chains have left are engraved in her skin, appearing like red marks burned onto her arms, and she twists her fingers a bit around, cracking them to wake up the muscles. They've been locked into place for hours or days, unable to move, and now, it feels relieving to finally feel them.

While she twists her wrists a little, Tal moves away from her and gazes at Eva moving her previously locked limbs. It feels good to crack the joints of her fingers, and while she wakes them up a little, Eva's eyes land on her legs and feet. They're still chained up, locked into position, and she wonders whether Tal will free them too. It would make eating her food much easier if she could just sit on the ground or use her seat as a table since it appears she has no table at all. Besides, a cup on her lap would easily wobble out of balance and result in a catastrophic disaster that would leave no victims to spare. However, Eva sees Tal moving her hands to the plate of food, and she figures she won't be freeing her feet. The plan is in motion, but not in the right direction. She has to correct it.

''W-, will you free my feet too?'' Eva stammers, shifting her eyes up.

Her heart pounds in her chest as Tal looks up at Eva, and she shifts her eyes to her chained-up feet.

''Can't you eat it with the plate on your lap?'' Tal asks.

Eva faintly shakes her head. ''I would rather use the seat as the table. I'd spill the cup if it was on my lap,'' she answers. ''I'm still 13, you know.''

Come on, let this work.

A thin smile forms on Tal's face. She probably knows how messy some children of Eva's age can be. She moves a bit further towards Eva's legs with the screwdriver in her hand, and in the corner of her eye, Eva sees the Twi'lek shifting his feet and his eyes suddenly darting to the woman.

''Wait, Tal,'' he says, his cold voice echoing through the room. ''She could escape if you unchain her.''

Tal tilts her head a little to her shoulder. ''She's just a child,'' she says. ''She won't be able to escape the perimeter.''

Still chained up, Eva shifts her eyes to the Twi'lek and she hears him letting out a sigh of frustration. However, he lets Tal do her thing, and shifting her eyes down, she sees her bent down towards her legs. Her screwdriver loosens the tension of the chains that entangle her legs. She feels the pressure diminishing and she can finally move them. As Tal gets up, Eva sees the woman's brown eyes she feels bad for betraying, but the plan is already in motion.

Eva moves her head a little bit towards Tal as she's about to pick up her plate with food. She clears her throat, her heart pounding with nervousness in her chest.

''Tal,'' says Eva.

She interrupts Tal and the woman shifts her eyes away from the plate of food, looking at Eva and wondering what the girl has to say. The plan is nearing its burning climax, the moment that seals her fate.

''There's something I-, I want to tell you,'' Eva stammers, her heart aching in her chest.

Tal tilts her head a little and moves herself a bit closer to Eva, wanting to hear what she has to say. Tal's head comes close enough to feel her cold breath blowing faintly into her face. Within her, Eva feels the anger she has always had burning, boiling her blood as Eva clenches her teeth, ready to strike for her freedom.

''Tal,'' she stammers.

Eva's heart aches in her chest as the plan topples over the summit, and she swallows heavily. Her eyes narrow as she looks with a dead stare at Tal who's still with her knees on the ground.

''I'm sorry.''

