Star Wars: The Source (short story)

[Durandal]

This actually started out as a series of flashbacks I was going to have for the main character in another fic of mine, but it grew into its own short story. It's still going to be present in my other fic, but I figured it's worth posting here on its own.

First, a little background information. It's about 500 years post-RotJ. The Jedi are much more active in affairs of the government. They serve as official diplomats, police officers, soldiers and even intelligence agents, as the main character in this story does.

As a result of the Jedi's expanded role in the government, there has been a wave of paranoia in the galaxy that the Jedi are turning into a secret police force that imprisons people for having disloyal thoughts. Several anti-Jedi terrorist organizations have sprung up. The most well-funded of which is the Sons of Palpatine, a group which likes to claim the succession to the Sith Empire of old. There are no known Sith lords in the group; they just use the connection to give themselves credibility.

That should be all you need to know. Hope you enjoy the story. I certainly enjoyed writing it.

—————

Connor awoke to the pungent odor of smelling salts. He was about to lean forward and cough when he felt a sharp pain at several points in his back. He opened his eyes only to immediately wince back from the sole bright light in the room being shined in his face. He could barely make out the silhouette of a man holding the lamp.

Where am I?

Confusion was quickly eroded by recent memory. Something had gone wrong. Someone fucked up. The last thing he remembered seeing was his own reflection in the refresher's mirror.

The light was suddenly swept away from his face, leaving red dots against the backdrop of a small room. He'd just realized that his hands were bound. He felt cold and alone, completely disconnected from the Force.

"Special Agent Connor Elesae, Republic Intelligence. On loan from the Jedi Order. All these credentials here make you an excellent perch for our little pet here," the man holding the lamp said. In his other hand, he had a small datapad, presumably a file on Connor.

He realized what the stinging pain in his back was. An ysalamiri, a creature who somehow lived in a bubble disconnected from the Force, had its claws dug firmly into his back. Anyone within a few meters of one of the creatures was completely cut off from its influence, as Connor was now. Once an ysalamiri found a perch, it was almost impossible to forcibly remove it. The only way it was getting off his back was if it wanted to.

Lanna ... where's Lanna?

—————

Connor looked around, trying to get as much of the room's layout in as possible and looking for anything useful. Tied in a chair with an ysalamiri clawed into his back severely limited his options though. His hands were behind the back of the chair, held together with a pair of durasteel cuffs which conformed to his wrists, giving no play at all. He wasn't going to wiggle out of them. His ankles were secured to the legs of his chair, and there was a length of durasteel rope around his midsection.

His captor, and presumably his interrogator, was the security chief of the camp he and his partner had been touring. His partner, another agent from Republic Intelligence, had posed as one Aleema Keto-Anan, the long-descended heiress to the once formidable power of the Empress Tetta star system, and he as her husband. The rulers, thousands of years ago, had been Sith relic collectors. Throughout the millennia, their holdings had bounced back and forth in and out of Jedi custody only to become lost. Antiquity dealers considered the artifacts to be priceless relics but nigh impossible to locate.

That is, until a team of Republic archaeologists stumbled upon them during an excavation in the planets of the former Empress Teta system. NRI immediately saw an opportunity to get close with the most well-known of Sith terrorist groups, the Sons of Palpatine. After muzzling the entire research group and preventing them from publishing or disclosing the findings in any way, NRI had collaborated with the GSA and the Jedi Council to orchestrate an elaborate deep cover operation. Up until now, it had been a fabulous success.

The security chief, a Twi'lek named Kohtak'har, or Kohtak for short, leaned toward his face. He had a rare Twi'lek speech impediment which allowed him to speak Basic without the difficulty or heavy accent of other Twi'leks. "Now ... Connor, you're going to tell me what your primary objectives were and which ones you have successfully accomplished," he said in a professional tone. Connor didn't respond. He'd had training in both questioning and resisting questioning. Interrogation relied on communication. He couldn't cut off communication entirely; his body would send certain signals, but he could do his best to minimize it and frustrate his questioner.

Based on his surroundings, Connor was guessing that Kohtak had had some formal interrogation training. The room was dark and properly cleared of all distractions. The ysalamiri attached to his back served two purposes. Aside from just nullifying his Force abilities, it also served to cut him off from something important to him and create a feeling of vulnerability. Having it stuck to his back created a constant pain that promised not to go away. But ysalamiri generally picked one tree and stayed there for long periods of time, since their claws grew directly into the branches of trees on Myrkr. This one must have been very young to accept Connor as a host.

The door out of the room led into a small hallway, which in turn led to the halls beyond. The layout the room was set up to prevent the captive from being allowed to see anything meaningful outside the simple, squarish room. Connor knew that the key to drawing this out long enough for him to find some way to escape was to keep himself distracted and unresponsive, forcing Kohtak to reevaluate his questioning techniques.

"Now I'm sure you've been on this side before, Connor," Kohtak said. "So you know that everyone breaks. Even Jedi. And rest assured, I will break you. You're a deep cover agent for New Republic Intelligence, and they haven't the slightest clue where you are. No one is going to come for you. You can either give me what I want, or I can take it."

Again, Connor did not respond. He simply picked a spot on the Twi'lek's forehead and stared at it blankly.

—————

After twenty minutes of complete unresponsiveness from him to any questions or comments, Kohtak's voice was still even. He wasn't on any explicit time limit to yield results, but it was imperative for him to find out what intelligence Connor had managed to provide for the Republic as soon as possible.

Connor also knew that Kohtak wouldn't physically abuse or torture him while the ysalamiri was attached so as not to risk harming it. Kohtak had tied his own hands with that move, and Connor had to wonder why he'd gambled like that. He had relied on Connor breaking under adverse psychological conditions, which wasn't going to happen. Removing an ysalamiri from a tree without killing it was a difficult procedure, and that was just for trees. Removing it from a human was probably a different thing entirely. Torturing Connor was simply not a viable option for Kohtak, now.

