The moment Cassian and his party returned to Odessen, Lana, and Theron were waiting to meet them. Both were understandably anxious, considering the recent news, and Cassian didn't blame them. No doubt, they have already begun to think of how to make the best out of this situation, how to discover more about those conspirators, and, more importantly, what to do with Vaylin. They would have a lot of pragmatic concerns, the ones that Cassian wished he could share, instead of having a chaotic whirlwind of inexplicable thoughts and feelings overwhelm his soul.

Perhaps an emergency meeting would distract him from those thoughts. Raina and Jaesa were told to keep the situation secret for now while Cassian, Lana, Jac, and Theron gathered in the war room for an important discussion.

"I read Temple's report…" Lana began as the four of them gathered around the table. "You certainly didn't waste time. And Theron here believes that it would be a simple mission…"

"I made an educated guess," Theron interjected. "Wish I would've been right. Now, we have an extensive conspiracy on our hands. The one that includes an AWOL Alliance operative, one of its founders, no less. I warned Lana about her…" Theron sighed, and Cassian continued.

"We have a more pressing concern on our hands."

"Yeah, the rancor in the room…" Theron said with a quivering voice, passing over to Lana.

"Are you sure this is really Vaylin? Seems too miraculous of a resurrection. Those conspirators are resourceful, Atiel especially. Wouldn't be the first case of someone fabricating an identity."

"I doubt it." Cassian shook his head. "Her voice, face, and behavior all fit, and most importantly, force powers. You won't be able to just find anyone who can match that level of strength. Though she must have gone through some surgery, considering she claims to have taken over a padawan's body."

"Might be worth contacting Satele over it," Lana noted.

"Great, as if it wasn't enough of a mess," Theron commented.

"In any case, we know Vitiate was afraid of his own daughter, and he was a man who could decimate entire planets. We shouldn't be surprised she snatched a body."

"That's not reassuring." Theron raised an eyebrow, and Jac interjected next.

"Either way, we have to decide what to do with her quickly. Jaesa is doing her best, but she can't pacify her forever."

"That shouldn't be an issue," Cassian said. "Lana, I hope the force suppression cell is still working?"

"Yes, shouldn't have any problems with it." She said. "Should we transfer Vaylin there for interrogation? Do you think she knows much?"

"She doesn't care about the conspirators and their goals. They seem like allies of convenience." Cassian explained. "Still, if she was working with Atiel, she must know something."

"And is it worth it?" Jac questioned. "She isn't someone who's known for cooperation. She'd sooner have us second-guess and laugh at our attempts to crack the code."

"What do you suggest, then?" Theron wondered.

"We…We send her back to where she came from." Jac said with a heavy voice. "She is incredibly powerful, even in this new body. If she manages to break the suppression field, we will have this monster ravaging Odessen, and no one will be able to stop her, not alone, at least."

"Are you saying we execute her, then?" Theron wondered.

"Yes."

"Not that I care much, but considering that she's sleeping…That's questionable."

"He's not wrong," Lana admitted. "She might know something, but considering her powers and history…It's risky. It's a miracle that we even managed to kill her last time. We'd be endangering the entire Alliance if we just keep her here, and there are no better alternatives."

"Not to mention delaying justice that the galaxy deserves after all she did." The Jedi added.

"That would be a waste." Cassian shook his head, noticing Jac's judging gaze upon him.

"I don't see anything that justifies such risks." He questioned and had good reason, even if it wouldn't get him anything. Cassian didn't want to kill Vaylin, not until they had an opportunity to talk in private.

"If she was as unreasonable and destructive as you say, why would she work with Atiel? Vaylin must know that she was one of the founders of our Alliance."

"Atiel must have had something to give her in return."

"If so, who's to say that we can't reason with her? She might be…Ill, but she has her pattern of logic; we just need to understand it."

"'Ill' is putting it lightly." Theron shook his head. "She didn't care to reason with us before her death; why would it change now?"

"Listen, Cassian…" Lana spoke quietly. "I know how you feel about her. I even understand why. But some things are just not worth it. Theron is right; why would she suddenly become more reasonable now?" Thankfully, this was one of the few questions Cassian could confidently answer.

"Her rage was fueled by wanting to get revenge on her family. Now, all of them are gone. I am no longer Valkorion's puppet in her eyes, and he isn't here to try and turn us against each other like he did before. That should be enough to have some effect…But there's more. I made mistakes before and never had an opportunity to apologize for them." He said, noticing Theron's surprise.

"Apologize to Vaylin? Seriously?"

"It's complicated," Lana admitted. "Either way, the choice is yours, Cassian. What should we do with her?"

"Take her to the ward and wait until she wakes. I will talk to her. I'll inform other members about her when I'm ready."

"Very well, I'll do just that."

"You're playing a dangerous game, Cas." Jac shook his head. "Don't forget what and her brother did. Sympathy won't change them. You aren't going to say we should've given Arcann the same leeway, will you?"

"Perhaps we should've. After what I've seen on Nathema, I can't be sure about anything anymore." Cassian spoke bluntly, much to Jacques's disapproval.

"I hope you know what you're doing. If there's a smallest hint at her breaking free, we must put her down."

"We will see."

