Private Prisoner 007

[Maple Harte]

Wearing: Prison Jumpsuit

Armed with: Wits.


NOTE: Takes place before Invasion of Rhand

She had been placed in a Universal Energy Cage after her capture at Kerest. She had been stripped of her weapons, having severely maimed Multiple SJC troops during the fighting and severely crippling three Jedi Knight's past their ability to be healed by the Force before some Biot had gotten the better of her. That and she had suffered a schizophrenic episode. They were kept in stasis pods until a solution could be devised to heal them. But Maple had expertly injured them all the same and they were still in critical condition. Skip. Jacen Nimdok had been dead for months, eaten by Bithia. Skip. Back to reality.

She was not beaten. She was kept under 24 hour guard by Jedi Weapon Masters, Veteran SJC Rangers pointing guns at her from all angles, but she was not beaten. She had escaped worse.

Maple had said nothing, despite days of getting interrogated by people who promised everything from execution to making her life a living hell in prison and making certain she would never see the sun again.

Laertia had grown antagonistically violent towards the SJC in the days since Kerest. Jedi who had been at that event were being kidnapped, and having their left limb cut off and mailed to Nimdok. The Jedi were then stripped of The Force, then shipped to Kashyyyk unconscious and Heavily drugged. Any master captured by House Io that had participated in Kerest however, had either all their legs and arms cut off, their eyes gouged out by pissed off refugee converts to the House. and then they were stripped of the Force.

"How can you allow this?!"

Maple looked up, saw a man covered in bruises and slowly healing cuts, dressed in Civilian clothes, a jacket, shirt, pants, and boots.

It was Zabka Bis'clavret, aka The Man in White .

He was holding up a data pad showing the latest photos of traumatized Jedi with amputated limbs. Poison had somehow been administered to one of the Kerest Jedi Masters minutes after he had gotten here a few days ago. He had suffered minor Brain Damage and now could not use the Force as expertly as he once could, and Force Healing didn't seem able to undo the damage, suggesting it was Alchemized. He was suffering seizures. The actual soldiers who had fought there remained untouched, all the wrath seemingly focused on the Silver Jedi Knight's, the Padawans, and their Masters. They didn't find all of the ones who had fought at Kerest. They didn't even find most of them. But the ones they did find were made to suffer terribly and then made terrifying examples for the survivors to mull over.

Xiphos's cruelty was the cruelty of leaving the Jedi to live with the aftermath of their choices, at as greatly reduced a quality of life as possible, as traumatized as possible. Just like the Bryn'adul victims.

"This is insanity." Zabka snarled at her. "Twenty six amputated by Force just last week. Then cut off from the Force. She's getting to be about as brutal as Themis started to get at the end."

Maple glanced at him. One eye a wet green, the other sulphur.

"Not used to getting them back alive, are you?" Maple asked quietly.

"Does she truly hate us so much that not even killing us is satisfactory for her now?" Zabka asked.

"Yes. That much I will say, for it is no secret." Maple replied. "You ask me, it's a far more effective method than simply killing you. Pain, I've noticed, is the only Teacher, the only critic that a Jedi cannot easily ignore, whose lessons that a Jedi cannot easily dismiss, or forget. It's only when the Order is subjected to great, collective suffering that it bothers to re-examine itself on more than a superficial level. Killing you teaches you nothing. Letting you live, mangled, and with memories you will have no choice but to either live with or go mad from, teaches you what it is like for others who suffered from your selfish behavior. I used to respect the Jedi as a whole. I don't want to fight you, personally. But I have obligations."

"What could you possibly be obligated to her for?" Zabka demanded, walking up to her past her guards, realizing this was more words than any had managed to get out of her in weeks.

"Even I in my madness see how she is destined to help bring about the ruination of the Bryn'adul. And possibly help stop another menace. Do I think she's destroyed her own life? Certainly. But that doesn't mean she won't help bring about their death. But only at a cost. A cost that would not have been so high for her if your side had done the right thing and not left all those systems to their death just to help the NIO consolidate their power."

