Mara Jade sat up on the edge of her bed, her body coiled like a cat's, every muscle ready to run or attack. Her eyes scanned the room with a practiced calm, looking past me at Tatnia, then past both of us at the red energy barrier that sealed us in. There were a dozen horizontal reinforcing beams that also acted as bars, but in addition, there were physical doors that would slide into place once we had stepped out. I might love the future tech of this world, and was happy to use it when it was available, but I was not willing to rely on a fancy system that could fail if the power ever went out. The island might use a combination of a ship power core and deep geothermal energy, but it was better safe than sorry.

  "Why have you brought me here?" She asked, finally settling her eyes on me. "Why not just kill me? Why engage at all if you knew it was a trap?"

  "Well, that's... a bit complicated, actually. I have a good feeling about you, Mara Jade. About who you could be once you realize that Grandpa Palpy has been feeding you lies," I explained. "He has his hooks in you deep, Mara. Imagine what it would be like to be free of them.

  "You let me live… because you had a good feeling about me?" She asked, pointedly ignoring my statement about her master. "And you deny having the Force?"

  "Not all gut feelings come from the Force," I pointed out.

  "Why did you step into my trap, if you knew who I was?" She repeated, watching me.

  "One of our Jedi Masters had a vision," I explained, chuckling when she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I understand your skepticism. They can be rather hit or miss. But this one saw our friend Cal stumbling into the trap you laid for us. If we hadn't shown up to stop it, you would have taken him as a consolation prize for missing us."

  She cursed under her breath, her face filled with hostility as she did. After a long moment, she seemed to calm down, focusing herself back on the moment.

  "What is the point of all this?" she asked, gesturing to the cell. "I will not betray the Emperor's secrets. I have been trained to resist torture, and you will not trick me with your craft Jedi mind control."

  "I don't need your intel, Mara. Not that the Emperor would feed you or his other Hands anything important," I responded, shaking my head. "You were all disposable assets, toys for him to threaten Moffs and other politicians with."

  "How do you- I am the only Hand," she responded, cutting herself off, clearly starting to get a bit overwhelmed, put off by the variables and the unknowns of the situation. "I was trained by him personally."

  "You were one of many, handed scraps of knowledge that barely put you above a novice force user," I explained, shaking my head. "Palpy would never risk handing over anything to powerful, or give up the secrets of the dark side to anyone not worthy. We have younglings here who could beat you in a lightsaber duel."

  When initially securing Mara for transport, we found several items on her person, one of which was a purple lightsaber. I was honestly shocked to find one, as I didn't think Palpy had even trained her that much. Still, judging how easily she stumbled into our reverse ambush, there was no way her connection to the Force was very well established. Hell, the fact that she hadn't really noticed that something was wrong was another. Before the young spy could respond, I cut her off with a wave.

  "It doesn't matter, whatever your… connection to Palpy was, that's not why we brought you here. You don't have to worry about torture or anything," I assured her. "To be honest, I'm not sure what we intended to do with you. It just didn't feel right killing you, not with your potential."

  That seemed to baffle her more than anything, the idea that an enemy would act out of mercy and that, despite not knowing what use she might be, we planned on keeping her alive, all because I had a good feeling.

  "Though, that said, I would be happy to talk. It doesn't need to be about anything important, just opening up a dialogue so we could begin to understand each other."

  For a long moment, I thought she was going to snap back at me, to try and get in the last word or convince me that she was essential to the Emperor, that she was the only Hand. Instead, she just glared back at me silently.

  "Hmmm, I suppose that's my fault for hoping you would be a good conversationalist," I said with a chuckle, after the silence stretched on for a full minute. "I suppose we would leave you for a while, let you settle your thoughts and explore your new room. If you hear an intercom click on, please do as the voice says."

  Despite my words, Mara was already gone, deep in thought, almost completely ignoring what I had to say. Judging by her serious expression, she was probably wondering how long exactly it would take for the Emperor to track her down. No doubt, when she tried to mediate and reach out to him, she would be rather disappointed. We left her there in the cell, sealing it up completely and making our way down the mostly finished hall.

  "So, boss… what's actually the plan with her?" Tatnia asked, stepping forward to walk beside me. "Please tell me we didn't just spend all that money to let her rot there."

  "The prison and the transport are worth the credits for peace of mind alone," I assure her. "Even if my idea of using it as Fallen Jedi therapy doesn't work out for some reason, having it ready and waiting is well worth the credits just to help us against a Dark Jedi."

  She let out a sigh, but nodded all the same. She trusted my judgment more than enough to just assume I was right, even if she didn't know just how handy the prison and Quiet Ark might come in handy.

  "On top of that, we have people looking for a mind healer of sorts with experience working with prisoners," I explained. "I'm hoping that someone with that sort of training, combined with the lack of connection to the Emperor, will let us convert her, even if it's just partially convincing her to leave the rebellion and go into hiding."

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "Seems like a lot of effort for one person."

  "That's because I used her as an excuse to start this project," I explained, gesturing to an empty cell as we passed, heading towards the elevator to the surface. "Leave out the whole project, and she only cost us a few extra days of work."

  "What would you have done instead?"

  "To keep her connection from revealing our location? I asked. "I could have commandeered a hideout on Myrkr itself," I said with a frown. "Or maybe just abandon her on a different planet somewhere? Dagobah comes to mind, though I would be worried that the darkness of that planet would infect her if she stayed there too long. Freezing her in carbonite is also an option, and we could store her just about anywhere with reliable power, meaning we wouldn't need to store her here, just in case. Actually, we should consider installing a carbonite freezing system here, just in case we need a backup…"

  Tatnia and I made our way through the construction and landscaping work, eventually hopping onto a waiting airspeeder to take us back to Vercopa. It was a thirty-minute ride without the ability to leave the atmosphere and descend again, but I was happy for the thirty minutes alone with my thoughts. When we returned, I made my way to the lecture hall, where I knew Amescoll and a few other masters would be. I had asked them to gather so I could explain what I had been up to and exactly what I was hoping to get from the island.

