"That was the last of them sir. How in the emperor's name did they know we were here?"

"That's what i intend to find out XO. Alpha-3, Gamma-3 you are to accompany me aboard the Anterra. You are to bring your weapons with you, is that understood?"

"Alpha-3 acknowledged."

"Gamma-3 acknooowledged asss well."

"Sir, what's this all about?"

"I'll brief you later Quicksilver. For now you're in charge of our birds."

"Understood."

As Seth approached the corvette stationed only a few hundred meters away he opened a comm channel to it:

"Anterra this is Nightshrike's CO. Prepare to be boarded by myself and two of my men."

"Is there something wrong Commander?"

"Just prepare for our arrival. Over and out."

The three Interceptors made their way to the ship's hangar and landed without a hitch. The three pilots unstrapped themselves and got out of their fighters. There were a few mechanics on deck that stopped what they were doing to stare but Seth didn't mind them. The petty officer was more interested in the officer that strode toward him along with two armed troopers.

"Commander, is there something wrong? Your arrival is unscheduled and not part of the mission plan."

"The mission plan has changed. Take me to see the captain."

The officer looked a bit puzzled but knew better than to argue. He merely put on a fake smile and motioned for the new arrivals to follow him:

"Right this way please."

More crew members stopped to look at them as they made their way through the ship's corridors. At long last however they reached the bridge. There, in the middle of the room stood a female Twi'lek wearing a captain's uniform. Noticing Seth and his flight suit she paused what she was doing and approached him.

"Commander, shouldn't you be out there protecting us in case there's another wave of attackers?"

"Will there be another wave of attackers... Captain?"

"I'm not sure i understand. What are you saying Commander?"

"I'm saying that you are to be placed under arrest under suspicion of being a New Republic spy."

"Watch it Commander. This is my ship and you have no authority here. If you th="

"Captain Valara! Whilst it is true that this is your ship for the time being, i am however running this mission. A mission that might i add was given to me by the Chief of Naval Operations himself. At this point i might as well reveal the fact that this never was a classified delivery mission either."

Pausing to look around the room Seth pointed to one of the lower ranked bridge officers that had a look of awe mixed with disbelief, much like almost all other individuals there.

"You there. Order someone guarding the cargo bay to open the so called classified contents. Authorization is Alpha-Tango-Six-Eight-Alpha-Delta-Four-Nine-Omega-Epsilon-One-Nine. Your man should report that there is nothing in there."

As he spoke the Onderonian petty officer could tell that the Twi'lek was beginning to grow paler. Ehm, as much as colorful aliens could even pale to begin with. Still, her emerald green skin seemed to have changed a few shades over the past couple of minutes. The fact that everyone in the room was now silent and waiting for the bridge officer's findings probably didn't help matters either. After what seemed like forever though the lower ranked officer pressed his hand against the headset in his ear and after nodding a couple of times he turned to face everyone else:

"It's true... There... There was nothing in there."

"As i was saying, this was never a delivery mission. It was a mission meant to flush out some high ranking moles instead. At the very least the previous demonstration should've made it clear that as far as this mission goes my clearance level supersedes yours, Captain. That in turn does in fact allow me to take you into custody if i so deem fit, which right now i do."

Seth took another look around the room to make sure everyone understood the situation. He also wanted to make sure the captain didn't have any fanatical supporters amongst the other high ranking officers.

"The ship's XO is to take over Captain Valara's duties effective immediately. The captain is also to be escorted to the brig. You there, lead the way."

Seth gave the task to the same officer that met him in the hangar. Since he already had two troopers on hand this also made things easier as well. The officer in question gave a weak nod to the troopers he came with and then turned to lead the way to the brig, the captain and two troopers following just after him and Seth and his two pilots right behind everyone else. Now if the crew looked surprised when they saw the Onderonian petty officer and his two pilots well they looked almost shocked when they saw them escorting their captain as well. Already whispers started circulating and rumors began forming as a consequence of what they had seen.

"This is it sir - Anterra's brig."

"Thank you, my men and i will take it from here."

The officer saluted, turned around and left. At the same time Seth motioned for the Twi'lek captain to get inside.

"Mutt, Savage... make sure we are not disturbed."

The two pilots nodded and both took positions on each side of the door. Inside the room Seth motioned for the captain to take a seat, he himself dropping on the chair right in front of her. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a couple of minutes. Seth did this because he wanted to analyze the Twi'lek's reactions. Maybe he too was being similarly analyzed in turn but this the Onderonian didn't really care about.

"Over the past year the Navy started noticing an increase in NR raiding parties. Not only did the number of raids increase but their accuracy did so also. They started interfering with increasingly important missions. Some we were able to salvage but many we weren't. Over time VEI came up with a rather grim answer - we had one or more moles with access to somewhat delicate information. A list was thus compiled. On that list were the names of ships and officers around the Navy that best fitted such a mole's profile."