Maple glowered.

"They're going to turn on the GA and the SJC you know. The moment either one of you display enough weakness or incompetence or both--which is likely--they will turn on you. How many lives have you both thrown away just trying to seize planetary ruins on Ziost? How many thousands died pointlessly in those battles."

"Not pointlessly. The Sith Empire collapsed, in spite of all your friend did to stop it, she failed."

Maple snorted in amusement.

"Did she?"

"How else would you look at it?"

"Ask yourself something. You really think Laertia genuinely cared about the Sith Empire's survival beyond it being a barrier to the Bryn'adul? She preserved it as long as she had to. And thwarting or delaying it cost it's enemies significant treasure and personnel. Say the Crusade against the Empire had gone better than your side had dared hoped, with no Laertia to hinder you at every turn. What would have stopped the SJC, the Ashlan's, The GA, The NIO, from ganging up on the CIS, which is led by Sith? They would have demanded immediate surrender, a Purge and arrest of all with Dark Side leanings before your side would even have thought to agree for peace terms. And even if they had done what such a theoretical coalition asked, said coalition still would have gutted the CIS and reshaped it to their liking. Delaying your side helped preserve the CIS as yet another safeguard against the Bryn."

"They're not my side." Zabka said quietly.

"Could have fooled me...so where's the Professor?"

"He'll be along shortly...maybe..." Zabka said.

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Observing Maple through a one-way window, Nimdok frowned. The situation at Kerest had gone south, to say the least, and as the central planner and behind-the-scenes leader of the whole operation, he was being blamed for its failure. It was yet another blow to his reputation, one of a myriad of factors that would one day lead him into early retirement, having concluded that perhaps the life of a Jedi Master simply wasn’t for him.

As for Xiphos’ antics in the days that followed the battle, Nimdok had been engaged either in damage control or searching for solutions. He’d called upon master healers from across the galaxy, gathering them together at secure locations to restore those Force connections severed by Xiphos, and had even participated in a few of these healing sessions himself. So far, the project had been remarkably successful; many of the Jedi, though physically maimed and in need of expensive medical care and/or cybernetics, were able to touch the Force again. The trauma of the ordeal would remain, but there was hope for the future.

Maple was another matter. Much to Nimdok’s anger and dismay, someone within the Concord’s ranks had apparently authorized the use of traditional interrogation methods on her without consulting him first. She’d been threatened with execution, imprisonment, and the like—which, while altogether likely to be her ultimate fate, given the extent of her involvement in Xiphos’ mounting record of terrorism and war crimes, wasn’t going to get them anywhere.

Nimdok glanced over at Bithia, who was standing beside him. She was configured to her Psychologist Form, which most resembled how she had looked as a human: a middle-aged Alderaanian woman with dark curly hair, brown eyes, and skin the color of toffee. It was an unassuming form, far from the cool, intimidating, supermodel-esque beauty of her other modes. Her clothing was elegant and modest. She looked warm and approachable.

“At least she’s talking to him,” Bithia remarked, gesturing toward Zabka. “Though it’s more of the same delusions of grandeur. That seems to be a common trait among all of Xiphos’ allies—they are completely convinced of their importance in the grand scheme of things.”

“Well, they’ve certainly played a role,” Nimdok replied. “Just not as big or as positive a role as she seems to presume.” He stroked his chin. “Do you think if I went in alone, she’d just use it as an opportunity to berate and abuse me because of what I represent?”

“She does suffer from acute schizophrenia,” Bithia noted. “If you get her excited enough, she might trip up and reveal something.”

“Worth a shot.” Turning to her, he added, “Will you accompany me, or stay here and observe?”

“I’ll go with you,” she said. “She shouldn’t be able to recognize me in this form, and the cage will prevent her from figuring out I’m a biot.”

