Splinters (Complete)

[Kuzo]

[SIZE=11pt]S.I.S Internal Document #203-78IV[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Re: Irajah Ven[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Allegiance: First Order[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Aliases: None known[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Force Sensitive: Positive[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Force Capabilities: Telekinesis, otherwise unknown. Addendum: Incompatible with Yslamiri incarceration. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Physical Status: Responding well to treatment for injuries, but weak for unknown reasons. Further study requested.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Mental Status: Hostile but not physically aggressive. Cooperative when it is clearly in her best interest. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Full S.I.S. files attached. [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Summary of Findings:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Irajah Ven first came to our attention six months ago, after reports by [redacted] surfaced and connections were made between abandoned Sith research facilities and the subject. [Redacted] reported that she was cooperative and friendly, potentially sympathetic to our goals. Further observation was ordered, in hopes that she might be useful in finding more of these dangerous locales, but what was found instead is of just as much interest to SIS, and put her best usefulness into question.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Ven appeared on the galactic scene only in the last year. No files or history on her before that point are available, and considering what is known, this is suspicious. Her FO credentials list her medical school as being located on Coruscant, but no records of her there exist. The timing would have her schooling coincide with One Sith occupation, so while there is a chance that some of the records would have been destroyed, the fact that there is no trace whatsoever is telling. That she is a medical doctor, there can be no doubt, but it can be certain that she did not live or train on Coruscant as she reported. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Known family includes an adopted child, Boo Chiyo, who she reported missing five months ago. His current whereabouts is unknown. Our own inquires have unearthed several key facts regarding his disappearance but the trail has gone cold. The resources required to dig deeper are not deemed worth the potential rewards at this time. More concerning her father, Salcom Ven, a known Sith terrorist and biotechnology researcher. His whereabouts are also unknown. Observed interest by [redacted] in her father’s studies into engineered viruses raises more questions than it answers and warrants further investigation and caution.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]In the last year, Ven has built ties to Maena (further investigation pending), Panatha, and the First Order Government and Military. Awarded a barony and their highest civilian honor for actions during a Ssi Ruuk invasion of Dosuun, she is clearly valued, though to what extent as a continuing commitment to the government is unclear. Though her primary ties are to the civilian hospital in Avalonia (footprints from Panatha are all over her rise within that organization), she has admitting and treatment privileges across First Order space, including at their military hospitals and facilities. Known activities include monitoring the development of medical facilities in new military installations, as well as treating military personnel in both hospital settings and in the field. She was present at Kaeshana, Mustafar, Skor and now, Bespin- all military engagements, curious for a civilian doctor. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Her connection to Panatha is concerning. Traces of their influence on her rise cannot be ignored, but the extent of their reach in the case of Ven is uncharacteristic and of course their intentions are unclear. Obviously to set her in a position of some power, but what and for what purpose? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Note on observations since intake:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Ven came in with multiple injuries, confirmed to have taken place on Bespin. Standard treatment was administered, and there were no complications. However, the medical team did note extensive bruising, over nearly 90% of her body that does not fit with the filed incident report. Their varying ages and severity make it clear that they were not inflicted by the away team. Standard, civilian grade cybernetics have been left in place, as they have scanned clean for any built in weapons or threats. Scars that have been identified as sith runes across her body are not consistent with self inflicted mutilation, but she refuses to answer questions about them (or much of anything). [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Despite treatment, she is physically in poor shape, though not through any fault of our agents, but instead from some existing condition that would require further medical observation to identify. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Addendum: As standard procedure, Ven was incarcerated pending interview, utilizing the Force dampening Yslamiri for safety. That was the only time she exhibited physical aggression, and she was quickly subdued. However, the rate she began to deteriorate (full file attached) once detained within the field was alarming. The medical team did not know why that would occur, and the files are being sent to a team with more experience with Force Users. It became clear very quickly that leaving her there was not an option if she is to be of any use to us. We have done our best to assure the safety of the installation, but it is obvious that keeping her Force capacity suppressed is untenable and unwise unless it becomes necessary to encourage [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]her cooperation. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Conclusions: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]While there is no indication that Ven has personally committed crimes while within the First Order, her allies and activities leave open ended suspicions that cannot be ignored. Though verbally hostile, she has not made any attempts to harm anyone either during apprehension or in custody. There can be no assumptions however- she should be considered dangerous until/if an accord can be reached. Due to rapport and past positive interactions, we are suggesting that [redacted] take the lead in her interviews. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Given the status of the subject, especially her designation within their organization as a ‘civilian’ despite obvious military ties, guarantees that we have little time before the First Order demands her release.[/SIZE]

​

*****​

​

Location: Hyperspace, ANS Valor, 5th Legion​

Irajah Ven was pissed.