Suddenly, Eva blasts forward and crashes her head against Tal's nose. The woman lets out a scream of pain and cripples backwards onto the ground. Eva falls out of her seat and lands with her knees on Tal's legs as she lies on the ground with her hands reaching out for her nose. Eva feels her heart aching with anger as she looks up and sees the Twi'lek startling, seeing his human girlfriend in unexpected pain. He reaches out for his electrobaton hanging on his waist and pulls it out. Instantly, Eva takes hold of her metal chair and entangles her hands around its legs. With the chair in her hands, Eva stands up from the ground and as the Twi'lek blows towards her with his electrobaton zapping in his hand, she leashes out her fury, raises the metal chair and slams it into the Twi'lek. He has no time to react and Eva pounds the metal chair into his head. The chair flies out of her hands and Eva nearly falls over due to the sudden loss of weight in her hands. The chair slams into the wall and the Twi'lek screams with red blood dripping out of the wounds on his head, falling against the wall as he holds onto his head, trying to cover his wounds. Eva almost falls backwards over the body of Tal, still disabled by her bloody nose as if its bone broke off and almost pierced her skull, panting out of agony. Eva stumbles over her body as she instantly turns around, knowing she now has a chance. She turns away and sticks her hand into the collar of her training suit and reaches out for her bra. Her hands shake with nervousness as she reaches out to the comlink she was hiding between in her teenage bra. Her shaky hand touches the metal device and she pulls it out of her bra. Nervously, she squeezes the comlink in her hand, her heart pounding with relief as she's finally able to send out a distress call. But before she can slam the button, Eva hears footsteps pounding behind her. Her heart sinks in her chest, and startled, Eva turns around and sees the Twi'lek merely inches away from her with the electrobaton squeezed in his hand. Eva gasps for air and hastily takes a step back, having lost herself in her sudden surge of anxiety, and before she lashes out her fist, the Twi'lek pounds his electrobaton into Eva's gut.

Before she can blink, Eva is shocked with tormenting pain as the Twi'lek electrocutes her with his baton. Her voice shivers with a scream of agony as her bones shiver, her muscles cramp, and her teeth clench with pain. Her heart almost stops beating, the volts jolting through her entire body. It feels as if her bones break apart, hearing them crack and her muscles rupture with the electricity zapping through her with violence, punching holes all over her body. Eva's lungs hyperventilate in constant agony, her hands unable to move as they shiver, the blue lightning entangling her like a violent autumn hurricane. She can almost see the bones through her skin in the corner of her eyes as the lighting zaps through her body with agonising pain. Her eyesight blurs, unable to correct as her eyes are unable to move, locked on the face of the Twi'lek with the anger reflected in his alien eyes.

Then, the Twi'lek lets go. The lightning zaps out of her and Eva's teeth cease clenching desperately. Her ears become numb and she can no longer hear the silence, torn apart by a high-pitched tone ringing in her ears and her own, erratic breathing, trying to catch up her racing lungs. Her bones no longer feel like they're breaking apart. Her eyes are still locked on the Twi'lek as tears form in her eyes, dripping over her cheeks as her knees start trembling, unable to hold her up anymore. She stumbles backwards, her legs shivering with pain. She falls to her knees, and she falls over, slamming onto the ground with her shoulder. Eva feels crippled and she topples over with her back to the ground. Her head uncontrollably jerks sideways, her cheek almost touching the ground, her legs spread and her lungs aching. Her eyes land on the ceiling, the overhead fluorescent light burning through her eyesight, but she can't move herself. The electricity that zapped through her made all of her muscles numb, unable to move, and lying on the ground, Eva loses control of her hands, and she feels her comlink slipping out of her fingers. Eva gazes straight ahead with the tears dripping down her cheeks. Her heart aches in her chest, having almost died from the volts that zapped through her. Her mind is unable to process, having been haywired by the electricity. Slowly, her head jerks sideways until she almost touches the ground with her cheek, and there, she sees her comlink slowly rolling over the ground, out of her reach. With anxiety filling her heart, Eva fears her plan has failed. She couldn't transmit anything, not even a single letter to triangulate her position. The Twi'lek overpowered her before she could do anything. The sorrow floods back violently as Eva fears her life is over. The chance to go home and see the twinkles in Eline's blue eyes has slipped away.

Her eyes fill with tears while Eva gasps for air, her breathing shivering. Her heart aches with sorrow as her eyes struggle to adjust, but then she notices something. Through the blurs of her tears, Eva notices a faint, flashing ring in the middle of her comlink, and amidst the pain, Eva realises she activated the comlink. Her fingers must have squeezed it when the volts zapped through her, and as she sees it keeps flashing in a constant rhythm, Eva realises she didn't just activate it. It seems like her comlink is sending out a continuous ping, a constant signal beeping on the comm channel it is switched to.