With that settled, the two entered the cell together. “Good morning, Miss Harte,” Nimdok greeted Maple. He nodded to Zabka. “Mr. Bis’clavret.” He introduced Bithia as Ms. Grayson, his assistant, then clasped his hands. “I give you the floor, Miss Harte. Have you anything to say?”

Maple Harte​

 

[Maple Harte]

"Yeah. I do have something to say. I will not betray her. No matter what she's done to the Order. However much I might disagree with it personally. I detest a lot of her choices. Many. I'll no doubt come to detest more of them. But I've seen what the Bryn'adul do to those they conquer. Every one of the refugees she's taking in and training is furious with the Jedi. And after seeing the results first hand...I can't honestly blame them."

"And that justifies murdering, torturing Jedi. Slaughtering them like animals?" Zabka demanded.

"I would have preferred otherwise. But Xiphos is right about this much: You're all so comfortable when it's you killing, arresting, exiling. Cutting people off from the Force when they refuse to act as you wish. Or simply turning the crowd against your critics through appeals to sentiment and vague idealism. Yet you get so indignant when the reverse happens." Maple replied to all three.

"She really did try to use words, remember? Before all this? But when the words were dismissed, ignored, lambasted, and vehemently at that, what was her other option? Doing what you wanted. You'd all be really happy, wouldn't you? If she had just shut her mouth and gone along with your little fethed up vendetta against the Sith."

"She didn't even look for better ways." Zabka snapped. "She resorted to violence after she reached the limits of her ability to argue rationally."

"The only "Better Way" in your mind, was whatever the Jedi wanted the Better Way to be, regardless if it actually was better, so long as you felt Righteous in the pursuit. And in the Order's mind, the Better Way was for everyone to shut up and crush the Sith, the suffering of the Bryn'adul's victims be damned, wounds in the Force caused by those slaughters be damned. You all had scores to settle with those you actually hated. And those came first. You proved that was all that mattered. Multiple times. Or did I hallucinate the Jedi fighting for all those craters and cites as far from the front lines where the Bryn'adul were as possible. Why do you think Syd Celsius never went back to the Jedi or even apologized even after renouncing Xiphos? Because she saw what Xiphos saw, she just didn't think it was worth killing you over at this point. But Xiphos and the Refugees think it's worth it. As you've seen." Maple replied calmly.

"She is corrupting those Refugees. Brainwashing them--" Zabka started to say.

"That would make it so much easier for you, wouldn't it?" Maple asked in a calm, non hostile manner. "Xiphos hasn't fiddled with their heads. She would find such an act disgusting to perform. The Refugees she takes in already hate you all. Xiphos simply does nothing to alleviate that emotion. All she does is provide ways for that emotion to manifest. Sure you have noticed that it's not Sith torturing Jedi in those videos. It's Refugees."

Zabka narrowed his eyes.

"Weeks of silence from you. And suddenly you provide us intel."

"You call this intel? Xiphos doesn't care if I tell you stuff like that. Xiphos wants you to know why her warriors are so murderous towards you." Maple answered, without smugness.

Jacen Nimdok

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Zabka was trying to lead the interrogation, firing back questions loaded with moral weight. He asked Maple how she could tolerate the torture and murder of individual lives, appealing to her sense of decency, and of course Maple fired back that the Jedi were no more moral than Xiphos and her forces. The circular arguments were getting tiresome.

“I have no interest in convincing you to betray Xiphos,” Nimdok replied with a shake of his head. He sighed. “I apologize for the manner in which you’ve been treated so far. The cage’s purpose is obvious, as are the guards, but the clumsy attempts at forcing you to cough up intel with threats were done without my knowledge or approval.”

When Maple brought up the Elder Compact talks, Nimdok nodded. “I remember Laertia’s conduct quite vividly, and I will not argue the point with you. Her position was sound, but she argued poorly and antagonized those who disagreed. Spitting on a woman who asked her to leave, announcing after Dantooine that she had no regrets about killing Jedi…” His eyebrows rose. “What I concluded from observing her there is that she is impulsive, and that she went into a public forum expecting everyone to agree with her.