"Now although they had the list they couldn't very well get rid of everyone on it. They simply didn't have the luxury to lose such resources you see. They also couldn't allow the situation to continue however which begged the following question - what to do? Randomly interrogating everyone wasn't a solution for that would tip off the intended targets, so that left more... covert approaches. One such approach was to give certain individuals access to seemingly important information and see whether anyone would try to do something about that information."

"This is where you come in, Captain Valara. Two days ago you were assigned to deliver supposedly important cargo to one of our outposts. What you probably do no know is that this mission was never officially filed anywhere so no techs or slicers could have found out about it. The briefing room in which this mission was presented had also been swept for bugs and a jamming signal had been in place throughout the meeting so as to ensure no outsider could possibly learn of the specifics. The very route you were asked to take had also been under observation for several months and the chances of random NR encounters were deemed almost non existent."

"Yet even with all these precautions we still had an incident, didn't we? Twenty X-wings lying in wait for us as if they knew something they shouldn't have possibly known. But how could that be if only 3 people supposedly knew of this plan? The answer i think is quite obvious - one of those people isn't what he appears to be. I think we can safely cross Commodore Atrasin off the list. The superior officer that briefed you had previously agreed to be monitored 24/7 so as to ensure he wouldn't try contacting anyone. This means he also couldn't have leaked the information. That leaves just you Captain."

"The way i see it either you leaked the information yourself or you allowed someone else to find out about it."

The petty officer couldn't help but notice a flicker of hope as he mentioned that other possibility.

"So either you are a New Republic spy or you're just a very incompetent officer. An officer that allowed classified material to reach hostile hands. The latter i fear still brands you as a traitor to the Vast Empire. As you know punishment for either offense is death however so it doesn't really matter that much in the end. If you admit to betraying Vast Empire's trust then you'll likely end up getting tortured so as to make sure you are not in fact a spy hoping for a quick death. And if you are a spy then you will get tortured until spill everything you know about the other side. Again, not much difference between the two is it? Why the only way i see to avoid such a fate is to come clean about everything and hope for a life in prison instead. Then again this is probably another hard dilemma - an unbearable but otherwise quick death or a long and tedious life instead..."

Reaching inside a pocket Seth pulled out a pack of smokes and a lighter. He stretched his hand and offered the Twi'lek one but she didn't make a move for it. Lightly shrugging the petty officer drew his hand back, got a cig and lit it. He then took a drag and after holding it in a few seconds let out a puff of smoke.

"The reason i told you all of this Captain is because one way or the other your fate is pretty much sealed. I also wished that our interaction be a civilized one. Civilized and hopefully honest as well. That being said, would you please be so kind as to start telling me exactly how the NR came to know of our mission?"

Seth took another drag from his cig and acted as casually as he could. Whoever saw him wouldn't probably be able to tell that he was in the middle of an interrogation right now. Heck, the Onderonian pilot looked like he was just waiting for some waitress to bring him a cup of quality tea to further relax there in his seat. The same thing couldn't of course be said about the Twi'lek captain though. No, the latter on the contrary looked fairly nervous. She of course had good reasons to be though...

"You know Captain... i will get my answers one way or the other. It would just be simpler and cleaner for you to give me those answers willingly rather than wait for me to pull them out by force. Like i said before, i would greatly prefer that our meeting be a civilized one but if that is not an option then i'm afraid i will have to take a more... uncivilized approach instead. Believe me when i say that you do not want that to happen though. So how about answering my questions honestly instead? Please."

Like before the Onderonian petty officer took another drag off his cig and did not show any signs that he was bothered by the alien's lack of cooperation. As he slowly exhaled Seth also got up and moved toward the door.

"You give me no choice i see..."

The Twi'lek officer turned her head and watched as the pilot opened that door, whispered something to the two other pilots stationed outside and then got back in. The humanoid reptile however came along this time. As Seth closed the door behind him he told the bloodthirsty lizard:

"Hold her down."

The Trandoshan was of course more than willing to comply as he immediately made his way to the Twi'lek's chair and placed his scaly hands on top her her forearms thus pinning the green alien to the chair she was seated in. Seth moved back in front of her but did not retake his former seat. Rather he just stood there, looming over the now scared ship captain.

"Last chance to handle this as civilized beings. How did the New Republic came to know of our mission? For your own good please answer the question..."

He comfortingly placed his hand over hers as he waited a few seconds for an answer. The Twi'lek female however showed no sign of wanting to talk though. This made Seth let out a disappointed sigh right before grabbing the alien's pinky finger and snapping it upwards. She screamed in shock and pain and her cry could be heard from the corridor outside. This made a few crew members stop and turn towards the brig's door. Noticing Rowan's enhanced glare however made them quickly remember they in fact had other things to do rather than just stick around.