Then, she feels the ground faintly shaking, and Eva feels a cold hand grasping her arm. Violently, she's pulled up from the ground with one hand, her head jerking around like that of a doll, and her limbs dangle down. She continues to breathe, and Eva's eyes land on Tal, standing up from the floor with the blood dripping out of her nose. It looks crooked, probably having been broken by Eva's headblow. The woman gasps for air as the Twi'lek grasping her arm picks up the metal chair from the ground with his other hand and pounds it on the floor. The Twi'lek carries Eva's numb body to the chair and drops her. She falls onto the chair and Eva's head jerks sideways.

Tal continues to gaze at Eva with shock in her eyes as the Twi'lek walks around her, his footsteps shaking the floor, and she can tell he's furious at what she has done to Tal and him. She can feel his eyes burning with the Rebel flame and the atmosphere thickening around her, and feeling her muscles unresponsive, fear and anxiety start building up within her. She feels the Twi'lek is angry at what she has done, and she fears that she won't be able to defend herself or beg for mercy when the torture of punishment begins.

''Tal, you're alright?'' the Twi'lek asks.

Tal pants as her hands are covered in blood, her eyes reflecting her pain. Eva feels bad that she had to betray the only Rebel that was ever kind to her, even in the few minutes she spent with her, but she feels like she had no other choice.

''No,'' Tal's voice shivers. ''No, no,'' and she immediately turns around and runs out of the prison block, the blood dripping on the ground.

Eva assumes she's going to take the medpack she previously used to treat her sore eyes, but her absence is now what Eva fears. Tal was the person who stopped the Twi'lek from doing more harm to her because of Eva's xenophobic beliefs, but now since she's left, Eva remains with the Twi'lek in the room. There's no kind person anymore to hold him back, and she just did him harm.

The Twi'lek walks around her, expecting him to beat her up, but instead, the footsteps go away from her. Eva then figures his eyes have landed on the comlink that slipped out of her hand. Then, she hears a foot smashing onto the ground followed by something breaking apart, and Eva fears her only way of communicating with the outside world has been eliminated, smashed to bits. Her heart races with anxiety and her muscles ache as she hears the footsteps growing louder behind her. She sees the Twi'lek walking into her view with the remains of her comlink in his hand and walks around her chair. He lowers himself to the ground and makes direct eye contact with Eva. She can see the frustration and the anger reflecting in his eyes, his cold breath blowing into her face as her lungs still ache.

''Did you smuggle in a comlink and send out a ping signal?'' the Twi'lek asks, his lips tensing up.

Yes, I did, sleemo. Eva wants to talk but her chords feel unresponsive, making her unable to say a word.

The Twi'lek then grasps her chin with his cold hand.

''Did you?'' he asks with anger shivering in his voice.

Can't you kriffin' read my eyes?

And as Eva thinks that, the Twi'lek jumps to the conclusion, the anger starting to boil in his alien eyes as she sees him realising she betrayed the location of his Rebel home base. Now, with the signal having reached far over the comm channel, the Imperials likely know where she and her Rebel captors are, and the Twi'lek realises it. His Rebel flame starts to shine brighter in his eyes, more fiery than she thought. An alien like him won't survive long in the hands of the Empire. Simply his race will result in his quick demise when the ISB is at the doorstep of this hide-out, and her already shallow breath starts shivering with anxiety. Her tears drip down while her own fury that was once burning with vengeance is now hiding in fear.

''You know what we did with misbehaving children?'' the Twi'lek asks, nearly hissing with anger.

Eva sobs as the fear of his Rebel flame floods her. She tries to move her lips, but her pleas for mercy are unable to form. No, no, please don't!

''You know what we did? We punished them,'' hisses the Twi'lek.

He lashes out his electrobaton and squeezes it in his hand.

''We punished the bad children, made the bullies learn the hard way,'' he hisses. ''They saw the corner or were slapped with grandma's lecture, the same hard lesson that will make you learn to behave like any good child. Xenophobia and counteraction have no place in any family.''