Beyond the obvious things like being held at gun point, thrown into a wall, threatened, stunned and finally thrown into a sack, the anger went far deeper than that. It shimmered, an almost physical manifestation in those hazel eyes. She kept her cuffed hands in her lap, leaned back against the wall of the holding cell she'd been escorted to.

The injuries sustained on Bespin had been taken care of, though a deeper pain radiated through her core. That, in truth, was where the anger was welling from. And beneath that, was fear. She didn't like to think about how she had ended up sobbing, begging them to take her out of the cell with the yslamiri above it, feeling the triumphant uncoiling of Gideon within her system. Eventually the medical team had stepped in, puzzled and concerned- especially since she refused to say exactly what in the maw had just happened. There was no doubt to them that *something* had occurred, new bruises appearing as they watched, her temperature spiking- they just simply had no idea what that was.

She had promised, choking with pain, that she would behave- not that it really mattered what she promised, it wasn't as though they were going to simply say 'oh, of course, we believe you,' but she'd kept her end of that regardless. Dirty looks was the worst any of them received from that point on, at least.

Irajah let her head drop down, eyes closing for a moment. She didn't know how long she'd sit there, waiting to find out what was going to happen now. But she did know that Gideon had gained ground. And now, especially, that was time lost that she simply didn't have.

| [member="Elliot Locke"] | [member="Jorg"] |​

 

[Kenth Typho]

The security room was utilitarian, crisp and to the point.

It had a half a dozen monitors spread out across one wall and currently most of those were focused on a single individual by the name of [member="Irajah Ven"]. How amusing that one doctor could be both a salvation and a headache at both stages. It would presumably save the career of the two soldiers and would prevent Locke from being chewed out to hell and back, after all... the SIS looked after their one regardless of matters of facts.

Locke sat in one of the chairs, a mug of coffee steaming in his hand and he was studying the doctor. She was nervous, anxious, but also deeply emotional in the furious sense of the word - where the anxiety came from was anyone's question. Perhaps still something to do with the yslamiri incident.

But the anger was something that Elliot could easily understand.

It wasn't every day that a man you considered your friend hadn't done a single thing to prevent your capture. Oh, Elly had stepped in to prevent her head from being blown off, for sure. [member="Jorg"] was a consummated professional, but he had no doubt in his mind that Raj would have sassed him hard.

If not for his intervention that showed the gravity of the situation.

A door hissed open behind him and Locke didn't have to look over his shoulder to know it was Jorg.

"Been sitting still for the better part of the hour." Elly said after a moment. "Hasn't touched her food yet."

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Elliot Locke"] | [member="Irajah Ven"]

Jorg came up quietly behind Elliot, his face impassive, his eyes locked on the woman.

He didn't say anything for a few moments, mostly because he was busy recollecting about when he had been on the other side of this glass. As many people knew the 5th Legion wasn't a part of the standard GADF, they were instead an alternate military branch. Most of the soldiers within the Fifth Legion consisted of either Refugees, or former One Sith Stormtroopers. The Legion was commanded, structured, and built around men and women seeking redemption.

Of course for every person wanting redemption you also got five who simply wanted a new place to slaughter. The 5th Legion conducted interviews, performed psychological evaluations, and did half a dozen tests before they inducted anyone. Jorg had gone through all of that, and throughout it had always lied through his teeth.

The Legion didn't even know his real name.

For a moment the Soldier frowned, his hand having clutched into a fist as he remembered the lies he had told on the other side of that glass. After a moment however he managed to calm down, settling his heartbeat and pointing his gaze towards the woman at the table. Her expression was stern, angry, perhaps what one would expect. "Has the First Order noticed her disappearance?"

Jorg wasn't the ranking member of the Legion on this ship, that was Admiral Stralback, but as a Major he did hold the second highest rank, something that allowed him to be a part of this interrogation.

A part of him disliked that, though he could hardly complain.

 

[Kenth Typho]

The silence spoke tales, but Elliot didn't find it necessary to fill it with words.