Was he really that arrogant that he presumed simply depriving Connor of his Force abilities would break his will?

"Connor, you have to work with me here. As a result of your actions here, you've contributed to the deaths of many Republic citizens. You've helped plan bombings, selected targets and provided funding. Do you really believe that, even if you get out of here, your government will simply excuse those actions? Why would they? Because you had to do whatever it took to get the information you needed?" Kohtak said. Now he's providing a rationalization for talking. "Talk because they'll turn on you anyway," Connor said to himself. As long as he kept reminding himself that this was an interrogation, he could hold out.

Connor remained silent and expressionless. He was careful not to move his hands or feet in any way. He wanted to lead Kohtak down the wrong path by picking out what weaknesses he was probing for and then giving subtle hints that certain false ones existed.

"You and your partner provided us with large sums of money, Connor. Those were Republic credits. The Republic was willing to pay out money to a terrorist organization to gain intelligence on it. You were willing to help them do that. You are every bit as guilty as you see the Sons of Palpatine, Connor," Kohtak pressed. That's the first time he's mentioned Lanna as a part of this, Connor thought. Up until now, it had just been about him.

Connor felt his face flush as he saw Kohtak's eyes widen in recognition. Connor realized that Kohtak had been counting on Connor's silent treatment and analysis of his actions as a method to resist questioning. So he had slipped in a small detail, like the fact that Connor had a partner, and was counting on him to notice it.

Son of a bitch, Connor thought.

"Let's talk about your partner, Lanna."

—————

"Whatever we don't get from you, we can get from her, Connor. You know that." Connor stayed silent, but he could feel himself beginning to unravel. If he can get it from her, he wouldn't be asking any questions, Connor reminded himself. He must've been in a localized temperature field at least a few degrees Centigrade higher than the room temperature. He could feel sweat beginning to form on his head, but noticed that Kohtak's forehead, which he'd been staring at for the past half-hour, was completely dry.

"She's quite beautiful, and she cares for you very much. She doesn't want any harm to come to you, Connor, and neither do I. All we want is your list of completed objectives, and then we can secure a deal for both your releases. We can make you both disappear. You can start a new life with her and escape all of this." He gestured around the dark room. Connor again remained silent. Kohtak walked back to his chair behind the table and picked up a syringe from a metal tray.

The use of syringes had been outdated for hundreds of years in the medical field. But for very specific purposes, like injecting a subject under questioning with certain drugs, they were still in wide use. A needle was far more intimidating than a simple hypospray.

And Kohtak apparently subscribed to that school of thought, as well. He filled the syringe slowly with a green liquid. Upon finishing, he tapped it to discharge any air bubbles. Satisfied, he put the syringe on a metal tray and took a disinfectant swab from it. He walked over to Connor and unlocked his handcuffs. Connor knew that trying anything would be futile, since he was securely bound to the chair by his legs and torso. He simply let his arms go limp, not cooperating with Kohtak's plans.

Kohtak put Connor's arm on the table in front of him, inside of the wrist up. He tapped his fingers on the inside of Connor's elbow, bring the vein out. "I assume you have some idea of what this is," he said, as though he was a professor in a lecture hall. "And I'm sure that you have some trained resistance to it, but the dose I'm administering is fairly large, so we'll see how you do."

He slowly stuck the syringe in Connor's vein and sent the truth agent directly into his system. "Oh and don't worry about our little friend here," Kohtak said, gesturing to the ysalamiri. "He'll be just fine." He went back to the chair opposite of Connor and sat down, looking at his watch and waiting for the drug to take effect. Between three and five minutes for full effect, Connor thought. The subject experiences disorientation and a feeling of being outside his own body. The subject's rational thought capacities will be suspended in favor of confusion and an increased susceptibility to suggestion. Connor's training program in resisting truth serums included general information on what effects they had, and he was regurgitating that information to try and keep himself thinking clearly.

But it would be an effort in vain. He couldn't beat biochemistry. With a large enough dose and the right questions, it would be very difficult to resist. But he had to try. The room was now in several different places. Kohtak got up from his seat with ghostly images of the movement following his form. Connor felt Kohtak's hands on his face, steadying it. He pulled Connor's lower eyelid down and examined his eye for pupil dilation and a total absence of bloodshot veins.

"There, now that's better," Kohtak's voice sounded warped. His brain was no longer processing sensory input correctly. "Connor, I want you to think about your wife, Lanna."

—————

My wife? Connor thought. "Wife ..." The word slurred from him mouth.

"Yes, your wife. You love her very much, and she loves you. Every moment you resist, she is in pain because you are forcing us to hurt you."

"Wife ... just the cover," Connor said sleepily. Kohtak played along.

"But don't you wish it was real? You want it to be real. It is real, Connor," he said slowly so Connor could process. Connor imagined an outdoor wedding with his friends and Lanna in a gorgeous white wedding dress. The scene occurred in flashes. The vows, the pronunciation of marriage, him kissing her, the reception afterward, being congratulated ... and then the wedding night. That image threw his mind back into reality. He had feelings for and had even slept with Lanna during this cover. But she's not my wife. Wife was just the cover.

"No ... not real."

"It is real Connor. Don't you want it to be real?"

"No ... lying."

"Who? Who's lying Connor?"

"... You."

"Why would I lie to you Connor?" Connor knew there was a reason, but he couldn't think of it. He pondered on the question for a moment as his head bobbed around.

"Create ... pleasant fantasy for ... subject ... in which he would want to ... reveal what he knows," Connor said, trying his best to recite lines from the manual on the use of truth serums.

"It's not a fantasy, Connor. She is hurt every second you deny reality."

"No ... lying ..."

Kohtak could see this was going nowhere. He had to try something else, some other scenario that Connor's mind would be more willing to accept. Connor's file suggested that he most closely matched a guilt-ridden archetype, so he would consider himself unworthy of the things he wanted most. Had his feelings for his partner been merely superficial attraction, he might have accepted a fantasy of being married to her, but the two were clearly closer than that. Kohtak made a note of it.

