User blog:Bane7670/Short Fiction: Serve and Protect

Work on a late night was never enjoyable. It didn’t matter how simple or complicated it was, the fact that it was there at that hour brought the worker’s mood to a record low. That was reason enough to stay on top of it during the day, when it was presented, which required few distractions, short breaks, and absolute diligence. With those qualities in play, work was completed efficiently, with superior quality and time left over.

Those were ideals, though. And even with the proper qualities, they were, at the moment, luxuries for the Empire.

Kirina Fidel sighed as she considered the screen in front of her. The weekly ordnance stock report was as complete as it was ever going to be. The necessities of a Star Destroyer’s weekly report were present, but not much else. She didn’t have much desire to improve the quality with side annotations that made Moffs’ eyes gleam and detail the status on each individual power feed and modulation console. Not when she still had to fill out the personnel evaluation for her area. Normally, she would have completed such reports much earlier than past 23:00 hours, but they had taken lower priority for her when dozens of other tasks were shoved on her plate that day.

It had been happening often over the past few weeks; Imperial command was doubling up on the amount of work they expected from their Star Destroyers in a panicked frenzy to boost productivity in light of recent events.

Reaching behind her as she leaned back in her chair, she removed her cap and undid the band in the back of her head, allowing her brown hair to fall to her shoulders. No one would mind at this point in the day and she was mostly by herself in the Dominator’s lower hangar control deck. She ran a hand over her face, rubbing her eyes, and then continued to run her fingers through her hair. So many things that shouldn’t have affected her were trickling down from command. It all seemed to be going downhill ever since Emperor Palpatine dissolved the Imperial Senate and placed his territory under the direct control of the regional governors, which caused a sufficient amount of uncertainty to grow on all worlds, Imperial or otherwise, and gave the Rebels a lot to work with. It was obvious that the Empire planned to keep insurgencies from rising up with the sheer force and raw power of their newest toy: the Death Star. Fear was their main asset now.

Which led to Alderaan.

A sickening ache reignited in Kirina’s stomach. Alderaan, a thriving world of peace and benevolent people, blown to bits in an instant on the whim of a single Moff. She had heard of some sort of massacre to make clear that the Empire wasn’t playing around when it came to rebels, but it wasn’t until she was able to return to her quarters and research the event herself that she learned the truth. An entire people incinerated to make a political statement. Kirina remembered the day she had enlisted in the Imperial Navy, taking her knowledge and fascination with starships into service for the protection of the galaxy. That was what she’d signed up for: “Service. Fealty. Fidelity.” Not genocide.

Soon following, that new toy had quickly been destroyed at Yavin by the very people it was meant to dissuade―that was all she’d heard―which inevitably led to a freighter’s load of work for her and her fellow crew members day after day. The fleet had been scattered in a desperate attempt to strike back at the Rebel Alliance, order was gradually deteriorating in the remaining bureaucracy, and Lord Vader couldn’t be bothered to even coordinate things at Imperial Center.

To add onto that, various crime lords of the Black Sun and Hutt cartels were accumulating influence, leading to more trivial assignments. Even the Dominator had been sent on a mission to deliver some bigwig from IC to Wukkar in time for a local festival and, supposedly, to monitor the Black Sun’s dealings.

That was why, even in an unstable government, Kirina kept at her work. She had to maintain some level of competence in the Empire.

“Commander,” an official-sounding voice said beside her.

Kirina quickly sat upright and repositioned her cap, hoping she could slip past the traditional salute with her posture. She turned her chair towards him and nodded firmly. “Captain Worhven,” she said in the best military tone she could muster at that hour.

Worhven, on the other hand, was a competent officer, among the few in the leadership. As typically resolute as he was against law-breakers, he realized the value of committed and focused troops, knew how a victory was truly won and preferred his own crew to the crowd over at Imperial Center. He scored very highly among his crew for that. He thankfully excused her from not standing when he entered the room. The bags under his eyes told her he was just as weary as the rest of his troops. “I was wondering if you were still at this,” he said in a casual tone. “I’d hoped the workload for today was winding down.”

Kirina nodded again, sensing that he didn’t care whether or not they spoke freely. “I think it is, sir,” she replied, glancing back at the screen. “I just finished our Ordnance Stock Report. All that’s left now is my area’s evaluation.”

The Dominator’s captain actually grinned slightly at her. “You’ve done good work here, Commander Fidel,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back. “You all have. Don’t worry about the evaluation, I’m handling it for all decks.”