  "I shouldn't be surprised that you know about the ylasamiri," Amescoll said with a dry chuckle. "Are you sure that spreading around their existence is the right thing to do?"

  "Your enemy already knows they exist," I pointed out. "The only reason the clones didn't march on the temple with ysalamiri on their backs is because I'm pretty sure he had more to lose than you did."

  "In what way?" One of the other masters asked, leaning forward in curiosity.

  "Palpy has always considered open combat to be beneath him. Something his subordinates did at his order. He is a master duelist, but that is mostly because his drive to be superior makes it impossible for him to be satisfied with anything less. Either way, he considers himself a puppet master, not a brute," I explained, tenting my fingers with my elbows on the desk. "That is what Darth Vader, the Inquisitors, and more are for. Palpatine's trade was in subtle influences, alchemy, and Sith sorcery, among other things. Sensitive processes that would be obliterated by these creatures. I'm willing to bet that he would have had a much harder time winning the senate over if they had to walk through the field of a ylasamiri before and after every session."

  That seemed to stump the Jedi, some of them seeming to realize the breadth of influence that Palpy had on the path of the Clone Wars. Others seemed to realize just how much they had missed.

  "It's also something I think you should be familiar with, especially on how to escape and how to fight through its effects," I pointed out. "It can be extremely debilitating when you first experience it, and being able to keep a clear head could save someone's life. The Empire might not have used them to their potential, but someone else might."

  In all honesty, I wasn't too worried about the small lizards being spread around. Between the need for beskar-tainted soil, the sensitivity to movement, and the difficulty in removing them from their tree, the number of people who would have had the ability to distribute the interesting lizard was quite small.

  That seemed to convince any of the remaining Jedi who were skeptical, agreeing that, once the island was complete, they would send groups of Jedi over there to experience the anti-Force bubble.

  After the meeting with the masters was complete, I headed back to my home, where Ashoka was. We spent a few hours together, cooking a simple lunch and enjoying it on the back porch of our home, watching the river and waving to people as they walked by on the nearby path.

  After we were done eating, and we had some time to relax, I hopped on a shuttle, back up to the . Nearly two and a half weeks had passed since I first checked in with the clones, and according to the reports I received on the way home from Myrkr, the surgeries were complete. All of the clones were control chip-free.

  I made my way through the large capital ship, eventually arriving at the same living area I had been visiting semi-frequently. I was greeted much more kindly than I was the first time, though I could sense that the atmosphere was a bit more... Heavy. They had clearly figured out that the procedures were done, and that it was time for me to lay out an ultimatum.

  Rather than finding somewhere to sit, as I had several times before, this time I was greeted directly by one of the clones. His head was shaved in a buzz cut, leaving just the thin black hair. Along one side, stripes were cut into the fade, reaching along his temple. As he approached, he reached his hand out, which I immediately shook.

  "Admiral Deacon. I am CC-3543, also known as Commander Frost," He said, pulling his hand back. "I would like to thank you for the mercy you showed my men during your mission."

  "Of course, Commander Frost. I'm only sorry it took so long to realize what was happening, and that we couldn't save more from the defensive fleet," I responded with a frown. "We are planning a memorial park for our fallen soldiers, somewhere down on the surface of our world. I would like permission to include a mention of your men and those in the fleet.

  The man seemed to chew on my words for a long moment, as if unsure whether I was being serious or not. Eventually, he nodded, somehow reaching the conclusion that I was being genuine.

  "That is… that would be more than acceptable, Admiral," he said. "Not from pity, but for their sacrifice. They died so that the rest of us might have a chance at freedom."

  "Well said, Commander," I said with a smile. "Now, I wish I were here to chat and hand over some more credits to the sabbac sharks you call soldiers-"

  I shot a few of the soldiers I recognized a look, and the crowd, which had grown significantly since I arrived, chuckled at my joke.

  "But I'm sure you've noticed the surgeries are done," I continued, looking around at the gathered men.

  "Yes, we did, Admiral," Frost responded. "I suppose that means it's time to decide our future?"

  "Don't be so dramatic," I said, walking by him, my arm around his shoulders as I guided him to a table. "I didn't go through all this trouble of helping you to screw you all over now."

  "You know, from most people, those words would have made me more nervous, not less," he said, sitting down across from me. "But from the stories my boys have been telling me, you're not one to mince words."

  "I try not to. It's not worth the time, and it doesn't build strong bonds," I responded. "How can I trust an ally I tricked with sweet words and empty promises?"

  "The senate would have tried to tear you to pieces with that attitude," he responded, shaking his head. "But we would have been better off if more people agreed with you."

  "You'll find that the Skyforged Vanguard is built on ideas like that," I explained. "And just because I like to keep things simple and fair, doesn't mean I abide by bantha shit. Just ask how much the Rebellion owes us in credits because they kept trying to jerk us around."

  "I thought you were anti-Imperial?"

  "We are," I assured him. "But I also put a heavy emphasis on taking care of my people. I can't work for free, and I cannot allow someone, even someone we would like to consider an ally, to try to squeeze us out of the money I use to take care of our people. The Rebellion fucked around one too many times, and I was forced to show them the consequences. But that's something we can catch you up on later. For now, let's figure out what we are doing with you and your men."

  Commander Frost nodded, clearly trying to take in all of the information I was dropping, trying to fill out the mental image he had of their situation. Rather than watch him flounder, trying to piece it all together, I gave him a quick rundown of what the Skyforged was and what our goals were. When I was done, we finally got down to business.