"Connor, my name is Kohtak'har. I am the newly appointed director of Republic Intelligence field operations." Connor was guilt-ridden, but his file also suggested that he was someone who had encountered insurmountable stumbling blocks when very close to success in his life. Kohtak took a chance and tried giving Connor an opportunity to finally overcome such a block.

"You're back at HQ, Connor. Your mission has been mostly successful, but we need to know what you've done with your list of mission objectives. After that, we'll be able to finally crush the Sons of Palpatine."

"List ... no list. In my head," Connor said.

"Tell me, what is the first item on that list?" Connor began weeping.

"No ... can't. Not authorized," he said through tears. There was some source of guilt inside him creeping up. Kohtak was hoping it would help dwindle down his capacity to resist.

"Connor I want you to repeat the following words. 'My first objective was to'."

"First ... objective ... was to," Connor repeated.

"Good, now tell me what your first objective was."

"First objective ..." Connor trailed off.

"Yes ..." Kohtak put his hand on Connor's head and straightened it. "Your first objective was ..."

"First objective ... infiltrate ranks ... Sons of Palpatine."

"Good, Connor, good."

—————

Connor's face strained. His confusion was quickly turning into panic and paranoia. The drug administered to him was extremely potent and could break even those with extensive anti-interrogation training without much trouble. But it also had the side effect of sending the subject into shock, so the window of opportunity for its use was limited. Kohtak had a pair of medics outside for when that happened, but he had to try and pump as much information out of Connor as possible before they were necessary.

Connor divulging his first objective was nothing particularly special. It served as a stepping stone to other information, but he wasn't saying anything Kohtak didn't already know.

He was getting impatient. His voice became more strained, and his tone more forceful. "Connor, your second objective. Tell me what your second objective was."

"No ... room ... can't breathe." Connor's breathing quickened, punctuated by panicked wheezes. His eyes were now intently focused as his head darted from side to side. Kohtak couldn't let him stay like this, or else the shock might become fatal. But he pressed on.

"Connor, just calm down. Tell me what your second objective was," he commanded in a raised voice.

"No room, no room!" Connor repeated.

"I can give you room Connor, but you have to tell me what I want to know."

"No, won't tell! No trust!" Connor's panicked face locked eyes with Kohtak's. "You don't care!" Khotak slammed his fist onto the table.

"Tell me what I want to know NOW!!" Connor's eyes widened, then his head dropped. "DAMMIT!" Kohtak hastily fumbled for his com-link. "Medics, get in here now!" Kohtak saw Connor's neck pulsing. His heart rate was accelerating. If not treated immediately, he could have a heart attack.

The medics came bursting in, one with a portable intravenous stand. One pushed past Kohtak and quickly examined Connor's eyes and pulse. "He's in shock, we've got to get him out of this chair. Let's get this rope off." Kohtak let them work. If Connor Elesae died, he foresaw his own life ending very quickly.

"We've got to get this thing off him, now," the other medic said, pointing to the ysalamiri. Kohtak couldn't allow it.

"Removing it properly takes too much time, and if it dies, this man will kill every one of us. Work with it."

"This man is dying. If we don't get this thing off him, he could begin bleeding internally," the medic protested. Kohtak pulled his blaster.

"I said work with it!" He yelled. The medic grudgingly accepted the situation. The ysalamiri was young, so its claws weren't long enough to risk puncturing Connor's internal organs.

They got Connor out of the chair and laid him down on the floor, propping his feat up on the seat. One took a scanning device and began running it over Connor to get his vitals. They chattered back and forth about dosages, and one handed a hypo to the other, who injected it.

The beeping representing Connor's heart rate began to slow to normal levels. "All right, I think we've got him. But he needs to rest before he can take any more questioning. And we've got to get that thing off him. It's been sucking out nutrients. We've got him hooked up to a drip, but if you want him ready in a reasonable timeframe, you have got to remove it."

"We can wait for him to recover. It's staying right where it is. Just increase the dosage of whatever you're giving him so that you can support both of them."

"All right, fine. You won't be able to question him again for at least another six hours, and you can't give him any more of that stuff for at least two days," the medic informed him.

That was fine by Kohtak. He needed to form a new strategy.

—————

Connor woke up on a stretcher. Or rather, between two stretchers. He was on his back, and the two had been positioned so that the ysalamiri could hang off his back. He had probably passed out, and they needed him to regain his strength for more questioning, which meant that he hadn't broken under the delusional state induced by the truth serum.

He tried to focus. Kohtak would now try different techniques, and he'd probably be in and out of the room more frequently, giving Connor more chances to forge an escape. He looked around, still in the same room.

A few minutes later, Kohtak came walking back in with two guards. "Get him in the chair," Kohtak commanded immediately. The guards uncuffed him and manhandled him into the chair. This time Kohtak only had them restrain his hands and feet; he didn't wait for them to rope his torso before telling them to get out.

"You were out for six hours, during which time I talked with Lanna," Kohtak said. "Interesting conversation." He paused. "Or should I say, 'debriefing'?" Connor looked up at him.

"Yes, I found it fascinating as well. You see, I had you two detained so quickly after I found out you were working with New Republic Intelligence that no one had time to tell me that Lanna Nisiri is a deep-cover agent for the Sons of Palpatine. Not surprising really. I'm not privy to that information, but when I was done with you, imagine my surprise when I heard she was specifically requesting to talk to me."

Connor said nothing.

"Her mission was to ensure that your operation succeeded, because your operation revolved around giving us enough money to earn our trust. And congratulations, you did."

Again, Connor remained silent.

"Not convinced? Then ask yourself this. How did we find out about you? I'm sure you've concluded by now that someone on the inside turned. And you were right. She was one of ours. How else would I have gotten this file on you?" He held up the screen of his datapad, showing what appeared to be detailed information.