Ordinarily, she would have insisted that she take care of it, but the thought of reaching her bed earlier than planned diminished the suggestion. “Thank you, sir,” she said, forgetting to hide her sigh of relief.

“I know you could use some sleep,” he continued, stepping towards the window overlooking the hangar. “Especially considering your next assignment.”

Should have seen that coming. “Another load of reports?”

“No, no,” he answered, shaking his head. “This time, it’s fieldwork.”

Kirina raised her eyebrows. She wasn’t sure if she was going to like it, but it would at least make for a refreshing change of pace. “What will this involve, Captain?” she asked. “If I may ask,” she quickly added.

“As you know, we’ve finally been given a proper assignment,” he explained. “Command wants us to scout out a suitable place for a tactical position on Arbra. Now that we’re in orbit, Commodore Ylaxan plans to take a platoon to the surface and verify a landing zone. He told me to select one of my top officers to accompany him.”

The name itself sent a chill through her spine. She’d heard far too much about Ylaxan, another one of the Navy’s sadistic commanders who enjoy pillaging worlds at the expense of high casualties. Part of the reason he was in his position was because he was ruthless, a quality smiled upon by the Emperor and his various pets, the Grand Admirals. And Kirina was being placed on his right hand.

“Top officers” was a more flexible term than “senior officers,” the latter of which was probably what Ylaxan preferred. But she had apparently impressed Worhven enough to be considered a “top” officer. Three years into her service, she was promoted to Lieutenant and reassigned aboard the Dominator. A month after that, she was promoted to Junior Commander and moved up to gunnery administration, much to the jealousy of some of her more “senior” counterparts. Despite the friends she had made, she wasn’t sure if she would have accepted it if she’d known it would put her on a war-mongerer’s leash.

“With all due respect, Captain,” she started hesitantly. “Would it not be more… prudent to…”

“No décor necessary, Fidel,” he stated plainly. “It would be more efficient, certainly easier, to perform aerial reconnaissance, if not a scan from orbit,” she finished with temporary relief. Speaking freely was far more preferable after hours. “I only think that taking an armed force to the surface seems unnecessary.”

Worhven considered her words for a couple seconds. “That would be easier, but Arbra has thick plant growth that limits visibility from the air. Ylaxan wants to verify that there won’t be any settlements near a potential military site.”

“And if there are,” Kirina sighed. “He won’t settle for finding a different location. It will turn into a standoff, eventual eviction of the natives… or worse.” She bit her tongue back and carefully held Worhven’s gaze. Even for free speech, she was dancing on the edge.

But instead of the standard reminder of her place, Worhven actually continued, pinching the bridge of his nose. “There could be an easier and safer way, perhaps,” he said wearily. “But I have no jurisdiction over it beyond who I send. Ylaxan’s orders come straight from the Imperial Security Bureau. To deviate from it is to question their leadership, and,” he paused to sigh. “we don’t want that trouble, do we?”

No, Kirina certainly did not. She didn’t much care for the attention of the higher ups, positive or negative. “No, sir,” she replied softly. The Empire had done it to her again. It was either one undesirable path or the other. She wanted to raise her objections to Ylaxan’s superiors personally, but she knew from experience that it was a futile battle to make suggestions there. Instead, she nodded in agreement. The path of least resistance as usual. “I will accompany the commodore to the surface to advise as he scouts out outpost parameters. Nothing more.”

Dancing on the edge again. Fortunately, Worhven either didn’t notice or didn’t care at that hour. “Of course. Get some rest and report to the main hangar at Oh Eight Hundred,” he advised.

This time, Kirina stood and saluted him. He deserved that much. How was it that men like him weren’t Moffs or at the top of the ladder at ISB? If the Emperor even listened to advice from his subordinates, he could certainly learn more from Worhven than he could from Ylaxan or that blasted lunatic Tarkin. But at least some competence existed within the Imperial ranks. It was all that kept her going.

Still, that didn’t excuse arrogance-driven genocide or idiocy in the bureaucracy. Kirina would have questioned whether or not she could see herself actually serving beside someone like Ylaxan, or even in the Empire at all, but she chose to fall asleep to a pleasant thought.

* * * * *

“You’ve really stepped up now, haven’t you?” Scarlet teased on their way to the hangar.

Kirina brushed her off. “Being placed alongside someone working for ISB is not considered moving up in my book.” She gave her fellow officer a sideways glance. “And neither is fieldwork.”

