Vaylin despised cages.
Of course, no one truly liked being shackled in one place, but it was especially infuriating. It was more than just a physical bond that forced her into one place. It was her inability to do something to distract herself that drove Vaylin mad. She couldn't take her anger, couldn't go kill someone, couldn't even try to relax by painting; she was alone with her thoughts.
Thoughts that always led her back to moments in her life that were engraved in her memory. If she were lucky, those would be memories like Arcann betraying her or her having one of her destructive breakdowns. If not, she would return to Nathema and once again become a scared girl at Jarak's mercy. Those memories would overtake her mind and force her into an endless loop as she watched them again and again for reasons Vaylin couldn't fully process…Perhaps she desperately looked for solace in those memories, something that would justify all this pain, but there was none. Only distant memories of her screams and cries, fear turning into hate, always alone in the darkness.
The guards that were assigned to her cell didn't help matters, either. Two armed twi-lek women with green skin who weren't shy about how much they detested her.
"What are they waiting for? It's not like that bitch will tell them anything useful…"
"She killed some of my friends…She died too quickly; they should make her suffer and screw."
"I'd toss that psycho face-first into a meat grinder if I had my way…" The woman said with disdain.
"Want to try?" Vaylin taunted from her cell. "You could ease my shackles a little and see how it goes…"
"Think it's funny?" One of the guards responded. "Do you know how many people here want to torture you to death? Like you did with so many of our friends? You're lucky Commander doesn't want anyone to touch you. You deserve to face all of us."
"If I face all of you without my shackles…You'd all pop quicker than balloons at a palace party."
"You…"
Before the woman could continue, Vaylin heard decisive steps coming from the elevator.
"What's going on here?" Cassian's stern voice echoed from behind.
"Oh, Commander…Nothing, just a little spat."
"You know, Outlander, some of your servants here are surprisingly violent…I'd be proud! You should've listened to what they say about killing me…" She teased, making Cassian take a deep breath.
"Leave us."
"Are you sure, Commander? She could be dangerous."
"I'll be fine. Now go." The Sith Lord sent them away. He looked at Vaylin and paused, making the young woman all the more intrigued. "I'll assign someone else to you and ask them not to make any comments." He said, making Vaylin giggle with excitement.
"Are you seriously trying to protect my feelings? That won't make me talk."
"It's not about that." Cassian shook his head. "I know you won't believe this, but I don't want to cage you; I'm only doing it out of necessity."
"Out of necessity…Father said that, too."
"All I need is a guarantee that you will not hurt my people."
"Dream about it."
"Very well…" Cassian said with disappointment, though he clearly wasn't surprised. "Then I will have to keep you here for now. But I know that it's hard on you, and I'd like to make your time here a bit more comfortable. Any preferences in food, perhaps?"
"So…You're my personal waiter now?" Vaylin continued to be amused. "You're becoming quite the comedy act, Outlander, that's entertaining."
"Are you going to answer my question?"
"Hm…Just bring me something sweet; I like sweet things. Or fruits…Vorfruit is my favorite."
"I'm sure we have some here."
"Really…" Vaylin raised an eyebrow. "You are going to be my personal waiter because you want me to tell you about what kind of scheme the blueberry lady is pulling off?"
"I'm sure leaving up to your interpretation would be more fun to you."
"For a while, maybe…Just like I do with you." Vaylin said playfully. "Any theories on what Atiel wants?"
"I have a couple of guesses. I'd assume it involves mass destruction, judging by you being on her side and considering what she told Raina…It's an operation that targets force users. That's why they have that violet poison. Have you seen it?"
"What do you think? I haven't just seen it. I felt it on me…" Vaylin clenched her teeth, realizing that she might have just revealed something she didn't want to.
"Really? And what does it do?"
"Guess."
"Weakens the force connection?"
"Destroys it." Vaylin corrected him. "It was just for a few minutes, but I couldn't use force at all." Her voice grew quieter as she remembered the feeling of the poison flowing through her veins, causing her to kneel in pain. "It was painful. Just like…"
"Nathema," Cassian said, making Vaylin shiver. She hated hearing that name. It was enough to make her feel…Weak. Incomplete. "I felt it too, even though I didn't get to sense it in my veins." This reminded Vaylin of another revelation she was hit with shortly before Jac killed her. Cassian was on Nathema and saw the sanitarium.