Then, the Twi'lek stabs Eva again with the electrobaton. The volts smash through her and Eva feels her muscles cramp, her bones breaking and her teeth clenching with pain. It feels like she's burning to her death, and her eyes fill with tears as they're locked on the Twi'lek, begging for mercy, but his hands squeeze his weapon even tighter and Eva's screams of agony become louder, echoing through the Rebel home base. Eva feels herself losing grip on her life as she sees it slipping away. Her heart threatens to slip away, and Eva's eyes blur, the darkness starting to entangle her. The volts zap through her with violence, and she feels her life is balancing on the edge, threatening to fall over. The vengeful fury residing within Eva is threatened to shatter apart, the only thing that survived Lu's betrayal and her consequent pain.

The Twi'lek continues to torture Eva with his electrobaton. He pauses every couple of seconds, ensuring she stays away from her death that results immediately after 5 seconds of electrocution. However, the couple of seconds he electrocutes her, makes Eva near her breaking point, ensuring the girl learns a lesson, to keep her xenophobia out of her mouth. And for endless minutes, perhaps even an hour, the Twi'lek electrocutes her with jaw-breaking pain.

''Peyton Brenet, our third interrogation session.''

While Peyton sits with her heart pounding nervously in her chest, Lyman Vonn on the opposite side of the table taps the button of the audio recorder, recording her third interrogation with the ISB. The matter surrounding Eva and her actions worry all of them. The ISB, Dr Kirbley, her, Ashara, and Lyman, his suit as white as the winter snow as he looks at her with the eyes of a viper, searching for a final breakthrough in Eva's hunt. So far, no one knows where she is, and the ISB hopes to find a trail Eva left behind with Peyton.

''How is the nervousness?'' he asks, his arms crossed over each other on the table.

The nervousness? Call it anxiety.

Even after three sessions of teeth-clenching interrogation, Peyton still doesn't feel less nervous. Her heart races in her chest and she feels the urge to tap her boots on the floor, as relentlessly as before, and the atmosphere feels suffocating. The last time she was with Lyman in the interrogation cubical, he asked Peyton how she worked and to go more in-depth about why she helped Eva. They wanted to understand what Peyton thought, trying to understand why she helped her. She's surprised that the ISB's involvement didn't lead to a reliability issue between her and Roslin, but Peyton assumes it's because it's about Eva. She doesn't care about the girl. Roslin more likely trusts a Quarren than her.

''I'm fine,'' Peyton responds.

Lyman nods, maintaining his cold stare at her. It's probably a common response of anyone facing the ISB at the start of a session. No one can maintain his peace in situations like these.

''Peyton Brenet, are you able to answer my questions without breaking out into tears?'' he asks.

First time was a complete disaster. Second time was an improvement, but not ideal. She still broke down and sobbed under the pressure of his questions. It's not because of the personality of Lyman, it's the working method of the ISB, the agency in general and her emotions of regret and guilt she has towards Eva. Even to its own servants, the ISB induces fear through terror.

''Yes sir,'' Peyton responds.

She tries to be as calm as possible despite her anxiety, taking deep breaths, but she can't help her shivering voice.

''You know Eva Young for quite a while, don't you?''

''Yes sir.''

''Explain to me how she thinks, what her thinking process is.''

Peyton swallows. She can't lie to him. She knows it will result in something bad, and the best way to proceed is to tell the truth, resting her hand on the Imperial code of the New Order.

''Eva-, can't get along with her emotions,'' says Peyton. ''She's most vulnerable to herself and-, and when she's in a difficult situation, she does what her heart tells her to do.''

The cold eyes of Lyman staring back at her make Peyton shift her eyes to her arms crossed over each other. She can't maintain eye contact with such a scary person for long, and her eyes dart to the wristlink sitting on her arm.

''So what you're saying is that her actions are tinted with emotions?''

''Tinted with hurt feelings.''

Her eyes shift to Lyman.

''She hated the Rebels from the start, but she didn't go AWOL because of that.''

Lyman nods.

''We have a profile of her personality gathered from the results of the Graymorr-tests.''