“Oh, come on,” Scarlet insisted. “Even you have to admit, a field assignment is an improvement from filing reports from engineering. An actual planet instead of a Star Destroyer makes for a much more scenic stroll.”

That was true. Getting off the Destroyer for the first time in half a year was a nice opportunity. “I’ll admit that much,” she conceded. “But I don’t care for the company. Even if I was going to Arbra to take a more ‘scenic stroll,’ I’d prefer to have a Moff with me than this bloke.”

“Now, now,” her colleague warned. “Don’t get carried away.” Kirina had to agree with her there. A Moff wasn’t much better than Ylaxan. “Who is this ‘bloke’ anyway?”

“Commodore Ylaxan,” Kirina huffed. “Worhven chose me to accompany him and his platoon to the surface to scout out a suitable position.”

“His platoon?” Scarlet asked.

“Yes…” she replied bitterly. “He’s taking an armed platoon down to verify that native settlements won’t be an issue.”

After a moment, Kirina suddenly realized she was walking alone. She turned around to see Scarlet had stopped a few paces back and gone rigid, her face pale. Kirina became nervous whenever her tough-as-durasteel friend got that way. “What is it?” she questioned, not wanting to hear the answer.

“He’s taking…” Scarlet actually struggled to put the words together. That was not the kind of variety Kirina wanted to see in her. “An armed platoon to check for natives?”

“Yes,” she stated cautiously. The blood in Scarlet’s cheeks drained and her eyes widened. This was getting to be too many uncharacteristic traits from her. “Scarlet… what’s wrong?”

“His platoon,” her shaky voice responded. She swallowed and started again. “He isn’t taking those men to the surface as backup. He’s taking them to test them.”

In her caf-fueled state, Kirina hadn’t even thought about the possibility of an ulterior motive to Ylaxan’s orders. “A test?”

“Loyalty,” she said plainly. “I caught some higher up static earlier this week. ISB has been doing a series of tests in the Stormtrooper Corps to root out Rebel sympathizers. If he’s taking a platoon to check for locals…” Scarlet let the sentence hang, unable to finish it. “He… also might be searching for signs of Rebels on the planet,” she quickly amended.

An icy chill came over Kirina. That was her initial assumption of the platoon’s purpose, but if they were going to be given orders that would test their loyalty to the Empire… The Dominator had been sent for recon, but Ylaxan had been sent for what he did best: senseless slaughter.

Kirina gestured for Scarlet to continue walking, since the hangar was only a short distance off. “Captain Worhven wanted me to oversee the operation and advise as necessary,” she said firmly, turning to face Scarlet at the door. “That is what I will do.”

“And you’ll do fine, I’m sure,” she replied, finding a confident if not wary expression. “Just watch yourself down there.”

Kirina needed some levity. “Don’t worry about me. If I can take on all the files command sends me, I can handle a Commodore’s mission.”

Scarlet laughed. “I always worry about you,” she said, with that spry smile of hers.

They casually saluted one another farewell and Kirina began walking towards the shuttle bay in short strides, fighting back the tightening knot in her stomach.

Five minutes early, and Ylaxan was standing outside a Sentinel-class shuttle with his platoon looking very impatient all the same. She quickened her pace, but before she even came within a dozen steps, his eyes fell on her and he spoke in a harsh tone. “What’s your business here, soldier?”

She decided to answer before she came up to him. “Junior Commander Fidel, sir,” she stated clearly, closing the distance and stepping into a stiff salute in front of him. “I’ve been assigned to accompany you and advise as necessary.”

Ylaxan made no effort to hide his contempt while he visually scanned her from head to feet, obviously wishing Worhven or some other senior officer was here instead. But all the same, he acknowledged her, even if he didn’t return her salute. “Very well. Let’s get underway then,” he said, gesturing to the Stormtrooper lines behind him.

She stepped past him, and caught an expression of his that she could have sworn was disgust. But she kept her eyes forward and boarded.

The flight to the surface was spent in a deafening silence. Stormtroopers never got conversational in the presence of superiors, but Ylaxan didn’t even give her an abridged briefing. Even Worhven made an occasional open remark when he was on duty. It wasn’t until five minutes prior to landing that Ylaxan said a word. “Take this, Commander,” he said, breaking the prolonged silence and handing her a datacard. “This contains the layouts of the entire region, including native settlements and clearings for potential construction. Your job is to take a datapad and add any other information you find regarding the planet that might be of use.”