“As for the refugees, there are not as many as you would like us to believe. Many, but not as many as Xiphos needs us to believe there are. Following Kerest, any further attempts at arresting Xiphos will be canceled.” He spread his hands, his tone matter-of-fact. “You’re no longer considered enough of a threat to warrant a manhunt.”

Pulling up a chair, he took a seat. “Tell me, Miss Harte—do you want what’s best for Xiphos, or do you want what’s best for Laertia? You must know that at the current rate she’s going, even if she avoids being killed or captured and sentenced by a faction or planetary government, her mental state will continue to deteriorate. This crusade she is fighting, it is a war without end—and it will eventually destroy her. That, or she will become unrecognizable, transformed into a person you do not know. She’s already taken a new name.”

Maple Harte​

 

[Maple Harte]

"Interesting tactic. But even if you are serious, which I do not for one second believe, ignoring us won't make Xiphos stop. And if she is not a threat, if *none of us are a threat that warrants a manhunt, why am I still in this cage then?" Maple.

"We can't just let a willing accomplice go. Even if we don't get her, we can still decide what to do with you." Zabka replied.

"Good luck." Maple replied

At the question Jacen Nimdok posed Maple's head lowered.

"She's already barely recognizable." Maple said, not ounce of gloating or smugness, merely resignation.

"There is such a dichotomy between the person I knew and the person she is. The one I knew would never have rebelled against you. Honestly, when she started doing it, I was kinda surprised. She seemed so dead set on proving The Amalgam wrong. I guess she didn't want acceptance as much as even she thought."

"She and you threw away what promise you held for a nebulous cause. Why don't you admit what this is really about, Harte: Xiphos's ego. She can't stand that The Light Side won in spite of all the horrors she's committed, and all The Jedi she killed, so she's lashing out in mindless revenge." Zabka accused.

Maple remained as emotionless as ever, refusing to lash out as Xiphos would have.

"There's an element of payback, certainly. But as poor as her ability to argue is, and it is poor, piss poor, really, none of the Jedi would have ever listened to her no matter how articulate her argument could have been. I would have been more delicate in my approach had I been in her place during those discussions. I would have been polite. Thoughtful. Placating. But even I know you still would not have listened. It was obvious to everyone watching those feeds that the Jedi had already made up their minds." Maple replied smoothly and coldly. "It is nearly impossible to get most Jedi to change their minds on what the right thing is once they perceive what they want the right thing to be. Doesn't matter how much evidence you bring them or what argument. Evidence and arguments are useless if it isn't what they want to hear."

She saw Zabka glower a bit at this.

"Ahhhh, you know what I'm talking about, don't you. I figured you weren't one of these rank and file sorts. Especially after your magnificent displays of marksmanship on Kerest. You're a 'Problem Solver', aren't you? Someone they send in for someone like me." Maple realized. "So, how many times has the Council screwed you?"

"We're asking the questions." Zabka replied.

"A non answer. The Jedi Order has screwed you at least a dozen times with a stupid order or mandate that made your job harder."

Zabka gave no reply.

"Thought so. You're his father, aren't you? Starlin Rand ? I see a bit of similarities."

Maple sighed.

"I tried explaining the order won't bend no matter how much you hurt their members. I explained it very clearly to her. But she wants to punish you. Not for power. Not to take over the Galaxy. She doesn't care about ruling. She wants to punish you because she thinks it's Justice for the Bryn'adul victims."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Zabka wasn’t very good at interrogating, from the looks of it. Maple managed to twist his own words against him.

Nimdok leaned forward a little in his chair. “You still haven’t answered my question, Miss Harte. What is it that you want? Do you want this war to continue, until Xiphos is dead or completely unrecognizable? Or do you want it to end?

“You do have a choice. There are options here. Tell us what you want, and we’ll see if we can help.”

Maple Harte​