The Graymorr test is a fairly obscure name given to a test all Night Force cadets have experienced. Peyton remembers it from the tests with the HoloLens pressed on her eyes. The scenarios that played out in the simulations tested her mental capabilities and limits, and Peyton can remember the nerves that glowed red.

''The Graymorr-tests gave us an introduction to Eva Young at the start of her Academy program. Her hatred was a significant trait that came up during the tests, however, that was over a hundred days ago, and I suspect your relationship with her will provide us with a more detailed and more in-depth analysis of her personality. So, I'd like to hear from you how you would describe her.''

''Her personality?''

''Yes, her personality from your perspective.''

Peyton gazes away and takes a second to think and come up with the right words. An answer in mind is not the same as an answer in words.

''Eva-,'' she stutters and lets out a sigh. ''Eva is a good person. No doubt. Good heart, kind, helping. She's loyal to the next level, does whatever is asked of her, and when she has a goal, she does everything to reach it, but she's drenched in hatred. So much hate that it affects what she does.''

''Hate leads her?''

''Kind of?''

Lyman nods and looks down at his datapad lying on the table. His white screen is reflected in his eyes.

''How does her hate affect what she does?'' he asks, looking up at her.

''She's willing to do more,'' Peyton replies. ''She's always filled with hate, but when it burns, Eva is willing to do more than what is necessary or what is asked of her.''

''That time when Eva pushed her squad commander off the platform during training in The Well, is that an example of her hate affecting her?''

That moment is remembered crystal clear in her mind. Peyton recalls the scream she heard when Roslin fell off and saw Eva standing on her platform with hatred burning within her. Peyton questions whether it was true hatred since it could've been frustration or general dislike as well, but she can't know. All she knows is that Roslin and Eva wouldn't go along with each other when they're left alone, so Peyton nods.

''I think so. She's-.''

Suddenly, Peyton is interrupted by a beeping noise. Lyman shifts in his chair, looking over the table. Her eyes instantly shift to her wristlink and she sees a red light flashing at a continuous pace, timed with the beeps. Without a second to think, Peyton realises it's a ping signal she's receiving, and suddenly, it hits her.

''Eva,'' she whispers.

The disbelief strikes her and she's left without any words to speak as the beep fills the silence. She has no doubt it's a signal from Eva, and there's no question about it being a distress signal. She's calling for help.

Lyman instantly stands up, his chair scraping on the floor as he pushes it back, and he dashes around the table. He grasps Peyton's wristlink and pulls it from her suit, overpowering its magnets. Peyton gasps for air as Lyman nearly rips it off of her suit, and the room suddenly floods with urgency. He rushes out of the interrogation block and Peyton pushes back her chair and stands up, following him out of the room. She enters the rest of the ISB wing of the Academy and follows Lyman as he turns to his personnel with her wristlink squeezed in his hand. He approaches a pair of officers sitting at a desk with massive computer screens.

''We have a ping signal!'' he cries. ''I want triangulation immediately!''

He slams it onto the desk and the officers rush to plug it into the computer. Peyton looks at the screens as the urgency floods her. She can't yet believe the signal is from Eva, but if it's to be believed, they have to act quickly. Before you know it, the signal is gone and triangulating her position fails. Peyton realises Eva can be brought back home. She can finally say sorry for all the trouble she gave her by copying the abusive traits of her parents.

She stands there, idling in disbelief and anxiety and flooded by urgency as the officers around her rush to locate Eva's position. The vidscreens flash with satellite images of the Capital as her location is triangulated.

Suddenly, Peyton sees a man she recognises, walking through the rushing ISB officers, and Lyman sees him too.

''Doc, your lost cadet showed herself,'' he says.

It's Dr Kirbley, and seeing him walk into the ISB wing, Peyton's anxiety diminishes like ice in the sun. He felt like a father to her when she broke down during the first interrogation session, the hardest one of the three.

''You've found Eva Young?'' he asks, shifting his head to Lyman.

''We're working on it,'' Lyman replies. ''We're triangulating her position. If her signal remains active for long enough, we'll have her in no time.''