"How did I know what you'd respond to during questioning? Because she told my superiors, who relayed that information to me." Connor simply stared.

"But you know what? She really does have genuine feelings for you. She's been pleading for your life. She knows that you're a good man, just politically misguided. But we can fix all that. We're still willing to let you two go free and be together. Just tell us what you know."

What I know? Not what they want to know. First he wanted a list of objectives, now he's just being nebulous. He's bluffing.

"I'm not in a drug-induced haze anymore, Kohtak," Connor hissed. Kohtak's eyes narrowed.

"No, but you don't have to be," he said darkly. He brought up his comm link. "Bring her in."

—————

Connor's worst fear had just come true. Two guards walked in with Lanna in restraints. She wore only a ragged shirt and pants. She had some bruises on her, but nothing serious. Her face was perfectly intact and sadly beautiful even as the will behind it was being broken.

Kohtak walked over to her and took her face in his hand. "I made sure to preserve her face for you. She's an exquisite specimen of your species." He walked over to Connor and closed the distance between their faces to centimeters.

"And I will torture her here, in front of you if you don't tell me what I want to know," he hissed.

"Connor don't tell them anything," Lanna said quickly. One of the guards immediately back-handed her across the face for her trouble. Kohtak's face stayed level with Connor's.

"Do you know how many men in this camp have probably fantasized about her? A beautiful, powerful woman like that walking around here? And always with those tight, form-fitting clothes," he said.

"That guard would gladly violate her if I let him. While you watch," he said slowly and deliberately. Connor knew he wasn't bluffing.

"But you can save her. Just tell me what I want to know." Connor looked at Lanna and then back at Kohtak.

"No."

"Guard," Kohtak said. One of the guards pulled Lanna close to him and started feeling her up from behind. Lanna closed her eyes and tried to breathe slowly. The guard sneered at Connor and then began licking Lanna's neck.

"We're gonna have a good time, baby." Connor jerked against his bonds in vain. There was nothing in the universe he wanted more than to rip that son of a bitch's throat out. Lanna met his eyes with hers. All the anger instantly melted away, leaving a hollow sadness in its wake.

They both knew the risks of this assignment, and they had accepted those risks. The information he had was more important than either of their lives. He knew that she was thinking the exact same thing. He looked back at Kohtak's iron-clad face.

"I will kill you for this," Connor growled.

Kohtak stood back up and walked over to Lanna. He grabbed her face and put his mouth to her ear, speaking just loudly enough for Connor to hear.

"The room's sound-proof, so scream as loud as you want."

—————

The guard threw Lanna into a corner after he was finished with her. He and the other had taken turns raping her for almost an hour, during which Connor had watched without moving. He had condemned her. He owed it to her to let her see his face and draw some strength from it while she was being destroyed. And he deserved to see the results of his actions. He deserved the pain it caused him.

She sat in the corner, naked and crying. Connor's jaw clenched as one tear after another fell from his eyes. The two guards were laughing and bantering back and forth about how she was just as good as they'd imagined.

"You know, maybe I don't even need you to talk. Why don't we see what she's got to say?" Kohtak said. He knelt down in front of Lanna. "Now, Connor won't tell us what your mission was. But Connor sat by and watched while those men did those horrible things to you. He alone had the power to stop them, but he didn't. Lanna, you don't owe him anything. Just tell me what I want to know, and I'll spare your life."

Lanna didn't even raise her head. Her muffled voice was clear in the small chamber. "Go to Hell."

Kohtak spoke into his comm. "Bring it in."

A moment later, another pair of guards wheeled in a portable holopad. It displayed an image of the camp's main square. "You both know what this is," Kohtak said. "And you both know what happens here." He was, of course, referring to the public and brutal executions of those whose crimes were severe enough to warrant being made a public example of. And being a Republic Intelligence agent surely fell into that category.

"Connor I will take Lanna into the square and execute her, while you sit here and watch, alone and unable to even give her the opportunity to see your face one last time," Kohtak said.

Connor said nothing.

"She will die, and even if you do escape, you'll have her death on your hands forever. That's blood that doesn't wash, Connor."

Connor's face began to strain. There was only one right call to make, and he had to make it.

"Connor, I am going to do this unless you tell me what I want to know right now," Kohtak threatened. A tear fell from Connor's eye. "Don't mourn her! She's not dead yet! You can save her. Just tell me what I want to know!" Kohtak paused to see if Connor would respond.

"My answer is final."

"Connor I don't want to do this. You can save her. I'll tell you what. You don't even have to tell me your objectives. Just tell me when you landed here, and I'll let her live," Kohtak said. It was bait. The second Connor gave into even one of Kohtak's demands, no matter how irrelevant or petty, he'd be under the Twi'lek's control.

Connor lifted his chin and bored his eyes into Kohtak's, his scowl implicitly promising the Twi'lek a painful death at Connor's hands. Connor looked at Lanna and couldn't keep the anguish from his face. Hers was pale, unmoving. In her eyes, he could see a jumble of emotions. There was understanding, the flutterings of panic, love ... and beyond that, simple inevitability.

Before they had begun this mission, they gave each other lists of arrangements to make and people to contact personally in case one of them didn't make it back. She was the first to look away, to let him give their answer. Connor's eyes wandered to the floor and closed to offer a final, damning reassurance.

"I'll tell your family how you died," he said. Her face grimaced as she broke down in tears, having just had her death warrant signed.

"Fine," Kohtak said coldly. "Have it your way. Get her out to the square, and call a general assembly. You two, post yourselves outside." The two guards picked her up. She didn't beg for mercy or even resist. They opened the door.

"I love you," she told him through tears just before the guards yanked her through. He would never forget her quiet dignity in spite of what had just happened and what was going to happen to her. All he could do was stare at the tears dropping on the floor.

"I'm so sorry."