Instead the moment was co-opted into studying Raj some more. She was frowning now, studying her plate maybe? It was difficult to see from this angle. Maybe she was trying to remember all the reasons that she was refusing to eat... make a statement, any statement possible to the people that held her captive. A possibility, but not one that Elliot found likely.

Oh, she was stubborn, but self-destructive didn't seem to be part of the equation.

"Yes." Locke responded, before shifting his attention away from Raj and towards the datapad on the table before them. He took a sip from his coffee and gestured towards the 'pad.

"Chatter running high, they are investigating and spinning, but haven't concluded anything yet."

Wouldn't be long that the First Order would spin it against the, of course. That was all part of the game, part of the expectation that every single one of them inherited the moment they got into this business. It wasn't even personal for the most part, it was simply part of the competition to... support your nation. They all had to do nasty things they might not necessarily agree with.

"Probably gives us a couple of days, maybe a week, before their foreign office start throwing around accusations and demands."

He put the mug down and returned to his scrutiny.

This entire thing was a mess.

Both the intelligence as well as the army were doing their usual tug-and-pull match to see who would get the first crack on the good doctor. The army brought in that it had been their mission, intelligence countered that without their info it would take months to get anywhere, until they finally settled on the Legion as a more or less... neutral avenue.

A SIS agent would lead the interrogation, an army officer would be there every step of the way and that's how both of them got recruited into the continuation of this mess.

Locke had been doomed from the start, of course. SIS knew fully well that he had a connection to the asset and they'd make sure to use every single morsel of the connect to their advantage.

"You read the file I gave ya?" Intelligence had grumbled about that, but if [member="Jorg"] was gonna be here, he might as well know some of the details.

[member="Irajah Ven"]​

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Elliot Locke"]

What the First Order would want Jorg didn't really know, or care. They were an enemy force, they had invaded Sovereign Alliance Territory on several accounts. As far as he was concerned there was no diplomacy to be had with them. If this situation had been in the old days there wouldn't even have been a question.

Then again, if this was part of the old days Elliot would have been a Sith inquisitor and Jorg could have been the trooper silently standing in the room, watching.

The memory caused his fist to curl once again, his gaze settling on Irajah as he remembered a moment on Byss. It had been a bedunday, sunny outside and pleasantly warm. A Jedi had been captured on Alderaan, to be interrogated by one of Inquisitor or another. Jorg had been set to guard duty. The experience had been horrifying, even to a seasoned soldier like him. The Inquisitor had beaten, tortured, and broken the woman until nothing of her consciousness had remained.

Jorg had watched it all.

The Legionnaire snapped back to life a second later. "Yes."

He was no stranger to interrogation tactics himself, though what he had been taught would hardly be acceptable here. He frowned for a few moments, glancing at the woman before he looked towards Locke. The man seemed stable enough, though had some sort of connection with the good Doctor.

"Go in." He told her, glancing back to Irajah. "Talk to her."

It was the opening round of an interrogation, good cop, and who better than the cop Irajah knew.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Irajah Ven"]​

​

Whilst [member="Jorg"] pondered Elliot took a sip from his coffee.

He wasn't worried.

This wasn't his first interrogation and wouldn't be his last one - the things he had done to those whose information he needed... they might not have been as bad as what a Sith Inquisitor did? But if it ever was disclosed by the SIS, the entire organization would probably be scrutinized 'til closure by the Alliance. Sometimes the good people needed to do bad things to the bad people, if they wanted to get the information to save lives.

"Yep." Locke doubted that the good cop/bad cop-routine would actually be effective here. For all intents and purposes the agent had betrayed Raj's trust in her opinion.

That wasn't a thing that they could walk back in a couple of minutes of conversation. Especially not when she was in a cell and was being interrogated by him for information.

But as mentioned earlier... Locke wasn't worried either.

This was all business for him and there was no point in becoming emotional about it. It would only make him stupid and inept to push her buttons into giving out the information they needed.

The cup was put down and Locke exited the security room, turned a corner and then - after reaffirming his identity to the guards stationed at her door - entered the cell itself. Locke settled himself in the chair on the opposite side of her. A table stood patiently between them as well.

The dossier or something that looked like the dossier was carefully placed on said table.

Then he looked at her, but other than that did not speak.

Elliot simply waited and observed for now.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Elliot Locke"] | [member="Irajah Ven"]

Jorg was at much the same opinion was Elliot was, he doubted that this woman would fall for the good cop bad cop routine, in fact he doubted very much that she would fall for any method of interrogation that they would be able to conduct here.