However reluctantly, he passed the bronze-plated card to her. She turned it over a couple times in her hand, wondering how many lives rested upon it. She’d caught herself doing that a lot as of late, speculating which innocents Imperial forces would execute next. The image of Scarlet’s petrified face simply wouldn’t leave her mind. Few things in the galaxy scared someone like her to that extent. What if she was right? What if the platoon was here to be tested?

“Everything all right, Commander?” Ylaxan asked strictly.

Kirina mentally berated herself for not better hiding her emotions. “Yes, Commodore,” she answered, placing the datacard in her pocket and keeping her eyes fixed forward.

Neither of them said anything until the shuttle’s ramp was lowered. Ylaxan gave the platoon a set of deployment orders and Kirina followed silently behind him. Worhven hadn’t exaggerated about Arbra’s plant life. They had landed in a small clearing, and on every side of the LZ, massive trees reached into the sky, spreading very dense, leafy branches over the forest floor. It made her wonder how the other shorter plants received any sunlight.

Her awe of the planet’s landscape was soon cut off by another strict order. “Commander Fidel,” Ylaxan said impatiently. “Must I remind you of your duties?” “No, sir,” she replied curtly, taking out her datapad. She would have been embarrassed if it were any other superior who had noticed, but not this one. “I’ll begin scouting at once.”

A frustrated sigh from him stopped her before she could take a step. “Not alone, you won’t.” He gestured to the squad immediately behind him, prompting the Stormtroopers to step forward. “You will take this squad with you down this path.” He indicated with his finger. “I will take the rest of the men this way. We’ll rendezvous back here in exactly one hour. Understood?”

“Yes, sir,” she answered, offering another salute.

He simply stared her down with narrowed eyes. “Captain Worhven seems to think highly of you and your performance, for your age,” he said plainly. ''For my age. Saw that coming.'' “I hope you’ll live up to such expectations.”

Thousands of retorts came to Kirina’s mind to counter his remark, but she managed to keep them down and instead answered with another, “Yes, sir.”

Her squad followed her into the thick brush of her predetermined direction while Ylaxan went his own way with the rest of the platoon. It didn’t seem like he divided them up any further. Just one separate squad that the Commodore sent to watch after her. At least she wasn’t working right alongside him.

Still, she tried to ignore her escort by keeping her eyes either forward or on her datapad. Neither of which were particularly difficult. She slid the datacard into its slot and briefly scanned over the base information and could easily outmatch it by simply looking ahead of her. In no time at all, she was busy updating the various files with the extent of plant life and native fauna she saw. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, taking in the sounds of the forest around her, minus the crunching of Stormtrooper boots. Scarlet was right. This was far better than spending the day feeding reports to command from the Dominator’s stuffy control decks. The beautiful environment hosted so many different ways for life to thrive, it looked like a paradise for nature enthusiasts, low-laying mercenaries, or anyone searching for a new start. And Ylaxan had arrived to soil it.

But she tried to keep her mind off of her companions and kept working on updating the datacard. She was actually surprised that the Empire hadn’t attempted to overtake this world sooner, with so many ideal places for a concealed foothold. Despite her squad’s apprehensive stature, most of the wildlife seemed rather harmless. Of course, that was easy enough to tell when the Stormtroopers repeatedly frightened even the smallest creatures away.

“Scans are picking up high energy readings in the caves four klicks to the north,” the squad sergeant reported just behind her, ruining yet another moment of wonder for her.

Kirina reexamined another one of the files on her ‘pad. “This information does say something about energy flows rising up from the planet’s core into the atmosphere,” she responded mostly to herself. “Apparently its necessary to regulate stability for―”

A distant thunderclap out of the brush to her left drew her attention away. Her head snapped towards the direction and her heart skipped a beat, or several, when she realized it was where Ylaxan had marched off to. What was he doing? The tightening sensation in her stomach returned. “Commander?” the sergeant said, not having noticed the sound. “What’s wrong?”

Kirina’s initial response was to ask, “Didn’t you hear that?” But it was likely that they had. Naturally, she had to know, but the squad probably wouldn’t let her go off investigating a little sound―little to them, maybe―like that without relevant cause. She pretended to read the datapad again, and as she did, her eyes fell across an interesting sentence about the planet’s energy flow. She faced the sergeant again, keeping a straight face. “Wait here, sergeant,” she said in the most official tone she knew. “I’m going to investigate that sound. It might have been a lightning strike, which on this planet is linked to the high energy readings.”