Captain Valara was just appearing to recover from the original shock when Seth gripped another finger and proceeded to snap it upwards in the same fashion as the previous one. Another cry filled with pain rang through the room and the corridor outside it, but this time around the Twi'lek was no longer as shocked as before. When she appeared to be calming down again Seth began stroking her hand with his index finger.

"Unlike my reptilian subordinate here i take no joy in causing you pain. Judging by your screams you also take no joy in receiving it. Why then don't you just give me what i want to know so that this may all stop? It's in your power to make it happen. Just give me some answers, starting with the one to the question i already asked. Will you do that for me?"

The Twi'lek was looking him straight in the eyes and Seth could see that she was both defiant... and pleading at the same time. She didn't want to endure this pain any more than he was willing to inflict it on her but at the same time she wasn't yet ready to give away her secrets. Such a shame the petty officer thought as his hand reached for another of the captain's fingers and proceeded to do what he had done to the previous two. This time around he only waited a couple of seconds before snapping the next and thus fourth one. Even so the victim spoke no words. Only pained cries and sobs escaped her lips.

"I tried inviting you to a civilized conversation. I failed. I tried showing you i can and will use force if you keep talking. Again it seems i have failed. Captain, you force me to use means i would really not go for. Means that our own Empire frowns upon. Means that do however get results."

Seth reached for his belt and took it off, in the process revealing that what seemed to be a belt wasn't only that. Sure it could hold a pair of pants, but its true purpose was much darker and grim. The thing that the petty officer carried around camouflaged as a regular belt was in fat a neuronic whip, a weapon mainly used by slavers. A weapon outlawed on hundreds of worlds because of the ways in which it could be used. A weapon that some of the Beast Riders back on Onderon used to tame the wilder creatures on the planet's surface.

"Do you know what this is Captain?"

Judging by the horrified look on the alien's face the petty officer realized that she did. Chances though were that she only knew the weapon's reputation and not the actual pain it could inflict.

"Please don't... Please don't... I'm an imperial citizen... I have rights..."

"Wrong Captain. You had rights. Neither spies nor traitors have any rights within the Empire. Now if you really don't want me to use this then by all means start telling me that which i want to know. Do that and no further suffering shall be inflicting on you. At least not by my hand. Not until you're transferred to a VEI facility. This i can promise you."

"I can't... I can't... I'd only be signing my death warrant if i talk..."

"Your death is already fairly certain at this time. It's also guaranteed to be lengthy and agonizing as well. Cooperate and it will likely be swift and humane. Prove to be particularly cooperative and maybe keep your life altogether. Either way you need to start talking."

"I can't... I can't... I can't... I can't... I can't..."

"Then you leave me no choice. Savage, stand her up and pin her hands above her head. Turn her towards you and keep her steady as well."

The oversized lizard was more than happy to comply, especially since it had the chance to see something he himself always thought of doing to some captured enemies. It only took him five seconds or less to get the Twi'lek in the position his CO requested. He could see the green alien crying and trembling but he felt no mercy. No remorse. The only thing he felt was anticipation. His forked tongue briefly slithered outside his mouth as if to lick his scaly lips - an image that sort of disturbed even the Onderonian pilot.

"Here goes then."

He barely finished announcing it that his hand was already moving forward causing the whip to hit the Twi'lek straight across the lower back. Her cries before paled in comparison to her cry now. It lacked any form of composure or control. It was filled with nothing but pure pain. Pure suffering. Pure horror. Chances were she now truly understood why this weapon was so feared and cursed by the majority of civilized worlds. It was a contraption that perhaps had been better never to be invented. Yet it had been invented. And the Twi'lek captain was now suffering because of it. This was unfortunate but necessary, or so Seth told himself as he reached back and prepared himself to deliver another hit.

On the outside corridor the passersby shivered slightly as they forced themselves to pass that area of the ship as quickly as possible. All they wanted was to put as much distance between themselves and those shrill cries for mercy.

Inside the brig Seth finally stopped after the fifth hit. He hoped that this much would be enough to change the Twi'lek's mind. He hoped he would not have to resume whipping her in this manner for he wasn't certain how much more she could take. The physical injuries aside he was more concerned about the psychological trauma. A few lashes with that whip would be enough to make most individuals more compliant. A few too many however and the recipients could just as well end up broken, perhaps irreversibly so. Seth did not want that to happen to her. Whatever her crimes may have been, she surely didn't deserve that sort of an outcome.

"Put her back in her seat. Gently..."