The woman, at least from her dossier, was somehow affiliated with Panatha.

Jorg didn't know much about the First Order at large, he was only a grunt, but he knew the system of Panatha, and the names attached to it. That world was controlled by the Sith Lord Darth Carnifex, a man who had once dubbed himself Vornskr, and one who had serve the Dark Lord of the Sith. Jorg knew that because he'd caught flashes of the man, on Coruscant, on Alderaan, half a dozen other places. He had served with the One SIth, and his reputation had been one of absolute brutality.

If this woman was associated with that, then she knew well the worst tortures that could occur.

The Major had no idea if she'd undergone those tortures or if she'd witnessed them, but there was a good chance she knew about it at the very least. That was enough. The Good Doctor would already know that they could never do what happened on Panatha, already knew that their hands were bound in some way.

The Soldier frowned slightly, pressing a small comm-link on the table to call one of his other men. "Bring it over."

He said quietly, watching Elliot and Irajah.

 

[Kuzo]

Both of her hands came up, running back through her hair before tilting her head and looking with a certain sidelong disgust at the plate of food they'd left on the table in the middle of the room. She'd opted to sit on the floor on the far side of the room, rather than at the bolted down chair. Not because she was trying to make a statement.

But because the smell of the food was making her nauseous.

It had taken several hours in the cell with the yslamiri before they had removed her. Several hours where the already bloated Gideon had attacked her organs. She didn't know just how extensive the damage was. But the burning sensation in her stomach was not something she could simply push through and ignore. Oh, she mostly kept it from her face, but the idea of eating anything made her want to vomit.

She'd been lucky that she'd been able to fake wellness enough to prevent them from doing an additional scan after that. Irajah had few illusions as to what would happen if the Alliance discovered Gideon inside of her. If the actions of the Jedi [member="Phylis Alince"] were anything to go by (understandable and yet unacceptable now, never again), she'd be held in quarantine and studied until it was too late. Better to bid her time, get out of here and to @Cerbera. Irajah's timeline had been altered by those scant hours cut off from the Force. Would it disrupt the Sith's ability to do what had to be done? She didn't know, and it frightened her.

Fear leads to anger.

She looked up as [member="Elliot Locke"] entered the cell. She knew she looked worse than when she'd walked into the club on Bespin, but she didn't really *care*. She watched him warily, the hostility in those hazel eyes clear as day.

It wasn't really a surprise to Elliot that, despite the silence stretching for maybe longer than he expected it to, Irajah was the first to break it. After a minute or two had passed, she made an irritated sound in her throat. Her tone was flat with just the barest trace of a bite to it.

"Whatever you want Elliot, spit it out or get out. I'm not interested in playing games with you."

​| [member="Jorg"] |​

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Jorg"]​

​

It may have surprised Raj that Elliot stayed quiet.

He kept his attention on her for about ten seconds after the last syllable left her tongue, before his focus shifted from her persona to the datapad resting easily on his side of the table. It was almost as if she hadn't said a word, as if she hadn't ordered him to pay attention to her and say what he had to say that Locke started to shift through the 'pad and Ven's history. Another minute, maybe two, maybe three passed as Elly simply... read.

The tension in the room rose every single second that passed without a single word uttered by him, but that was the way Locke liked it the most.

Make the tension unbearable, annoy the person on the other side of the table, make it seem like her entire input was irrelevant and that everything was already on the file in front of him. Make her eager to fill the void left by her own words, because of awkwardness and anything else involved.

"They will get you to talk, you know." Locke responded after a minute or three, in a conversationally tone and relaxed, friendly even to a degree or two. "You might think your pride and indignation and feelings will help you, but... they won't, they will get you to talk at the end of the day."

That was when Locke looked up from the datapad and there was clear disappointment within those two orbs focused on her.

"If you give up your friends... Zambrano and his vile associates? I can have you out of here in a day or two. We don't really care about anything else."

A shrug of the shoulders.

"Just the genocidal maniacs you are protecting with your silence." After all, she had mentioned that her friends were out there on Bespin. It wasn't a secret that she had deep ties to Panatha and beyond. The fact that her rise within the First Order had been a meteoric of sorts only underlined that there was an influence of a Sith behind it. It didn't matter how competent Raj was, but becoming a Baroness within the span of a few months after taking care of some soldiers?

That wasn't a thing that happened within the First Order.

Locke was skeptical and mildly disappointed he had been wrong about Ven.