…

The moment Cassian hit Vaylin's head, the pain forced her to collapse. She could only see darkness before her eyes and hear the echoes of sounds that became dim and distant. She could hear the voices of her captors, but she couldn't resist without control over her body. No, not again, not so soon…Those were her last thoughts before darkness finally overtook her.

By the time she woke up, Vaylin realized that she was sitting on a metal chair. Her surroundings remained blurry for a while, but she could see the dark blue colors of the surrounding walls. Her sleep was surprisingly peaceful as if a protective, soothing aura calmed her mind. It was far from the worst slumber she had, even making Vaylin forget her unfortunate predicament.

When she woke up, however, Vaylin quickly realized that her limbs were tied to the chair with a force field and that she couldn't stand up. The thought of being imprisoned immediately made Vaylin open her eyes wide as her heart began to beat faster. She was in a metal cell, chained to a chair and utterly powerless. She tried to use her force powers to rip it apart but immediately felt immense resistance coming from the suppression field.

"Fuck…"

She was trapped. She spent her next few moments trying to break her restraints, but it ended up being pointless. Eventually, she heard approaching steps. There were two men in the corridor, both very familiar to her.

"Be careful with her…" Jac warned his Sith friend. "She would probably use this opportunity to toy with us."

"As if you need to warn me twice. Just let me do my thing, and it should be fine." Cassian responded moments before Vaylin interrupted them.

"I can hear you, idiots." She said spitefully, causing both men to look at her.

"Hello, Vaylin," Cassian said with remarkable calm, causing the young woman to let out a nervous chuckle. "Are you alright?"

"What, seriously? You mean, except for being tied to a chair in an enemy prison without my force powers?" She said mockingly.

"I mean your head," Cassian explained. "I've been hit with a lightsaber hilt a couple of times. It's painful."

"Thanks for your 'concern,' but that's the least of my problems now. Just get this over with and begin blabbing."

"Choose your words," Jac said sternly. "We could end your life at any moment."

"Yeah, you went through the trouble of bringing me back all the way to…Odessen, I guess? And putting me in this prison, too, wouldn't do that if you wanted to kill me. You need me for some reason…Come to play your little interrogation game? Too bad, I won't tell you a thing." A smug smile crept up on her face. "Well, unless you release me first, then I'll consider it."

"You don't think we're that stupid, do you?" Jac crossed his arms. "You scorched countless worlds during your time as High Justice, as well as terrorized innocents on Zakuul. As an Empress, you attacked Voss unprovoked and attempted to burn Odessen to the ground. You've taken billions of lives…"

"Tore thousands of families apart, destroyed their homes, literally ate babies…" Vaylin added sarcastically. "Blah blah blah, is that how your lecture goes? Spare me; you aren't going to make me care. When I'm out of here…I will burn Zakuul, Dromund Kaas, and Coruscant to the ground. And sprinkle my garden with the ashes. Though my garden is on Zakuul, that means it will burn too…I hate logistics."

"That's something that I've been wondering about," Cassian said. "You want revenge against the entire galaxy, right? Simple as that?"

"Did you expect something more convoluted?"

"No, not at all…Definitely not something akin to taking part in an elaborate conspiracy." Cassian said, noticing Vaylin avoid eye contact for a moment. "Surely you wouldn't care for Ariel's plans and aspirations? Unless it grants you the resources and means to do what you just said you want. Mass destruction spread across capital planets. That must be a part of their plan." Vaylin was impressed; he got right to the point and made a rather shrewd guess. "Right?"

"Clever…" Vaylin smiled and looked back at him. He knew her well enough to predict her wants and strategies; months of being enemies must have helped. A shame that Vaylin couldn't understand him the same way, not after their last battle on Odessen. Anyway, she wasn't going to budge and tell him more, not while she was a powerless prisoner. It was much more amusing to see her enemies make guesses and slowly arrive at the truth.

"I'd ask you if you're inclined to share any more…But something tells me the answer is no."

"Right again, Outlander!" Vaylin spoke up. "That would be too easy…And you wouldn't expect me to help you after you locked me in a cage, did you? If you've been where you said you've been…" She grew more spiteful, imagining Cassian walking through the halls of the sanitarium and seeing what was done to her with his own eyes. Jarak must have left some records of her screaming and crying…She knew he'd love to listen to them all over again. This thought made her want to scream in rage, but Vaylin held herself back. "You know that you can't break me. Not with tools as pathetic as yours."

"I'm not trying to break you, Vaylin," Cassian said. "But I wish we could talk. Now or later."

"Hopefully never…But definitely not now. Looking at your faces makes me want to puke. Are you going to send the clean-up crew inside?"

"She's not in the mood…Assuming she ever is." Jac said, but Cassian remained persistent.

"Would you like us to leave you alone, then?"

"Finally, you got it."

"Fine…" Cassian sighed. "Take your time. But I will come back later."

"Whatever…I'm sure your pathetic attempts will be amusing to watch."

She watched the two of them leave after getting absolutely nothing. Vaylin felt very proud of herself, especially when hearing the Jedi whine about her crimes. Cassian wasn't so easy to read; there was no anger or disdain in his voice, consistent with his attempts to communicate with her back when they fought. She had no doubt that he would be back, and she didn't even mind…Not while he was of some interest. As for now, all she could do was lament the few days of fun and freedom that she lost.

She was caged once again.