No one seems to acknowledge she's here. Every officer in the room seems to have been devoured by the urgency that suddenly overcame them, rushing to triangulate Eva's position before the signal dies. Once the ping echoed through the interrogation block, Peyton was instantly forgotten and now, she stands there like a lone child searching for her parents in the middle of the market at Steel Crane Plaza. The times that actually happened, it always ended with a slap in the face and a couple of curse words shouted in her ears. Then, she sees the eyes of Kirbley landing on her, seemingly the only person in the room who hasn't forgotten her. He walks around the ISB officers and approaches her as Peyton keeps her eyes on him.

''Peyton, it's almost over,'' says Kirbley, and he lowers himself to look directly at her.

The hunt for Eva?

The strings of his stubble beard draw thin, short shadows over his cheeks as the dim lights of the mostly dark room cast down on him.

''I imagine you feel relieved,'' he says.

Peyton faintly nods, but the relief Kirbley speaks about is mostly insensible as the nervousness that has built up overshadows it. She knows without even needing confirmation that it's Eva. Peyton just knows it, and just like Ecklund told her, Eva will call in for help when she needs it. Peyton just had to wait for it, and the quiet girl was right. All she needed to do was wait for the call to reach her, and now Peyton wants to rush to help her.

''Doc,'' says Lyman. ''We need some room.''

Kirbley glances over his shoulder and quickly turns back to Peyton.

''Peyton, you're dismissed,'' he says.

''But-, but it's Eva,'' she stammers. ''I have to help her, she's my squad member.''

''Don't worry. They need some room to work, so I'll call you in when we need you.''

Peyton lets out a sigh and tilts her head down. She understands that the ISB needs room to operate, but she wants to help her out so badly. It's a feeling she can barely hold in, wanting to make up for the mistakes she's made that resulted in all of this, but Peyton nods.

''Good soldiers follow orders,'' Peyton whispers.

Following her orders, Peyton backs away from the man and turns around, and she slowly walks out of the ISB wing, entering the rest of the Academy. The urge to help Eva right now gnaws on her, creeping over her as she can't shake it off. The nervousness remains pounding in her chest as she knows that waiting too long to prepare might be too late. Eva signalled her. She needs help now. She doesn't call for help when she needs it an hour later, but Peyton can't do anything until she's called in by Kirbley.

Slowly, as a platoon of cadets walks past her in an orderly formation, Peyton walks through the corridors of the Academy, being stuck in her feelings. She maps out what Eva needs her help with. She could be in a dangerous situation. She could be injured, or she's found the Spy, or-, or she's captured. Maybe she's found something else, a clue, a trail, or whatever, or she needs me to slice something, a sewer gate, a security system, a comm channel. Or-, or-,

Suddenly, she sees something in the corner of her eye and startles, backing away at an intersection, thinking someone's in a rush to be present at a training session, but shifting her head, Peyton sees it's Roslin, Ashara, and Ecklung enclosing her through another corridor. They walk quickly towards her, seemingly in a rush to be somewhere, and Peyton's eyebrows rise. She's unaware of any training session she has to attend with her squad, and she's sure that Kirbley didn't call her up so quickly. It has been merely minutes ago and the ISB can't have finished the localisation so quickly. They need a full minute to pinpoint the origin as long as the signal remains active. If the signal dies, the three main radio towers spread across the Capital won't be able to triangulate its source. Processing the data results in the position of the source with an offset of at most one-third of a click. The ISB then proceeds to scout the area with Viper droids and airborne images from the Navy's TIE/rc recon fighters, looking for buildings, way ins and way outs, weak points such as glass roofs, chimneys, transformer stations, road traffic, any high vantage point—everything that aids the ISB and the Army in planning the raid, and the Rebels in defending their stronghold. Peyton doubts they've done all of that in mere minutes.

''What's the rush for?'' Peyton asks, confused.

''We're called up to Academy Command,'' says Roslin, meeting her at the intersection.

What? Did they seriously do it this fast?