One more that the Sith had gotten their claws in, but this one still had a chance to find a different route. To become... free after giving them the information they needed to shut them down.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Elliot Locke"] | [member="Irajah Ven"]

Jorg watched quietly.

He wondered briefly if the First Order actually cared about this doctor or if she was just another pawn in the game. The Soldier didn't think it really mattered all that much in the end, he himself was just a pawn after all, but it would help to get inside of this womans mind. Did she think herself important? Did she think they cared? That she was doing the right thing?

It was all up in the air.

The dossier he had been given was descriptive, but you didn't really understand someone until you met them yourself. Jorg understood that, he'd met terrorist leaders who were more charming than super models. He had met Sith Lords who were as cute as the girl next door. You couldn't read someone off a piece of paper, no, you could only do that staring them in the eyes. The Major frowned for a moment, glancing up at the Doctor as he heard the door open behind him.

"Sir."

One of his men said as he stepped inside.

"Put it there." He motioned towards the table. "I don't think we'll need it yet."

The other man nodded and placed a small black case onto the table, there was no label upon it, though it did appear rather ominous. The soldier lingered after he put the case down, watching the scene in front of them with a sort of stoic silence.

 

[Kuzo]

"They will get you to talk, you know." Locke responded after a minute or three, in a conversationally tone and relaxed, friendly even to a degree or two. "You might think your pride and indignation and feelings will help you, but... they won't, they will get you to talk at the end of the day."

"Oh go to hell," she snarled, immediately and without thought. In truth, she'd been holding that in the entire time he'd continued his silence, too stubborn to break it again before it was his turn to speak maw damn it, but too furious to hold it in once he did.

She used the wall to push herself into a standing position. Pain, the sensation of something virtually tearing inside of her, sent another wave of nausea and a grimace that had nothing to do with anger across her face. She didn't move across to the chair opposite him. She simply refused to be looking up at him in this moment.

Irajah was prepared, fully, to give him absolutely nothing. She didn't care if all he wanted to know was what colour the sky on Dosuun was after it rained. She was ready to say not a word even if he asked merely if water was wet.

She hadn't been counting, however, on the Zambranos.

The maws damned chit ridden Zambranos.

Irajah recoiled as if she'd been slapped when he equated them with friends.

Later, she wouldn't remember doing it. But, somehow, in the single blink of an eye, she was at her side of the table. Cuffed fists slammed down on the surface with a force greater than a woman of her size or strength had any right to wield. Her eyes flashed, no longer with simple anger, but with fury and loathing. The spark of a hundred cuts laid out upon each other reflected in her gaze.

"Don't you dare claim those creatures," she spat out, "Are my friends."

It was, for a moment, difficult to breath- and she didn't know if it was Gideon or Wrath.

"I would see Panatha ash, and those monsters on their knees. I'm not protecting them from anything."

​| [member="Elliot Locke"] [member="Jorg"] |​

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Jorg"]​

​

Locke did not react to the outburst of emotion.

It was surprising though, because it made it seem as if her anger and wroth was genuine. Which was a confusing then when Raj was friendly with the Zambranos. This was evidence that the SIS had tracked down early on in their investigation. But maybe there was a falling-out that they hadn't yet realized? They couldn't be everywhere at once, after all, so maybe Intelligence had missed the latest development.

"Spare me the theatrics and posturing, please." Elliot replied in a calm and level tone, before tapping a few buttons on his datapad and turning it around for her to watch.

For a brief moment there was only darkness, until the datapad switched towards a recording. It was a recording of herself. Herself dancing and drinking and smiling and laughing with one Braxus Zambrano. The hierarchy of the Panathan Empire was ambiguous for the most part, but for a single detail.

That Braxus was considered almost equal to his cousin Kaine Zambrano.

"You are close to Kaine's cousin and they have groomed you within the First Order, explaining your meteoric rise to their nobility itself." A tap of the button and the datapad was pulled back again, turning it around and Locke shifted his focus away from her again.

It did not seem as if the Agent was much impressed with her.

It was disappointment, of course.

"You do realize that every single time the Zambranos murder, torture, rape, slaughter, that it's on you and the First Order because of your silence, protection... your support." He looked back up again and now there was disgust in his eyes, watching that recording had been disgusting.

Just another lackey and pawn of the Sith, being completely happy with whatever they did as long as it didn't touch them personally.