“Then we’ll come with you,” the sergeant replied simply, beginning a hand gesture to his men.

“That won’t be necessary,” she countered, nervously starting to walk away. “I need you to stay here so that I can find exactly where I left off.”

“I must insist that at least some of us accompany you, ma’am,” he said immediately. “Our orders are to stay by you for the entirety of this mission.”

“No.” She winced, knowing it came too firm and too quickly. Stormtroopers were not known for their understanding. “I will be fine, and there will be a greater chance for me to gather more complete data if I am alone.” From what she could tell from the sergeant’s posture, she hadn’t gotten off that easily. Ordering them to stay wouldn’t get much further. “But if you must,” she conceded. “You, sergeant, may join me, but the rest of your men are to stay here and hold this position for when I return.”

Fortunately, his posture shifted noticeably. “Very well,” he nodded and turned back to the others. “Corporal, you’re in command until we return.”

The troopers all saluted simultaneously as Kirina turned around and began walking swiftly towards the sound. It was strange to be walking through the forest with only one set of footsteps behind her. And also uneasy. She would have preferred to see what the sound was alone, but it was probably as the report indicated: merely a stray lightning bolt from the planet’s energy discharge. If Scarlet hadn’t raised her suspicions about Ylaxan’s true intentions, Kirina would have gone with that and not felt the compulsion to investigate. But it came from the commodore’s direction. She had to make sure.

She didn’t dare glance back at the sergeant as they walked along. His hesitance to let her venture off on her own told her Ylaxan didn’t trust her and had communicated that to his men. She didn’t need any more unnecessary suspicion on her.

Another clearing was just up ahead, and when Kirina came within fifty meters of it, the sergeant actually grabbed her arm and pulled her back. “Commander, I must insist we return to our assigned path,” he said, noticeably nervous.

Kirina faced him with narrowed eyes. In addition to not trusting her, Ylaxan made it clear to the platoon to not let her see his side of the operation. She stifled an involuntary shudder. Now she really had to see what was in this direction. “Sergeant,” she said in another commanding timbre. “Am I to understand that you are attempting to hinder my duties?”

“No… no, ma’am,” he stuttered, failing to hide his loss for words. “I only think… the commodore…”

“The commodore,” she snapped. “will most certainly not be pleased when he learns that you were the cause of insufficient gathering of reconnaissance. I no longer require your services. Return to your squad and wait for me at that position.”

“But, ma’am…”

“Dismissed, sergeant!” Kirina actually surprised herself. She’d given orders before, but never with that sort of demeanor. She never wanted to imitate a Moff.

Still, it got the message across. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, deflated.

He stood before her a moment longer before sadly saluting and marching in the opposite direction. Watching him walk away, she felt that he hadn’t really been acting on orders. He genuinely didn’t want her to see whatever was the origin of the sound. The sensation in her stomach tightened a little more.

The clearing in the brush was actually the edge of a small cliff, overlooking a small collection of tree trunks and grass clumps arranged into what appeared to be a village. She would have taken several more moments to observe it had Ylaxan not caught her eye, standing with the rest of his platoon just a short distance away from it, in a smoking, detonator-made clearing of wood and thicket. It explained the sound, but what was unexplained was why all the Stormtroopers were loading their drawn E-11s.

Then, in the warm light of Arbra’s sun, a terrible chill came over her. A test of loyalty.

Only a truly loyal Stormtrooper would slaughter innocent civilians on the command of his superiors.

Kirina was cemented in place for a handful of heartbeats, hundreds of emotions rushing through her head simultaneously. The only thing that was clear was her one impulse. The impulse to do her duty: preserve the lives of the galaxy. And yet, it was something that would likely brand her as a traitor and land her deep with ISB. She knew how things at Imperial Center worked. She would lose everything she’d worked for.

She tucked her ‘pad into her belt and removed her cap, staring at the silver circle in the center of the front side. It was time to do what she had truly enlisted for. Loosening her fingers, her cap vanished from her field of vision, as did her career in the Empire.

She stayed low as she approached the village, keeping Ylaxan and his men in her corner of her eye until they, fortunately and unfortunately, became obscured by the hill she descended. Just short of the first makeshift houses, she spotted a group of the natives―Hoojibs, if she remembered correctly―and they spotted her. Their nervous, wide eyes were slightly quelled when she outstretched her hands.