Roslin walks past her as Peyton turns around and walks beside her. She can't believe the ISB triangulated, collected, explored, and planned this fast, but she doubts they've really done all of that. They must've done only the first step. That's doable in a minute as long as Eva didn't deactivate the signal, but Peyton has no idea. She has to wait until the meeting at Academy Command.

As Peyton silently walks in a rush next to Roslin, Ashara catches up from the back and taps on her shoulder.

''How did it go?'' she asks, her soft voice overshadowed by the squad's echoing footsteps.

''The interrogation?'' Peyton asks, quickly glancing over her shoulder. ''I think you'll see the results.''

''Why's that?'' Ashara asks.

Peyton shrugs, her heart pounding nervously. ''Just wait.''

Within a minute of walking through the corridors and passing Stormtroopers on duty, the squad reaches the office blocks of Academy Command and enters the head office. Peyton walks behind Roslin into the room, a well-lit office room with a desk at the end and a large window behind it, displaying the skyline of Vaulent Capital, reaching for the grey clouds covering the blue sky of the early afternoon. Walking towards the desk as a group, Peyton sees Kirbley and Lyman standing behind it, looking at them as the squad walks in and stands in a straight line next to each other, shoulder to shoulder and their arms crossed behind their backs. Peyton feels the atmosphere thicken with urgency as she stands next to Roslin on her left and Ashara on her right, and she can nearly sense their nervousness, wondering what this meeting is all about.

''VSRC005 reporting in,'' says Roslin.

''At ease, cadets,'' says Kirbley.

Peyton lets her muscles rest and releases the tension, but she keeps her arms crossed behind her back. Silence falls in his office room as Kirbley stands up from his desk and walks around it towards them, his eyes glancing over the girls one by one as if he's scanning their mental state. Peyton feels the nervousness pounding in her chest as she looks at him.

''You've all been called up for a possible resolution of a serious matter,'' he says, walking around the desk. ''Your missing cadet, Eva Young, has been localised by the ISB at an empty manufacturing facility in the Luminex Sector.''

They've done that quickly, thinks Peyton, her eyebrows rising with surprise. In the corner of her eye, she can see the surprise in Ashara standing next to her as well, seemingly tensing up her shoulders with relief.

''The building is in the hands of a Rebel insurgency group and the ISB suspects Eva to have been captured and held as prisoner there,'' says Kirbley, and he wanders past the cadets, looking straight into their eyes one by one. ''The ISB is currently planning the raid to neutralise the Rebel insurgency group and free Eva Young.''

He wanders past Peyton and then looks at Roslin.

''And your squad is going to be a part of it,'' he says.

Roslin tilts her head. ''Sir, may I ask, why?''

Peyton can hear the frustration behind her calm and stern voice, still remaining within her after the trouble Eva brought to her. Roslin still despises her, and Peyton hopes she can put her personal feelings aside for the greater good.

''ISB can do it themselves too,'' Kirbley responds. ''But I want you to free her. You and your squad are in the Top three of the best at the Academy, and your previous raid at the Rebel hide-out in downtown Capital proved to be successful even with some of the hick-ups considered.''

''But, sir,'' Roslin stammers. ''This is something different. This is a rescue mission we haven't trained for.''

Peyton shifts her head to her squad commander and looks at her, worried that she's not able to shove her personal feelings aside. She fears that Roslin is not capable of doing so, and the frustration starts rising in her chest, feeling not well about her view of Eva and her situation.

''Commander,'' says Kirbley. ''Eva Young is one of your own men, so I expect you to get her back.''

Peyton can see the conflict in her eyes, unsure of what to do with Eva, and she casts her eyes downward. Her silence is what makes the frustration boil within Peyton, seeing her squad commander neglecting her duty. A commander always takes care of his personnel, no matter the personal feelings, and seeing Roslin not putting her feelings aside makes a hint of anger escalate within her.

''Roslin,'' says Peyton.

She hopes to get through to her, wanting her to answer and take the mission. Ashara next to her shifts around too, waiting for the answer, and Roslin turns around and glances at Peyton quickly before she turns back to Kirbley.

''Sir, may I discuss this with my squad in private?'' she asks.

Kirbley nods. ''Take your time.''

