A New Life

Chapter 7: The Choice

The Agent marches me to the Detention Cell again, keeping a strong grip on my arm. This time I don't even try to fight and get away. I walk down the steps in silence, observing my surroundings. Pretty boring again, dark gray walls and grates on the floor with dim red lights. I turn around and eye the Agent, who is only coming down the steps now. As he reaches the bottom, he starts slowly pacing in front of me, hands behind his back and keeping his eyes on me.

"I am Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, though I imagine you already know that since you were listening in on the comm." He says, almost accusingly.

"An ISB Agent? What an honour." I say, rolling my eyes at him. He stops pacing and stands in front of me.

"You know, Juniper," he sighs, "I know a lot more about you than you think." He says, trying to get me to spill.

"Oh yeah? Like what? My father's a Rebel? My name? Congratulations." I retort. He shakes his head.

"No. Things like.... Who your father truly is - An extremist who treated you and your mother like nothing. You've been forced to stay in your home for as long as you remember. You want to be free and make a difference. You don't know if the Rebels or the Empire are the good side." He replies. I'm stunned. For a moment I can't speak, but I manage to find my voice.

"H..How do you know this?" I ask, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible, though inside I'm screaming. How does he know?

"We've known what your father has been doing for the last few months. We tracked him with a probe and it has been stationed in your home for a while now. We've been tracking everything he says and does. If your father heard this he would understand why all his missions weren't going as planned." He replied, with a smirk on his face. I look away for a moment and think about what he said. If he had a probe in my home the entire time, he would have seen that I've done nothing against them. Just because I'm the daughter of a known Rebel extremist, should I be put into prison too?

"So, what does this mean for me?" I say. He takes a step closer towards me and looks into my eyes, his facial features seem a lot gentler than before.

"I know that your father forced you to do things you didn't want to do for the Rebels." He starts.

"What are you saying?" I ask, slightly puzzled by the fact that he actually believes I haven't done anything wrong. To be honest, I though he just wanted to find any reason to leave me in here, or better, executed for treason or rebelling.

"He didn't give you a choice, but I want to." He says. I'm taken aback. He continues, "you have many great skills, combat and technology seem to be your main strengths, and the Empire can benefit greatly from them. So I'm giving you two options." 

"I'm listening." I say, in the dark about where he's taking this.

"You can either join the Empire and attend the ISB Training Program in the Imperial Academy here on Lothal, or you go back to your mother, wherever she lives. It's your choice." He says. I close my eyes.

"My mother is dead." I say. As I reopen my eyes I notice he has looked away as well, and I can see slight sympathy in his eyes.

"I'm.. I'm sorry." He says.

"Thanks, but it's been years anyways. Can't I just go back to my home anyway?" I ask. He looks back at me.

"Your home is now under Imperial control, you can't go back there. And I can't leave you on the streets." 

"Yes you can."

"No, I'll send you to one of my friends."

"Is your friend an Imperial?" I ask, the answer already clear to me. He sighs and nods his head.

"Yes, she is."

"Then I'm not going."

"If you're not going to her then you're going to the Academy." He says simply. I sigh.

"Fine. I'll think about it."

"Good. I'll come back in twenty minutes and by then I hope you have made your decision." He says. He turns around, walks up the steps and out of the cell.

...Those are some lousy choices... I either go stay with an Imperial, or train to become one. I stop and take a deep breath. I have always thought the Empire was the enemy, because that is what my father made me believe. Though when I see him, I don't think of him as a 'Rebel' exactly, I see him as a terrorist. I've seen how he and his friends act, how they talk about plans to blow things up, destroy an Imperial cargo shipment or even count how many Imperials they had killed that day, acting like it was a game of some sort. They didn't even care about the possible number of civilian casualties they may have caused. Maybe what I'm forced to believe is all wrong, and that the Empire is out to serve the Galaxy, that people like my father are in the way and cause trouble. Maybe the Empire isn't so bad. 

Maybe I can make a difference.