As Savage helped the almost limp alien captain back in her seat, Seth too retook his position on the chair he had used earlier. He just stood there and watched the Twi'lek as she trembled in fear and pain. He could also see her lips moving and occasionally even heard some words as well. He did not recognize them however. Given the fact that some of those words kept repeating themselves however the petty officer considered the possibility of a prayer in her native language. He chose not to interrupt her but instead finish his previously lit cigarette. When he had finished that one, he reached inside his pocket and produced another one. He lit the new one as well and brought it to his lips...

Ten to fifteen minutes passed since the Onderonian pilot delivered his final lash across the captain's back. She continued mumbling to herself, Savage continued standing behind her looking anxious for whatever was to come next and Seth... well Seth just continued smoking in silence. When he had finished his second cig he turned to the Twi'lek.

"Captain Valara. Captain!"

The Twi'lek suddenly tilted her head upwards, a look of confusion on her face. That look however lasted for less than a second as it was replaced by a look of fear and disgust. No, not fear but rather horror instead. The petty officer watched carefully but as far as he could tell there was no hint of anger in his victim's gaze. She surely felt it but the fact that it didn't show at the moment meant her priorities had shifted somewhat since they started out. The petty officer's voice was calm, confident and showed no trace of regret for what he had just done:

"Captain i am sorry for having to do that but like i told you earlier - only you can stop this. Just tell me what i want to know and all this can be over."

"You... You are... a monster. A... a beast."

"Yes."

This was something that the Onderonian had realized a long time ago, back when his conscience no longer bothered him regarding many of his actions. He knew he still had a conscience somewhere inside, he just no longer felt the need to heed it every single time.

"Captain i only gave you five lashes earlier. I also made sure to hold back on every strike. These lashes were meant as no more than a sample for what could still be in store for you. How many more could you take otherwise? Ten? Twenty? Fifty? A hundred even? Understand that time isn't an issue for me. Should i get tired i could easily switch with my colleague behind you. Should i come to the conclusion that this method won't work after all then i will merely escalate things yet again."

He made a brief pause as he suddenly realized something else he might use.

"I have two Twi'leks in my squadron you know? With the rest of us they communicate normally, using Basic. When talking with each other however they always seem to make use of their head tails as well. From what i heard they are not only very sensitive but very important as well. As a human i cannot alas understand this fully but if the stories i heard are real then damage to them would be especially gruesome to your species. Permanent damage in particular would no doubt be tragic even. Frankly that is a line i never before crossed - using another species' weak points against its individuals... I never crossed it before but there is i suppose a start for everything. If it means getting my answers then believe me when i say that i will stop at nothing to get them."

As if to prove he meant business the petty officer reached for his ankle and from there unstrapped a small vibroblade. He made no obvious aggressive motions with it but rather just played with it as he continued looking at the corvette's captain.

"Like before i'm giving you a chance to stop the next round of pain. Also like before i suggest you take it..."

The Twi'lek remained silent and just stared at the blade as if hypnotized by it. Seeing that she chose to remain silent Seth motioned for Savage to again come pin her down to the chair so as to prevent her from struggling. After he did so Seth slowly brought the blade closer and closer to one of the Twi'lek's head tails that just rested calmly on her shoulder. Upon realizing what the Onderonian pilot was planning to do the captain shouted in a pleading and rather pathetic voice:

"Please stop... Just stop... You are a godless beast... I'll tell you what you want to know though... Just promise you'll stop hurting me any further... Promise me you'll either leave me alone afterward or otherwise kill me quickly instead... Just no more pain... Please..."

As Seth quickly drew his hand back he also motioned for the Trandoshan to back away.

"Like i told you before - answer my questions honestly and i will inflict no further suffering upon you. Since first we met i not once lied to you yet either."

"It... It was me... I gave the Republic the mission's plans. I used-"

The interrogation continued for almost a full hour. In that hour however Seth asked the questions and the NR spy provided the answers. He couldn't tell 100% whether the answers were real or not but his gut told him they were. For one the former ship captain felt quite defeated now. She was also in enough pain to possibly mess with her ability to come up with believable lies. Then there was also the fact that all her answers made sense as well.

When he was done with her Seth merely got up from the table and left the room, Savage following shortly behind him. Just before the petty officer left the room though he turned and thanked her for her cooperation. When he was outside the small room he had Savage stand guard alongside Mutt. Meanwhile Seth made his way to the bridge where he told the acting captain that they were to return to Abrae. He also asked for a medical team for the former captain as well as armed guards stationed outside. It was unlikely she'd try to escape and besides she had nowhere to run anyway but still... it was protocol.

With his business concluded aboard the Anterra, DeepSix took his pilots back to the ship's hangar and from there the three of them reunited with the rest of the squadron. Their way back would likely be smooth and without any further surprises.

A godless beast, huh?

Seth suddenly remembered the Twi'lek's words. He knew it was true and he knew he was supposed to be feeling something... anything about it. Even so he did not.

OOC:

WC: 4369