“It’s all right,” she said calmly. “I won’t harm you, but you need to listen to me.” Their large ears actually perked up. They spoke in telepathy, but they could still understand verbal languages. She hoped. “Imperial forces are coming to attack this village. You need to evacuate everyone. Quickly!”

The rabbit-like beings looked to one another, obviously conversing amongst themselves, considering the legitimacy of the information. They were still communicating when Kirina heard the first marching steps towards the front of the village. Her heart rate accelerated.

Fortunately, they came to a consensus. One of them approached her and made a motion that could have been a nod while the others scurried off in various directions. She nodded in response. “I’ll see if I can try and slow them down,” she assured, having no idea how she would be do that.

But the lead Hoojib simply repeated the motion and ran off with the others.

The exodus proceeded surprisingly quickly. Nearly half of the village was empty by the time Kirina came to the square at the front end. The platoon was assembled on the edge of what could be called the town limits, with Ylaxan standing before them. Her heart filled with odious contempt. The last time, she’d seen a superior. Now, she saw a monster. But to be fair, she saw a little of the latter before as well.

She ducked behind a trunk when his head drifted in her direction. In quiet footsteps, she moved to the other side, where she saw a pair of Hoojibs, lingering outside one of their trunk homes. They froze in their respective places when deliberate footsteps came from the other side. They sounded like those of an impatient Imperial officer. Before Kirina could warn them, they both scurried back into the makeshift doorway of the trunk. The footsteps cut out abruptly. Kirina swore under her breath.

Taking a few cautious steps out from behind the trunk, none of the platoon nor Ylaxan was visible. She hastily ran across the pathway to the entrance to the house through which the two would-be refugees had fled. “Hello?” she whispered, ducking her head under to enter. “You can’t stay here. Please, trust me.” She took another step forward. “It’s not safe. You have to flee before―”

A numbing pain struck the back of her head with sharp crack that rang through her skull. She must have collapsed. When her vision cleared, she picked herself off the ground, only to be pushed over again. “What do you think you’re doing?” a sickening voice snarled above her.

Kirina didn’t respond. Pulling herself up a second time, she brought her foot and hands forward and steadied herself. She turned her head towards her attacker in time to see him deliver a cold punch to her jaw. Her head snapped back forward. The Hoojibs were nowhere in her blurred sight. Then, a hand wrapped around the hair arranged into a bun on the back of her head and yanked fiercely. She winced as she was brought uncomfortably upright. Ylaxan stood over her and pulled her head back more, forcing her eyes upward to the wood-carved ceiling. “Spying was most decidedly not a part of your assignment, Commander,” he sneered, putting a gross emphasis on her rank.

She forced her eyes to meet his. “Mass murder wasn’t part of the assignment either,” she spat back, trying to control her trembling.

Ylaxan’s sneer suddenly melted into a collected smirk. “Murder?” he said cooly. “That’s a strong word to throw around these primitives, wouldn’t you say? Besides, it’s our orders.”

“Your orders,” she corrected. “Not mine.”

His smirk vanished and he stared vibroblades at her. He pulled her head back further, causing her hair tie to come loose, and thrusted her forward, dropping her to her hands and knees again. “Traitor…” he whispered, reaching behind him. “So Worhven sent me a traitor!”

Another correction would have been in order, but when she turned turned around again and brushed several loose strands of hair out of her eyes, she saw Ylaxan standing behind her with a combat knife in his hand and a horrid expression that could have killed her alone. “I should have known,” he said darkly. “You weaker soldiers can’t handle the reality of the Empire, that’s why you run off into the false safety of dogs like the Rebel Alliance. You refuse to accept that the only fate of the weak is to give way to the strong. This is the New Order.” He began slowly advancing towards her. “Those unfit few must be eradicated for it to exist.”

Kirina’s trembling became so fierce she lost her balance and fell onto her back. Her quickening breathing and heart rate filled her ears as she scampered away from him, unable to stand. He looked like he was feeding off of her fear, adopting a sinister smile and taking smaller strides. She felt her back come to the wall at the end of the room. She still made efforts to push herself away, causing her datapad to fall off her belt and slide to her feet.

Her eyes and Ylaxan’s fell on it at the same time. They studied it, then each other for a moment. Snapping under the commodore’s stare, she reflexively outstretched her arm and tried to snatch it back. Ylaxan had seen it coming. His foot stomped down hard on her hand. Her other hand shot forward, a reflex which saved her life. The rapidly descending knife tore into her sleeve and a new pain shot through her arm.