Kohtak walked to the door and looked at Connor. "Enjoy the show," he said, gesturing at the holopad displaying the live feed from the square. He walked out, and the door shut behind him.

Connor was now truly alone.

—————

In the gloom of the cell, Connor methodically closed himself off from his grief. He felt the turbulence of his emotions recede, to be replaced by stillness. He would be able to properly mourn Lanna later, he knew, but he had to use this time to get out of here. He had to get the ysalamiri off his back.

He looked around the room for anything useful. All he saw were walls. There was a lone camera, but Connor knew that it was not tied into central surveillance. Only Kohtak, his superiors and other interrogators could view what went on in the interrogation rooms, and they were all going to the square. If anyone else was watching that camera's monitor, it would be the two guards stationed outside, and he could deal with them. Besides, he had no choice but to take this chance to escape. He wouldn't get a better one.

He was only a meter or so away from the back wall. He scooted his chair back, pretending to get a better viewing angle on the holopad. People were still filling into the square. He'd managed to get his chair-back butted right up against the back wall. The ysalamiri was in a vice.

He threw himself forward and then immediately rocked back, slamming the small, furry snake into the bulkhead. He heard it squeak in pain, and he slammed it against the wall twice more before it finally let go and fell to the ground behind his chair. Connor lifted the chair again and slammed a steel leg down, crushing the creature's head.

Immediately, he felt the Force flow back into him, revitalizing him. It filled the void inside him like a breath of fresh air, now that the creature was dead. His cuffs fell to the floor just as the door opened and the two guards came bursting in, blasters drawn. Both of their blasters flew into Connor's outstretched hands. The two froze in astonishment, and then Connor's hand was upon their weak wills, their volition suppressed by the Force.

Connor studied them both. They were the two who had raped Lanna. One of them looked about his height and build. "You, take off your clothes," he commanded without emotion.

The guard did so.

"Now both of you sit in opposite corners of the room," Connor said. They silently complied as he put the guard's uniform on. He had gotten lucky — even the boots fit well.

He'd like nothing more than to stay behind for a few hours and torture these men until they begged for death, but he didn't have that kind of time. He looked at the now naked guard, the one who had licked Lanna's face and taunted him earlier.

He couldn't let them live. His control over them would fade when he left. Not long ago, it might have been a difficult problem. Now, it was simple logic.

He walked over to the naked guard and held the confiscated blaster pistol to his head. Then he freed the man from his control. The guard blinked his eyes, trying to remember what was going on. Conner let him live just long enough for his eyes to settle on the barrel of his blaster.

"Hope you had a good time," Conner said darkly. He shot the man in the head. He turned around and shot the other one twice in the chest. Connor lowered the weapon, satisfied, and walked to the door.

A security card from his commandeered belt unlocked the it. He stepped out into the hallway, which, as he had expected, was bare. Most of the personnel were at the general assembly. Watching Lanna get executed. He was free, but there was no way he could save her; he'd just end up getting himself killed. He had to retrieve the datacard with all the intelligence he had gathered and get out of here as quickly as possible.

He knew the layout of the camp and knew exactly how to get to his old quarters. He encountered the occasional being excused from participation in the assembly, but he arrived without incident thanks to his procured uniform. He walked inside his and Lanna's former quarters to find them ransacked. But he knew they hadn't found anything useful, or they wouldn't have even bothered questioning him.

He quickly began looking for the remote control to the HoloNet receiver. He found it under the sheets of his bed and cracked it open. He pulled the circuit board out and found the small data storage module on it, still intact. He put the circuit board in his pocket and turned to leave.

Before he left, he saw a small piece of photoplast on the floor. He picked it up and saw that it was a picture of Lanna. He touched the corner and flipped through all the pictures contained on the paper-thin photo album. He allowed himself just a few seconds of nostalgia as he saw the pictures of them together. Then he pocketed it and quickly left.

—————

Connor made his way to the vehicle hangar. To keep the camp's location secret, space vessels did not fly in or out of it. But there were plenty of speeders. A hallway up ahead intersected the current one he was in. Turning right, there would be the entrance to the vehicle hangar on the inside wall. Connor had his back against the wall and peeked his head around to see two guards, one on either side of the entrance. His blaster in hand, he spun and shot the nearest guard then sidestepped to get an angle on the other one. Before he could even react, Connor sighted him down the barrel and shot twice. Both rounds hit the man squarely in the chest.

Connor quickly entered the vehicle hangar and found a speeder. Just as he got in and prepared to drive off, he felt a sense of intense pain through the Force. It was Lanna, and she was being burned alive. Slowly.

He took a breath and reached out to her through the Force. He found her and gently assuaged her pain. She was still screaming, but he could feel her mind disassociating itself from her body with his help.

It's okay. I'm here. I got out, he told her. He felt her relief come washing over him. She wasn't a Jedi, but he could still communicate with her in her last moments, as she became closer to the Force.

Don't come for me. Get out while you still can, he heard her say in his mind.

I'm so sorry Lanna.

I know. You had no choice. You did the right thing ... Connor, don't let me die like this, in all this pain. He considered what she requested of him, and he couldn't tell her no.

I love you, Lanna. I'll never forget you.

I know. I love you too.

Goodbye.

He closed his eyes and used the Force to gently shut down her brain's electrical activity. Their minds entwined, he set his thought upon the connections that formed her self, made her what she was, and carefully parted them.

And in that last moment, before all the connections had been severed, he experienced what she was feeling. They met her death in silent content, the last thoughts being of those she loved. It was the closest thing to death Connor would ever experience in his life. It wasn't blissful happiness in an afterlife. It was freedom from concern. She never had to worry about the galactic security, being tortured or risking her life ever again.

And for a split second, Connor wished he could go with her.

She slowly quieted, drowsiness enveloping her, as if she was falling asleep in his arms. He felt his connection with her fade into nonexistence. And then silence. Darkness.