"You were there…On Nathema, I mean?"
"Yes, I told you the truth."
"When were you were?"
"On the same day you broke your conditioning. Lana and I followed you." Cassian explained.
"To stop me from breaking my chains?" Vaylin questioned, making Cassian pause for a minute.
"At first yes…But that changed later. I wanted to talk to you about all I've seen, but we never got the chance."
"How much?" Vaylin said sternly as her hands began to shake. "How much did you see?"
"A lot." He said quietly yet without hesitation.
"Thought so…" She could imagine him and Lana walking across the halls of the sanitarium and watching Jarak's logs. He made her listen to her screams on repeat sometimes, some form of psychological torture to weaken her even further…Or perhaps just a sadistic game to him. Vaylin started wondering if half of the experiments he did on her had any purpose at all. He just wanted to make her suffer while her family stood aside…Texan knew, Mother knew, maybe even Arcann knew…But they were all too late. "I am not going to talk about it. Don't even try." Vaylin tried to remain confident, but her voice was still broken.
"I won't if you don't want to, but I think it will be for the better," Cassian suggested. She never saw him like this before, so calm, so undisturbed, so patient…She could've mistaken him for a Jedi.
"You tried it already. Remember how it turned out for you?"
"Something changed now," Cassian noted. "For the first time, we can talk without Valkorion being nearby." He was right, but still, something felt wrong. Vaylin didn't want to give in; if she did, she might be vulnerable…
I don't care…I don't care if it's genuine or some kind of trick; I won't play into it! I don't need your help!" She shouted loudly as she remembered the day she left Zakuul for Nathema.
"I'm sorry, Dad, I didn't mean to kill them…"
"You possess impressive power, Vaylin, too strong for you to control. If it's unchecked, it will hurt you and those around you."
"But I don't want that, I…I'm scared! Please, dad…Can you help me?"
"I can. And I will. Come with me, daughter, and I will save you from yourself."
Thinking about this made Vaylin breathe heavily and shake without control. She was never truly calm, but at least she could hold the worst thoughts back until Cassian arrived…It was worse now.
"Leave me."
"Vaylin, I just wanted to say that…"
"GET OUT!" She screeched in rage, unable to control herself. Vaylin wanted everything around her to just disappear, to fall underground and allow her to hide in a small dark corner where no one would see her. She expected Cassian to push her further, to make it worse…But he simply left.
Alone again, left to her own thoughts and the all-consuming silence…
Why did she want him to come back?
…
Now that Jac had an entire conspiracy to deal with, the Jedi had his hands full. The leaders had to be smart when separating their resources and preparing for the coming game of catch. There were many potential leads when it came to Atiel or anyone who would wish to undermine all force-users of the galaxy, but there was no way to investigate all of them. Those would have to be wed out, and only the most fitting ones would be explored, at least at first.
Jac and Theron took it upon themselves. The two of them remained in the war room, exploring possible leads and searching the database.
"Found anything?" Jac wondered.
"It's a lot to go through…Guess I shouldn't be surprised that Atiel had so many connections, her being a spy and all." Theron sighed and turned towards Jac. "I talked to Tempe and Kaliyo, but they don't know much about Atiel after she separated from them. They gave me the names of the rest of her crew…"
"Who are they?"
"Vector Hyllus, Eckard Lokin, and SCORPIO. The last one needs no explanation, and the other two were both seen on Alderaan in recent years…Until both went missing. Very inconvenient." Theron said with visible disappointment. "As for other leads…"
Before he could continue, both he and Jac noticed Cassian entering the war room.
"He seems moodier than usual," Theron said. "Didn't he go talk to Vaylin?"
"He should've…" Jac said quietly before calling his friend over. "Cassian! Can we have you for a moment?"
"Sure." The Sith came over, though there was no enthusiasm in his voice.
"How is it going with Vaylin?"
"Slow."
"Did she tell you anything at all?"