 

[Kuzo]

The disgust in his eyes, in his voice, paled in comparison to the disgust on her face and in her own soul.

As soon as she had recognized the scene on his pad she'd recoiled, eyes closing and fighting back a nausea that had nothing to do with Gideon. Her skin practically crawled, and she didn't need his video to remember the moment captured exactly.

In a rare turn of events, he didn't really need to lead her. Once she knew his preference, she turned onto the dance floor, her hands in his.

Everything was delightfully hazy around the edges, and the music the band struck up was cheerful, upbeat and energetic- nothing she particularly associated with Braxus if she were being honest. The twinkle in her eyes, the way she wrinkled her nose when she smiled, made it clear that she didn't think he'd be able to keep up.

They were an odd pair. The towering Sith Lord and the petite doctor. Irajah wasn't a particularly accomplished dancer, but she made up for it with energy and enthusiasm. And Braxus was a surprisingly good dancer, especially considering that this seemed like a type of music rarely heard on Panatha.

If she were a little less tipsy, she would have poked at that a bit. He'd already hinted at it. But between the energetic movement across the floor, she was starting to not be entirely sure when he was turning her and when the room was just spinning a little.

Of course, the absinthe didn't help at all.

Setting both of her hands on his forearms as the song came to an end, she realized she was laughing. Her face was flushed, and she tried to catch her breath as she turned her head. For a moment, she thought she saw something fluttering at the edges of her vision, but when she turned to look toward it, it was gone again.

"I think I need to sit down," she said, still laughing, not entirely sure why beyond the simple fact that she was having a grand time.

She seriously considered the desire to vomit in that moment.

"Were close," she whispered, voice tight, all of the loathing in that statement directed no longer outward, at Elliot, at the Zambranos. But focused inward instead.

She no longer blamed herself for what happened. The weight and responsibility was squarely on the shoulders of the lords of Panatha. But that didn't mean she wasn't entirely disgusted by how easily she'd been reeled in.

"I wasn't aware of the strings they were pulling. I still don't know everything they arranged, or why they did it. Once I understood, I got out Elliot. But. Yes. I know. If you think I haven't considered that, you're blinder than I was." Quiet, yes, but her voice slowly hardened, brittle and sharp as she continued.

"Good to know I'm still just as blind as I was then," she said bitterly, stepping back from the table and turning away.

Not looking at him, her eyes cast up at one of the cameras instead.

"Does it every occur to anyone that if they want my help, I'd give it if people would just karking ask? It gets a little old, Elliot. Thrown into walls and stuffed into a duffle bag. Wasn't even original, for the record. Three out of ten, points for your boy holding the gun to my head and all that. He was very convincing. I was pretty sure he was going to kill me there, so. Bravo."

The anger had crept back, twining with the self loathing to form something even she didn't have a name for. The Ren bursting into her home in the middle of the night. Vrak taking her from the aid camp and murdering that girl.... When had she forgotten her name? And of course, the Zambranos. Weaving webs and manipulating the very foundation of her life to accomplish.... what? She still didn't know what the point of it all had been.

​| [member="Elliot Locke"] | [member="Jorg"] |​

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Elliot Locke"]

Jorg let out a whistle for a moment, unheard by Irajah and Elliot of course.

He was reminded briefly about a rebel he had encountered once back on Alderaan, a young woman who had been marked as a dissident by the Sith. She had held much the same attitude as Irajah, fiery, passionate, though in the end that had all come back to bite her. They had interrogated her for half a day, attempting to get some information about where her friends were hiding in the jungle. In the end however she had refused to give them anything, and in a brash pulse of anger their Sith commander had executed her.

The Soldier frowned for a moment, then leaned forward. He pressed a small button, a communicator that would buzz in Elliot's ear. "Ask."

The Intelligence officer likely knew just what to do, but Jorg wanted to offer some guidance.

"Outpost Locations, defensive structures, layout of the Citadel." He paused for a second. "Everything she can remember, everything she can think of."

That was a start. Panatha was still something of a mystery to the Alliance, but ti was also a highly valued target. Everyone knew what went on their, it was an open secret. If they could get the layout of the citadel, the cities, if they could find out where defensive emplacements were, where the slaves were kept, it would go a very long way to striking a blow against not only the First Order but also the Sith that they kept so safe behind their walls.

Not to mention perhaps once Irajah started to give up information on one thing it might be like unplugging a drain. Eventually it would all come pouring out.

Panatha was a start, but Dosuun was the end.

