Luna returned with an ice pack and handed it to Anayah, who was curled up on the bed, cradling her head.
'Are you sure you don't want the doctor to look at you?' Luna asked. 'He has a terrible sense of humour, and he'll probably subject you to his stand up routine, but other than that he's very good at his job.'
Anayah shook her head, then winced in pain. 'I'll be fine. Thank you,' she added grudgingly.
'No problem,' Luna settled onto her chair once again. She made sure that the chair was exactly as far away as it was prior to their tussle. She didn't want the stormtrooper to get a wrong message from that. It was probably a risk, but as the woman was curled up further in on the bed, and not in a good position for fast movement, it was a low risk. 'Are you okay to continue?'
'I'm still not going to help you,' Anayah insisted. 'Especially after you sucker punched me. Sucker kicked me?' she said, frowning.
'To be fair, you got in the first sucker anything,' Luna retorted. 'Not exactly one to complain.'
Anayah made a face, then moved herself up into the far corner, stretching out her legs and leaning on the bulkhead. She sat there, watching Luna warily.
Luna shrugged and picked up her datapad. By some miracle the screen hadn't cracked in the melee. 'You seem to not like the counter intelligence division. Why is that, may I ask?'
'Okay, first of all it's called the Security Bureau. If you're going to talk about them, at least get it right.'
'Good to know, thank you,' Luna scribbled on her 'pad. 'We're working with out of date information. We just called it that because it needed a name,' she shrugged apologetically.
Anayah frowned. 'What do you mean, out of date information?'
'Uhh,' Luna verbalised. How exactly can you explain the phenomenon that is Mara Jade? 'One of our colleagues used to be a member of the First Order, in the early days.'
'They-' Anayah paused, 'they left?'
Luna stared at her. The stormtrooper seemed shocked that such a thing could happen. Like a blood hound, she sensed that that could be a weakpoint, and she pressed on it. 'She left to protect her daughter. And because she saw what the First Order was doing, kidnapping children, tearing families apart, slavery. She wanted no part of it.'
Anayah looked away, thinking. 'The old woman?'
Luna frowned. It was strange to think of Mara as old, though of course she was. But of all the words to describe her, that was low on the list. She nodded. 'That's her.'
Anayah shrugged, as if it was an inconsequential detail.
A thought popped into Luna's mind, and she thumbed through the files on her datapad, before tossing it onto the bed.
'What's this?' the stormtrooper asked, not picking it up.
'Read it.'
Anayah tossed the cold pack, wiped her hand on her trousers, picked it up, took a quick glance, then dropped it again. 'Is this supposed to mean something to me?'
'What you're looking at is the missing persons files of the parents of one of my crew. The First Order took them and forced her to do their bidding. We're looking for them.'
'Good for you, good for your friend,' she replied. The words and tone seemed to suggest an indifference that wasn't exactly matched by the look on her face. 'You'll all have a sweet welcoming home party, I'm sure.'
'Not exactly,' Luna said through gritted teeth. She was certain that the indifference was an act, but it still grated her. 'My friend's dead.'
Anayah at least had the decency to look ashamed. 'I'm sorry.'
Luna looked hard at her, then felt herself soften. 'That's okay. It hurt, and it was a messy situation all round. We're just trying to do right by her.'
'What do you mean?' Anayah leaned forward.
Luna hesitated, well understanding that to tell the truth would undermine her position. 'She was our friend. But when we discovered that she was the spy, one of ours took it upon herself to shoot and kill her.'
Anayah howled with laughter, and Luna had to fight with herself to stop her from lunging at the stormtrooper.
'So much for your high morals,' Anayah laughed. 'That's what the New Republic is: new name, same old corruption.'
'That wasn't it at all,' Luna replied defensively. 'She was hurt, grieving for a friend who was shot and possibly dying. It was a moment of weakness on her part.'
'Oh, and what happened then? Did you arrest her?'
'I wasn't here for it, but as I understand, she was restrained briefly.'
'Briefly. You and the Security Bureau are the same. Corrupt fanatics, doing what you want, and getting away with it.'
'Anayah, you need to understand. We lost a friend that day. And she regretted her actions almost immediately. And she's doing all she can to make ammends, which is what this whole thing is about. We're not going to shoot her, too. We've forgiven her, and when we find the parents of our friend, she'll ask their forgiveness, too. Because that's what we stand for. Not,' Anayah's words caught up to her. 'Oh.'
'What?'
'Nothing,' Luna said hastily.
Anayah leaned forward, Luna tensed, sensing danger. 'What?' the stormtrooper insisted.
'They hurt you.'
Anayah flinched, but otherwise didn't move.
Luna got up slowly from her chair and sat on the edge of the bed. 'Whatever it is, whatever happened, I'm sorry.'
Anayah looked away. Her eyes glistened with unspilt tears. She sniffled, wiping her eyes.
Luna reached out and grasped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before standing up and walking over to the door. As it slid open, spilling the harsh corridor lighting on them both, Anayah said, 'I meant what I said earlier. They're fanatics. They truly believe in the First Order. But they're corrupt too.'
Luna turned to face her. 'I'm listening.'