''Thank you, sir,'' Roslin responds.

In an instant, she turns around, and Peyton and the rest follow her out of the office room. They emerge into the empty corridor, spotless as always, and Peyton feels the frustration in her chest, unable to comprehend why Roslin hesitated to take the mission. She knows she won't take the mission unless she gets through to her, making clear that refusing to help is wrong.

''Roslin, why didn't you take the mission on the spot?'' Peyton asks.

Roslin stops in her tracks and turns around to Peyton, the squad behind her stopping in their tracks too.

''Because I don't want to,'' Roslin replies.

''Why not? It's clear she needs our help.''

''Eva is not someone I want to help. She's too reckless and obnoxious to be part of the squad.''

''But-, but she's captured by Rebels!''

''So what? She doesn't fit here.''

''So we have to help her. Do you even know who you are?''

With the anger boiling within her, Peyton steps towards Roslin as the rest watches.

''I know who I am, I'm the commander of our squad, I do what's best for us,'' Roslin replies. ''And I think it's best for us to leave Eva out of our squad. She's the weak point of the squad. Let the ISB and the Army get Eva out of her trouble, we shouldn't be the ones to free her when she's the one that brings this squad down with her recklessness.''

''How could you even say that!'' Peyton hisses, her eyes narrowing with anger. ''A commander stands up for its men and leads them all into battle. When one is down, he stays with him and does everything to get him up. When one is captured, he risks his life to get him back home, no matter the personal feelings. That's the duty of any squad commander, and you're neglecting it, just like how Eva neglected her duty a while back. You may be as reckless as her, maybe even more considering you're not even trying to make things right. Eva's been trying everything to satisfy you. She's risked her life to make things right with you, to apologise to you, and now that she needs our help, you're allowing them to kill her. No good commander does that to his own squad members. No one! How could you even say that Eva is the weak point! It's clear that you are the one who's breaking us apart.''

Roslin casts her eyes downward.

''We have to save Eva,'' Peyton shouts. ''As her squad members, it's our duty to get her back.''

''Even when she's the weak spot of our squad that could take us down?'' Roslin asks, her teeth clenching with frustration, holding her arms crossed. ''Eva got you shot at the hide-out, that should prove enough.''

''Even when she's the weak spot,'' says Ecklund.

Out of nowhere, Ecklund speaks up and walks past Peyton's right shoulder. Peyton shifts her eyes with surprise amidst her anger as Ecklund looks at Roslin directly in her eyes. The quiet girl's soft voice contrasts the harsh voices of the two and her sudden involvement has caught Peyton and Roslin both by surprise.

''Even when she's the weak spot, we go out and help her,'' Ecklund repeats, softly. ''You don't let a struggling person bite the dust, you reach out and help, get her more involved and she becomes no longer a weak spot. A good commander does that, only the most selfish monsters leave their squad members alone, only thinking about themselves.''

Peyton can see the frustration brewing in Roslin's eyes as they cast downward.

Peyton slows down her heart racing with anger and lets out a sigh. ''Roslin, if you don't take the mission, then I will, and I will lead the squad into battle.''

Peyton turns around to Ashara behind her, and she can see her watery eyes, shocked by the arguing between the two, and her hands trembling.

''Ashara, you're in?'' Peyton asks.

Ashara nods. Peyton turns around to Ecklund, and the quiet girl nods as well.

''Now you,'' says Peyton, shifting her head back to Roslin.

Roslin's cheeks turn red, blushing with shame and guilt, as her eyes are fixated on the floor, her lungs start to hyperventilate, and Peyton sees she has brought her over the edge of her selfishness, but she needs one more push.

''Roslin, take the mission like any other good commander and do what you're intended to do,'' says Peyton. ''Or else I will.''

With her arms crossed, Roslin seems to have broken through her blindness, and she lets out a shivering sigh with a hint of guilt, and Peyton can see it in her eyes. They were always stern, worn by a cold and harsh girl, but now, they're worn by a girl who feels guilty, broken through her illusions. Roslin looks up and nods.