It was a Dark Side skill to be able to kill remotely and subtley, he knew. But in light of what he had just made himself do and why, worrying about such binary labels seemed an almost absurd consideration.

He started up the speeder and left Lanna behind.

—————

Connor looked at the monitor of the interrogation room, showcasing Kohtak's green-tinted face. After he was far enough away, he'd managed to contact the local law enforcement with the speeder's built-in comm-link and get patched through to the regional NRI offices. After verifying his identity and mission, they had the planetary government ground all outgoing and incoming space traffic and begin setting up as good a blockade as they could. Within an hour, New Republic naval vessels arrived to buttress the blockade and drop commando units on the camp's location. Connor provided names and faces for everyone he needed alive.

They had captured a good portion of the important ones at the camp, including Kohtak'har. Connor needed to ascertain just who blew his cover, how and when. As the ranking agent on site, Connor ordered the captives, including Kohtak'har, be put in sensory-deprived rooms before interrogating them. He wanted to soften them up first, and he had needed time to get some treatment for his injuries anyway.

Another agent came up to him with a datapad. "Here's Kohtak'har's file," he said.

"I don't need it," Connor said, not taking his eyes away from the monitor.

"Also, Cracken's on the link. Says he needs to talk to you."

"Tell him I'm questioning the prisoner," Connor said.

"I'm betting that that's what this is about," the agent said. "I've got a private link set up for you in the empty holding room."

"Fine." Connor fired one last dirty look toward the digital representation of Kohtak's face before turning away.

He stepped into the empty holding room. There was a life-size holopad on the floor flashing the words "Incoming Call" in the space above it. Connor pressed the activation button and saw Jaren Cracken materialize in front of him, sitting behind a desk.

"Connor, first let me say how sorry I am about Lanna. We'll be sure to take care of whatever family she's left behind," he began.

"Sir, she requested that I be the one to personally inform her family," he said immediately.

"We'll arrange for that," Cracken said.

"Thank you, Sir."

"I understand that the special forces teams captured a good number of the vitals alive?" Jaren asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Connor, even though you're the ranking agent on-site, I don't want you questioning them. We don't have a situation report from you, you haven't been debriefed, and based on what I do know, you're in no shape to question them. Wait for someone from the area's division office to get there."

"Sir, with all due respect, we don't have the time for that. My cover was blown, and the Sons of Palpatine were able to get very specific information on me once they got my real name. That means that there is a source somewhere inside NRI who knew where I was and when. The minute he hears this camp has been raided, he's going to disappear. We need to find out who it is as quickly as possible and to keep this raid as quiet as possible."

"Division agents will be there in less than six hours. You need to get rested and checked out," Jaren said.

"Sir, I'm the only one on-site who is qualified to be interrogating any of these people. I put aside my personal feelings in order to escape custody, and I can do the same now," Connor explained. Jaren considered what he'd said.

"You get one, Connor. And you'll be heavily monitored. Get what we need and leave the room once you do. Understood?"

"Understood, Sir. Thank you."

—————

Connor signaled that the lights in the sensory-deprived room be turned up. He saw the image on the night-vision camera go bright white and then readjust to normal light levels. Kohtak'har's eyes, however, didn't adjust so fast. Connor opened the door and stepped into the room.

He saw Kohtak sitting smugly in his chair at one end of a simple steel table. Connor maintained his composure and sat down at the other end.

"You were right, Kohtak. I have been on this side before. But I don't think you've ever been on that side before. Let me assure you, all the training in questioning techniques won't do you any good in resisting. You will either give me what I want willingly, or I'll extract it from you using whatever techniques I deem necessary," Connor explained evenly.

The Twi'lek leaned forward. "And what is it you want, human? You've raided our compound. What intelligence will I provide you with that you can't glean from there?" Kohtak was more than willing to strike a deal, Connor could tell. He'd never struck Connor as the exceedingly loyal or ideological type. He probably just joined the Sons of Palpatine for the money and a great deal of leeway in his work.

"The name of your source who turned and divulged information about Lanna's and my assignment." Kohtak smiled and let out a chuckle.

"A source? What makes you think we had a source?"

"You identified who we were and obtained very specific information on both of us. You knew I was a Jedi Knight, and you had enough information to form a reasonably accurate interrogation profile on me. Now I want to know who your source was, and I want to know it now."

"I don't know who the source is. I'm just a simple security chief," he said.

"Maybe, but you still have useful information. You know what the source has provided in the past," Connor said.

"Yes, I do. And I want to cut a deal before I tell you anything. I want a new identity, a full pardon and immunity from prosecution." Connor stood up and got in the Twi'lek's face.

"You work for terrorists and just murdered a Republic Agent. You'd better start waking up to reality here Kohtak. Your only options for a deal are through me," he hissed.

"Please, Jedi. They'll drag you out of here if you get violent with me. I'm surprised you conned your way into doing this interrogation in the first place. I'll only divulge what I know of our source to another agent," he said.

"No, you'll divulge it to me, now," Connor demanded.

"Hmph. If you want the truth, we didn't discover who you were through our source," he said. "Our source gave us information about you after we found out who you were."

"How did you find out who we were?"

"You told us. You broke your cover," Kohtak said with a grin. He had wanted to talk to Connor, despite his claims to the contrary. He was practically itching to tell him what he knew.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Connor said. Kohtak just laughed. Connor pulled his blaster and put it to the Twi'lek's temple. "Tell me now!"

"Careful Jedi. Anger is the path to the Dark Side," Kohtak said, assured of himself. Connor leaned into Kohtak's ear.

"You think a couple of guards are gonna come in here and pull me away from you?" Connor asked sinisterly. Kohtak had to have noticed that no one had come in to take Connor out when he had initially pulled his blaster. "I know the people watching those monitors, Kohtak. They owe me. And they like me a lot more than they like you." He was bluffing, but not in the strictest sense. Kohtak apparently bought it.

"We had your room bugged," Kohtak said.