 

[Kenth Typho]

[member="Irajah Ven"] | [member="Jorg"]​

​

"If you were our mission we would have snatched you somewhere that wasn't a warzone with about five hundred different external influences that could kark up the op five lightyears from Taungday." Locke brought in, before shrugging at the general sentiment displayed. It didn't really matter what Raj thought at the end of the day - they did capture her and she was currently being held by them.

Anything else is just sentiment and posturing.

"Either way," Locke didn't show any outward signs of acknowledging Jorg's message. "You say that's all in the past, okay, then help us bring down the Zambranos, if you hate them this much."

Elliot doubted she was speaking the truth, but this was the prime way of proving it and without any cost to herself, if she was speaking the honest truth. After all, if she wanted them dead, buried and wiped out, then what was the point of trying to hold that information to yourself now?

They'd get it out of her eventually anyway.

"Outpost locations, defensive structures, layout of the Citadel on Panatha." Elly shrugged again. "Anything that you can remember that could help us bring them to justice."

 

[Kuzo]

In the end, Irajah's hatred of the Zambranos was far more intense than her desire to tell Elliot to jump in the Maw. It hadn't really been a contest between the two, but it still was a grudging recitation as she shared what she knew.

Justice? Elliot was a fool. She didn't want justice.

She wanted revenge.

Her voice was flat as she spoke, explaining what she knew- back tracking to clarify if [member="Elliot Locke"] had a question or observation. She knew little beyond the Capital and Vain Hollow, but what she knew mattered. She had been allowed into parts of the personal residence that he never would have been able to get one of his agents into. The extensive labs, one of the residential wings (of which she could detail not merely the layout, but the types of defenses they could expect to find, though not where the Lord of Panatha himself slept), the location of one of Kaine's 'offices' as well as pinpointing the exterior window for that room on several holos taken from orbit. The habits of the Crownguard, the Zambrano's elite fighting Force, and their lack of ability against the White Current. The nature of the fleet and how they challenged ships entering the system, as well as her personal code (though she cautioned him that it was unlikely to be useful any longer) for access to the planet itself, as well as the key codes to her personal lab and quarters. She could share that the servant base was enormous but not the exact size- only that she realized after the fact that the staff she interacted with was rotated weekly, probably to keep her from getting close to any of them. Outposts, at least those visible from the air upon approach to Vain Hollow, or between there and the Capital. The layout of the lower levels, where prisoners were kept. The names of certain personnel the Zambranos had been unable to simply switch out with diligence- including the existence of Kaine's personal physician, a woman who wore a plague doctor's mask. Irajah's clone.

The goosebumps that rose on her flesh and the fire in her eyes made it clear her opinion on that.

Between her own eye for detail and the training she had undergone with [member="Ashin"], the extent and detail she was able to sketch out when she finally just got annoyed and required a stylus and pad was astounding. Hallways down to the errant foot stool in the alcove, each laboratory room and the equipment in it, every window she had ever seen, and where many of them led and those rooms she had gained more than a glance into sketched in detail.

One couldn't say she warmed to the job. But she spoke without hesitation once the decision had been made, her hand sketching at an almost blinding speed.

At one point, she paused, a ghost of a smile across her face for a heartbeat, wondering how her mother would feel about this as a use for the art she'd shared with her daughter- and then it was gone again, and she was marking off where security doors were located within that section between the kitchens and the residential wing of one Braxus Zambrano.

It took two hours for Irajah to explain it all, and then for Elliot to go back over with a fine toothed comb, teasing out details that had miraculously slipped her mind in the first telling- nothing deliberate, simply too much cascading too fast, and small odds and ends getting lost in the flow.

|[member="Jorg"] |​

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

It was only after she had finished, after Elliot had checked the intel and walked out of the room that Jorg stepped inside.

He had been waiting behind the glass almost the entire time, his eyes set on her, watching every twitch of her face, every shift of her body. He had seen the small smile, the sag of her shoulders, the hint of satisfaction that drew upon her when she'd finished with her work. It was a curious thing, unconscious acts of her body that gave away more than her words ever could have. The Legionnaire had watched it all, taking it in until finally he had his opportunity.

As he stepped into the interrogation cell his expression was stern, his cold blue eyes floating over the Doctor for a moment as he took the seat directly opposite her. "Would you like anything to drink?"