"Only that she felt the effects of the anti-force poison on her, was able to cut her off from it entirely for a few minutes."
"That's concerning…" Jac pondered. "But it still doesn't give us much."
"You didn't expect interrogating someone like Vaylin would go quickly, did you?"
"Sure, but we aren't using all we can." The Jedi hinted. "Perhaps you need some help with interrogation? I'm no good for those, but maybe Lana could help?"
"No, that will only make things worse." Cassian shook his head. "I am not going to hurt her for the sake of ephemeral information that I know she won't give…Not because of any pain, at least." And here he was, confirming Jac's suspicions. This protectiveness he showed over Vaylin was something personal rather than pragmatic, something that could be traced back to Nathema. "Vaylin knows more, and I think she will tell us sooner or later. But we can't just try and force her out of it…It will only invigorate her."
"She's leaving us with few options," Theron noted. "We won't get the information we need by coddling her."
"It's not about coddling…She must feel safe. When she does, she will tell us more."
"That seems like a waste." Jac shook his head. "You can't know that, can you?"
"I can make an educated guess. I want to establish mutual trust with her; otherwise, all those efforts will be meaningless."
"Are they?" Jac said with slight distrust, which wasn't lost on Cassian.
"If you have something to say…"
"Are you sure that this desire to 'establish mutual trust' is just to get the information we need?" He said, making the Sith Lord pause for a moment.
"What else would it be for?"
"I don't know, maybe regret? When Vaylin died, it felt to me that you felt like you missed an opportunity…Maybe you're trying to make up for it now?"
"You can suspect me all you want, but when my methods work, I expect…"
"Hold on a moment." Theron interrupted them and looked to the nearest computer. "There's a holocall incoming…From Tyhton."
"Tython?!" Cassian said with disbelief.
"I'm as surprised as you are. Wouldn't expect anyone to call after we sided with the Empire…Or even know our frequency, for that matter."
"This could be a trap."
"From Jedi on Tython? No, that's not their style." Theron shook his head.
"We should hear them out," Jac spoke up. "I trust them."
"Very well…Patch them through."
When Theron received an incoming signal, a tall silhouette of Grandmaster Satele Shan emerged, much to everyone's surprise.
"Shan?" Cassian said with caution.
"Greetings, Commander Narok…I see Jac and Theron are with you." She said calmly.
"You're the last person I expected," Theron said in a voice of doubt and uncertainty; they rarely got to spend any time together.
"It's an honor to speak to you again, master," Jac said respectfully. "How are you feeling? The battle with Tenebrae took a toll on all of us, but you especially."
"I am better, thank you. I'm afraid I have to skip the pleasantries, however." The Grandmaster continued. "You would not be the first people I'd contact for the issue I'm facing. The Alliance sided with the Empire and has officially become the enemy of the Republic. Still, Barsen'thor is busy hunting Darth Malgus, and it's not my place to distract her. Hence, I've come here to ask you for help, Jac." She turned towards the Jedi. "We've known each other for a while now…Will you help me out? Not as an ally, but just as a friend."
"Of course, anything you need."
"Something dreadful happened on Tython which requires attention. I welcomed Kira and Scourge not so long ago. They volunteered to help." If his friends were involved, this had to be something serious.
"What happened?"
"You might not know, but during Eternal Empire's reign, Tython saw a number of new settlers. The Aloy family was one of them; they tried to create a remote sanctuary for themselves, far away from warfare and politics. Recently, their estate got ravaged…"
"By whom?"
"That's what I've asked Kira and Scourge to help with. The attackers disappeared, but they left a trace of ruin. The house was destroyed, and every member of the family was killed…They didn't even spare the child. I cannot leave the temple unattended, and there are barely any forces to focus on this. I need your help."
"Whoever did this must be powerful…" Jac theorized. "Do you have any ideas who it could be?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid…However, there is a strange coincidence. Only a few days ago, one of my students by the name of Syl, disappeared from the temple without notifying anyone. I felt something changed in her after our battle against Tenebrae…A darker, stronger presence. The one I never got a chance to investigate…"
Jac turned towards Cassian, staring him right into the eyes. The Jedi had no doubt in his mind.
"I think I know who is behind this."