Connor raised his voice. "That's not news, Kohtak. You'd better start doing better." Kohtak was losing some of his composure but still drawing some amusement.

"About three days ago, one of the watchmen came to me with a recording of you and Lanna from the previous night."

"I remember what was said that night, Kohtak, and it wasn't anything incriminating," Connor said again with a raised tone. "You'd better start telling me the truth."

"Don't be so sure of yourself. We recorded everything. After the two of you went to bed, you got ... shall we say ... close? Nothing new with the two of you. The security monitors were actually up to the point of taking bets on who got the night shift because of that." Connor ignored the taunt.

"Get to the point."

"As I said, nothing new. But that night, after you two were done, you whispered in her ear. Barely perceptible, but our men caught it. You told Lanna that you loved her."

"You didn't whistle up your source and have him start digging because I told a woman that I loved her after I slept with her."

"No, we called up our source because you told Lanna that you loved her." Connor immediately felt the blood leave his face. Every detail about that night came rushing to the forefront of his mind. "You used her real name." He lowered his blaster and looked away.

"And your source did a lookup on her name and face," he said, not even looking at Kohtak.

"Yes. We got a match within a day, secured an ysalamiri the next and took the both of your into custody. All because you forgot to use another woman's name in bed. The irony is delicious." Connor rammed a clawed hand into Kohtak's throat and pinned him against the wall with a solid grip on his trachea.

"Think hard about that deal, Kohtak. Because you'll be safer in prison, you son of a bitch," Connor hissed.

Two guards bursted into the room and grabbed Connor by his arms. "All right, Connor, come on," one said. He'd brokered a deal with the guards to let him be with Kohtak as long as he didn't strike or abuse him physically.

"How does it feel, Jedi? You killed her twice," Kohtak chided through coughing fits as the guards took Connor from the room.

They let go of him when the door shut and put him against the wall. "Sir we can't allow you back in there." Connor was fuming at this point, but the guard remained adamant. "Just calm down, Sir."

He took a few deep breaths, trying to wash away the pain and stress of the last few hours.

"Right, all right," he said.

Then, at that moment, he finally broke. He sunk to the floor, having exhausted the reserve of emotional strength that had sustained him through the past day. Burying his face in his hands, all he could see was Lanna's face as she was being taken to her death. His tears might as well have been her blood.

What have I done? What the hell have I done?

—————

Connor looked at the review panel. There were nine beings of varying species. Seated in the center was Jaren Cracken, a human and director of NRI. And it was he who spoke with the air of authority and certainty that accompanied a man with over thirty years of service to his government.

"Agent Connor Elesae," he began. Connor was being reviewed alone. "This panel has reviewed your report on the deep-cover operation code-named 'parasite' and come to the following conclusions. Based on information obtained from both enemy prisoners and recordings obtained from the raid on the terrorist camp on Dantooine, the death of Special Agent Lanna Nisiri was the result of an error in judgment on your part," he said. That was a long-winded way of saying that they shouldn't have become attached to each other. Normally, the panel would have held them both accountable, but they weren't about to tread on the otherwise exemplary and distinguished record of a woman who had been burned to death during a public execution in the line of duty.

"However, this panel has also concluded that there was a loss of perspective by those directly in control of your operation at New Republic Intelligence. The high quality of intelligence that both you and Agent Nisiri were returning prompted the operation timetable to be extended repeatedly, placing you both under an unreasonable amount of stress and burrowing you far more deeply into the Sons of Palpatine organization than you were originally meant to go." Connor looked at Cracken, wondering what that meant as far as his ultimate fate was concerned.

"After reading the psychiatric reports of your condition directly following the termination of Operation Parasite, this panel has agreed with the clinical psychiatric assessment that the intimate attachment which developed between you and Agent Nisiri was a natural defense mechanism enacted to prevent you both from turning as a result of stress induced by your prolonged cover assignment." So that's how they explain it. We developed feelings for each other so we wouldn't turn traitors, Connor thought coldly. Cracken leaned further on the panel bench for the next part.

"And yet despite being captured, interrogated and watching your fellow agent be tortured, you stalwartly refused to provide your captors with any intelligence. You even sacrificed Agent Nisiri's life so that you could secure your escape and get the information to friendly hands. You demonstrated exceptional resourcefulness and clear judgment even under the conditions you were in."

"Therefore, with these considerations in mind, as well as the high quality of intelligence provided as a result of your operations, this panel has recommended that you, Agent Connor Elesae, remain an agent of New Republic Intelligence in an inactive capacity. You are to be relieved of your current field duties pending a psychiatric evaluation to take place no sooner than one standard year from the present date and will be assigned to work exclusively to your Jedi Master, Aryn Quillan, for that period." Fancy-talk for, "Be thankful, we're only suspending you for a year because you got results and didn't get killed."

"Do you wish to challenge the recommendations of this panel, Agent Elesae?" Cracken asked.

"No sir."

[brianeyci]

Very enjoyable.

Why didn't Connor use Jedi Mind Trick on Kohtak? Are Twileks immune to it?

Good thing Connor doesn't seem overpowered. If this had been prequel era Jedi, Connor would have taken those two blasters and saved Lanna's life. I'm glad you didn't Jedi wank.

Also, we're all adults here. Leaving a rape scene unwritten is cool, sometimes imagination is better than anything IMO. But I don't see why you didn't milk the tension more. Have the guards rip off her shirt, have her be thrown on her knees, have her crying, and so on. That could have been the most tense moment of the story. There were also some other possibly tense moments that I don't think you milked enough. For example, why didn't Connor use his mind suggestion to say nasty things to Kohtak when he was interrogating him, so the guards outside wouldn't see?

Why didn't Connor go on the mission to capture Kohtak, and kill him like he promised? I wanted to see Kohtak fucked, and didn't get it. Connor should have led a group of Jedi back to the compound, started kicking a lot of ass. Or we get a short tense moment, when Connor is arguing with his superior about going back to the compound, and the superior overrules him. Something. Connor promised to go back and kick ass, there should be some explaination why he didn't.