She could undoubtedly remember him as the person who had put a blaster to her head and threatened to kill her, but that didn't really matter at the moment. She had been in a war zone then, and she had been uncooperative. Of course had this still been the days of the One Sith her situation might not have been all that different, but currently Jorg was constrained by the morality of those around him. The Soldier sat upright in the chair.

"Eat?" He continued to ask. "You've been in here for quite a while."

Jorg's tone was neutral, far from the hostility that she had heard from him before.

 

[Kuzo]

She had been hoping for some quiet. Time alone with her thoughts, with her anger. So when the sounds of foot steps echoed in the room again after the door closed, she sighed, not attempting quiet, and lifted her head from where she had allowed it to droop. She was clearly more exhausted than when they had started, and she watched [member="Jorg"] approach with a certain wariness, but without the ire she'd directed at Elliot.

Oh, she didn't particularly like him, no. It was hard to like someone in these circumstances. But it wasn't personal. She understood his actions in their context (even if she wouldn't have changed a thing about trying to get out of there at the time), but it had just been business for him. He didn't know her, she didn't know him, and the distance cooled some of the fury. At least for now. All of that anger was held squarely in reserve, just below the surface should it be required.

Despite that, she was a little surprised at his opening questions, and the sharp blink blink of those hazel eyes showed that clearly. The wariness didn't fade, but she responded slowly and without malice.

"I'm not hungry," she said honestly, none of the forced bravado of someone attempting anything as ridiculous as a hunger strike. "But I would appreciate some water, yes."

She had after all, been talking for nearly two hours straight.

For the moment, she didn't offer anything else. But that was to be expected.

 

[Subject 37]

[member="Irajah Ven"]

Jorg said nothing in response, he simply lifted his hand and gave a small wave towards the glass. Two or three minutes later a man stepped into the room. He wore the distinctive armor of the 5th Legion, bright white trimmed with orange, black visor obscuring his eyes. In one hand he carried a pitcher of water and in the other a cup. The soldier place both in front of Jorg, slowly pouring the cup of water in front of him before the latter of the men pushed the cup towards Irajah.

The cuffs in front of her would give her just enough room to grab the glass and drink.

Noticeably the other Soldier did not leave, so unlike with Elliot the two of them were not left alone. Instead the man took a few steps back against the wall, standing there and impassively watching both Irajah and Jorg as though he were some sort of droid. Perhaps she would recognize the odd tactic, perhaps not, but to some it was reminiscent of Stormtroopers, taking up positions in case a prisoner became a threat. "You have been cooperative thus far."

Jorg stated simply.

"The Jedi will be pleased with the information on Panatha." He could plainly admit that, Panatha had always been a large goal for the Alliance, especially the New Jedi Order. "We thank you for that."

 

[Kuzo]

Irajah didn't pretend she wasn't watching them while she drank. She took her time with it, not rushing but not stalling either. To the accompaniment of the cuffs against the table, she put the glass down and slid it back over to him. As far as she was concerned, her eating or drinking her didn't put her at any greater risk. They could over power her at any time and everyone in the room knew it. Poison? Let's not be silly.

While she had no experience in the interrogation of prisoners (but for that one time, poor Xena, and she'd refused to take part), it did not take a military genius to understand the purpose of the additional soldier. The only question was why hadn't there been one here when [member="Elliot Locke"] had questioned her? Other than the barest arch of an eyebrow, she didn't comment on it, keeping her opinions and conclusions to herself on the matter. After all, she wasn't give them anything further if she could help it.

The Zambranos? Yes. Anything, ultimately, to destroy them. She didn't particularly care if she was the one forcing them to their knees personally, so long as it was done she'd take a certain grim pleasure in it.

"Honestly, I don't really care what the Jedi think," she replied drily. "I've never been particularly impressed with the ones I've met so far. I'd appreciate a promise of an extra bolt put into the back of both their heads with my name on it, but," she shrugged instead of continuing.

You have been cooperative thus far.

Thus far.....

It seemed Elliot's promises were worth less and less with every passing moment.

"I take it," she said slowly, showing a certain carefulness in wording that she had not displayed with the Locke, "That whatever your branch is within the GA is now expecting its fair share."

​She watched [member="Jorg"] evenly, even if beneath she was seething. Elliot had said that if she gave up Panatha, he would arrange for her freedom. It seemed as though either he had been outright lying or that wasn't a promise he was empowered to actually make.

Irajah was surprisingly calm about that.

After all, it's hard to be disappointed in someone you no longer considered worth counting on.