She pulled her hand out from under Ylaxan’s foot and grabbed his wrist, pushing the knife away from her body. She used the newfound leverage to get to her feet and put her wounded arm forward to reinforce the other. It was too late to correct the error, as a punch from Ylaxan’s free hand sent her off balance, allowing him to drive a brutal kick into her ribs.

That sent her leaning into the wall again, having lost her grip on his wrist. He raised the knife again and thrust it down towards her, pinning her down with an arm across her shoulders. She threw both of her hands up to slow it, but his strength greatly outmatched hers. Though slowly, the knife still descended now between her eyes. As its tip split and blurred in her vision, images of her parents seeing her off to the Academy, of the Dominator’s promotion ceremonies, and of Scarlet flashed through her mind. It all ended with the image of Ylaxan’s overconfident, maniacal grin as the knife came into contact with the bridge of her nose. She closed her eyes, wanting her final image to be a pleasant one rather than…

Without warning, both the knife and Ylaxan’s weight lifted off from her. Ylaxan let out a muffled cry. Kirina reopened her eyes and saw a spectacle that nearly made her laugh. Ylaxan was flailing around the room trying to remove two Hoojibs from his head and leg. She got back to her feet and recovered the ‘pad, securing it more tightly to her belt. Looking back at Ylaxan, she spotted a small holdout blaster in a forearm holster. When Ylaxan finally got a grip on the Hoojib on his head, he flung it onto the ground, held it by its fragile neck and raised the blade again. Kirina ran forward and kicked it out of his hand, using his momentary setback to grab the blaster from his sleeve.

The Hoojib on the ground broke free of his grasp and ran for the door. Ylaxan looked back at Kirina just in time to observe being held at gunpoint. She made her best efforts to steady her shaking hands, but Ylaxan wasn’t giving up that easily. He grabbed the Hoojib still clinging to his leg and held it before her by the scruff of his neck. “Now,” he growled in boiling outrage. “You see the price for disloyalty.”

Before she could realize what was happening, Ylaxan raised the creature up over his head as if he was going to throw it at her. On a panicked impulse, she squeezed the trigger.

In a muted flash, Ylaxan’s body fell to the floor.

The Hoojib climbed out of his limp grasp and looked at her. Kirina’s eyes fixated on the smoldering hole in the man’s chest, then darted to the blaster in her hand. The tightening feeling in her stomach was replaced by a churning sensation. For the first time in her life, she had taken a life. A man was dead as a direct result of her actions.

Not just a man. An Imperial officer.

Tossing the blaster aside in disgust, she got to her knees and cradled her wounded arm. Worhven wouldn’t let this one slide. No one in the Empire would, certainly not the ISB agents who’d hired Ylaxan. Murdering an officer of his distinction meant an arrest, a court-martial, and an execution. The former two events were merely formalities. If the Empire had any less structure, she would be shot dead where she stood the moment someone found out. That was why she couldn’t go back.

Lifting a quivering hand from the cut on her arm, she tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear. Realizing it was caked in blood, she removed her glove and pressed it against her wound. It was her own blood on her hands, but there was much more on the Empire’s hands overall. Over the years, walking through the Dominator’s hallways, she was walking under a banner that glorified taking innocent life to remain in power. That blood was on her hands too.

Her line of thought broke off when she felt a gentle tug at her arm. One of the Hoojibs pressed a small cloth against her cut and was securing it with a length of thin rope. She looked at the creature and smiled. “Thank you,” she said quietly. The Hoojib merely finished his work, then ran back to the entryway and stood just before it and looked at her, as though expecting her to follow.

Standing, Kirina pulled the datapad out again and considered it. Command would be expecting the Intel, but she already knew she couldn’t return to the platoon, to her station, to Worhven. Not even to Scarlet. She couldn’t return. She wouldn’t. The datacard would never even reach the Dominator, she decided. It would go to someone with far more competence, far more clarity of what service to the galaxy actually meant.

The datacard would go to someone who, like the creature beside her, cared for innocent life regardless of the cost.

The Hoojib walked right with her even well after they cleared the village, giving her a newfound feeling of accomplishment. She’d barely met Arbra’s natives and already they’d given her their trust and care. The bandage was a small token of appreciation for saving their lives. And renewing her own.