Very good, is there more?

Brian

[Durandal]

Very enjoyable.

Why didn't Connor use Jedi Mind Trick on Kohtak? Are Twileks immune to it?

Kohtak isn't a weak-minded peon like the two guards or the stormtroopers Ben and Luke encountered in ANH. I know that some EU sources give Jedi all these crazy mind-control powers to Jedi, but that makes for a very uninteresting story with no room for creativity.

Good thing Connor doesn't seem overpowered. If this had been prequel era Jedi, Connor would have taken those two blasters and saved Lanna's life. I'm glad you didn't Jedi wank.

That's the basic intent, yes.

Also, we're all adults here. Leaving a rape scene unwritten is cool, sometimes imagination is better than anything IMO. But I don't see why you didn't milk the tension more. Have the guards rip off her shirt, have her be thrown on her knees, have her crying, and so on. That could have been the most tense moment of the story.

As I said before, this was written mostly with the intent to be a flashback in another fic, and the flashback will be a kind of parallel story line, inserted into the main story in sections. It made more sense in that context to leave the rape scene unwritten.

Plus it's just one of those things where I kind of empathized with my own characters a little. I just didn't feel like writing a rape scene out, if you get my drift.

There were also some other possibly tense moments that I don't think you milked enough. For example, why didn't Connor use his mind suggestion to say nasty things to Kohtak when he was interrogating him, so the guards outside wouldn't see?

See above. Connor is a field agent, hence his skills are mainly focused on combat. So he's good with telekinesis and using the Force for speed and accuracy. But for coercion, he relies on tried and true methods like being able to read others' emotions from their actions and speech because the Force might not always be available to him.

As an example, in the ANH radio drama, they played out the scene where Vader interrogated Leia. Vader couldn't extract the information from her, and if he couldn't, with a combination of Force suggestion and drugs, then Connor (who is certainly less powerful) probably wouldn't have much luck using the Force with a hardened terrorist.

Why didn't Connor go on the mission to capture Kohtak, and kill him like he promised?

He needed him alive. Aside from that, after requesting a strike team, Connor probably would have been ordered back to an NRI facility or picked up for debriefing right away. He just escaped custody with valuable information. His superiors aren't about to risk him by sending him back into the field before he can be fully debriefed. He probably would have coordinated the strike team from an operations control center.

I wanted to see Kohtak fucked, and didn't get it. Connor should have led a group of Jedi back to the compound, started kicking a lot of ass.

As I said, it's a flashback sequence. When writing such things, you have to stick to a theme, and extended combat doesn't fit what I'm trying to convey — namely Connor's guilt-ridden complex. It's weird because it's not supposed to be its own story, I know, but it just kind of grew that way.

Or we get a short tense moment, when Connor is arguing with his superior about going back to the compound, and the superior overrules him. Something. Connor promised to go back and kick ass, there should be some explaination why he didn't.

You've got a point there. As for wanting to see Kohtak get his just desserts, I'm glad I managed to evoke such a reaction to the degree that you were disappointed when he didn't. That's the shitty thing. Connor wants to kill the piece of shit with his bare hands, but he can't. He won't even have the satisfaction of knowing Kohtak will be executed, because he's going to strike a deal for life imprisonment in exchange for intelligence. It's shitty, but it's supposed to be. That 12 or so hours is probably the most traumatic time in Connor's life, and it's supposed to leave a lasting impression.

Very good, is there more?

Thank you for your compliments and input. I've been considering writing this into its own story; I've got a good idea for who the leak could be. The trick is making a series of events that can lead to a good chase. And if I do write this into its own story, Kohtak will most likely wind up dead. Believe me, I'd like to kill him too.

[Crown]

Personally I'm not too impressed ....

[Durandal]

Personally I'm not too impressed ....

I don't have to fuckin' impress you!

[Kuja]

Personally I'm not too impressed ....

I don't have to fuckin' impress you!

Don't listen to him, Durandal, that was fuckin' impressive as all hell. Best piece I've read in awhile.

[Durandal]

Personally I'm not too impressed ....

I don't have to fuckin' impress you!

Don't listen to him, Durandal, that was fuckin' impressive as all hell. Best piece I've read in awhile.

Wow, thank you very much.

You know, the GSDA's are coming up ...

[Crown]

Personally I'm not too impressed ....

I don't have to fuckin' impress you!

Don't listen to him, Durandal, that was fuckin' impressive as all hell. Best piece I've read in awhile.

Just to give you the context; Damien has honoured me, by letting me proof read a lot of his work. I've already told him how great this particular short story is!

[buzz_knox]

It's better to leave such scenes unwritten. As in real life, the tension for those who aren't subjected to it directly is from wondering exactly what was involved, and dealing with the aftermath.

[brianeyci]

I didn't mean that Durandal should have written out the rape scene. I meant Durandal could have milked tension a little more. If I want something to whack off to, I don't surf SD.net fanfics .

Brian

[Durandal]

I didn't mean that Durandal should have written out the rape scene. I meant Durandal could have milked tension a little more. If I want something to whack off to, I don't surf SD.net fanfics

I don't think anyone's implying that.

[Ace Pace]

I REALLY liked this, wheres the full story?

[Durandal]

I REALLY liked this, wheres the full story?

/me taps skull.

All up here.

[Ace Pace]

I REALLY liked this, wheres the full story?

/me taps skull.

All up here.

*brings drill and paper and pen*

The pen way, or the drilling starts.

[Crown]

*brings drill and paper and pen*

The pen way, or the drilling starts.

That doesn't work, trust me.

[Ace Pace]

*brings drill and paper and pen*

The pen way, or the drilling starts.

That doesn't work, trust me.

You tried it on Durandel before?

[Crown]

That doesn't work, trust me.

You tried it on Durandel before?

Coming up to close to three years now.