(Reviews welcome and encouraged)
"You can hear about tragedies around the galaxy and not care. When horrific acts are committed, few people can recognize what is really happening. But when terrible things happen, to even one person you truly know, you feel an Icy Hole form in your heart that will never again be filled. " - S-Man
- Time in Tubusa System – 10 Hours
-Time After Hoth – 204 Days
The dropship shook slightly as it moved through the atmosphere. It rattled with the slight shifts of pressure that came from outside of the cabin. The crushing heat pressed against the dark gray durasteel frame, attempting to melt the small ship down and turn it into a meteorite, rather then allow it to defy gravity and race towards the stars above.
Inside the cabin was dimly lit, but still perfectly well to be able to see the white polished armor that wrapped around the five troopers that sat there in absolute silence.
Where they had been joking earlier, chuckling to make themselves more comfortable with the awkward nature of the short mission they had been sent on, they were now sitting absolutely still, trying to make sense of everything that had happened.
The target had escaped.
The woman had run away just as soon as the squad had laid eyes on her. She had been completely unharmed, and all pursuing troops had completely lost her trail.
Though they had scout drones in the area, and were tracking her movements, it was still impossible to imagine what had happened.
"…She was a Jedi…" Upper Cut declared, breaking the silence in the cabin.
The others looked over at him, and then back away, staring at the floor, ceiling, or the wall ahead, just replaying what they had seen.
"They're supposed to all be dead." S-Man added.
No one sitting there had any dispute. They all knew what they saw, and they'd all heard the stories. Though it had only been twenty years since they were hunted down and destroyed by the Empire, every holovid and story about them being crushed by the Imperial Ministries, they couldn't stop the murmurings that had made it through.
Laser swords, magic powers, and paranormal agility.
It had explained why the Inquisitor had been called. And it explained why they had brought in such a small group to deal with it. There was no need to spread the word that such a powerful agent of the enemy was running around.
"They are all dead." Nak muttered aloud. "I watched it all when it happened. They killed them all."
"But we all saw it. How else do you explain what happened?" Upper Cut chimed in, looking over at Nak.
Nak shook his head. "I've never missed a shot like that before. Not like that. I had her center mass on a straight away, with an elevated vantage point… I didn't even touch her."
S-Man had not yet asked what had happened, he and the others were too involved with the search afterward to get into any detail. But now that they were on their way back to the "Purifier", the was curious.
"Did she just leap out of the way?" S-Man asked, not sure of what could have happened.
Nak shook his head slowly once more, looking straight ahead at the wall, obviously replaying the scene over and over again in his head.
"No… she just… just batted them away with her sword."
Nak's words rang hollow through the small room, as the others tried to imagine how to have fought such a thing. An enemy like that was powerful, and extremely dangerous. And they had put down their best and not done anything.
S-Man thought on it more and more. She had worn normal enough clothing, but she had waved her hand and moved someone with her mind, an Inquisitor no less. She had only appeared to be middle aged, and she had fended off a unit of Scout Troopers and eluded an Inquisitor.
Somehow he began to wonder why they had turned on the Empire in the first place. Why they had attempted to assassinate the then Chancellor Palpatine was still a mystery to him all his life. But he had never thought to think on it much until just these moments when he was faced with a relic of the past that wielded a green blade of energy and thwarted the efforts of some of the Imperials best.
And the most maddening fact was that they had all witnessed her do it all by herself.
"They must have known what they were getting us into." S-Man rationalized. "It doesn't do much good to make an example out of people for a failed covert operation."
Nak nodded, though light enough that anyone knew he was not entirely sold.
"Right" Upper Cut added. "There aint nothing to blame us for. If they want better results, next time they'll send a bigger army."
S-Man nodded, believing everything that Upper Cut was saying.
"Then we'll come back, and tag us a Jedi. Then we'll been some real kantaal kicking Krayte Dragons." Upper Cut continued his morale boosting rant.
It was a welcome, and necessary mix to the dismal view that had overtaken the general mood of the dropship. The two escorts had not spoken a word since they got back onto the transport, and the Scouts had been sitting there trying to get a grip on what had gone on.
Still for all of his words, S-Man had a bad feeling about the look that was in the eye of the Inquisitor. He could see, even feel, the anger that was in him. The self assured aggression and contempt he had at that moment for the squad on the rooftop.
But there was no saying how many other squads may have missed their shots. They had not known where the target was coming from, let alone who the target was. If they had wanted a better result, they should have mentioned what it may have been capable, rather then just leaving them to guess at what was going to happen.
At the time S-Man had assumed it might have been some old Clone Commando that had gone insane in his rapidly aging state. And taking down what was essentially just a man would have been easy. Taking down a tank would have been easier, given that one could find the weak points in the view ports, or perhaps even put a shot into the commander who sometimes stood on the top.
This had been a completely different story, and so while he was not entirely comfortable with the situation, he knew they would do a better job being more prepared for the next time they were sent out.
The shaking stopped after several minutes, and the dropship made its way back to the battlegroup. It began docking procedures into the belly of the Imperial Class Star Destroyer that they were currently calling home just as soon as it came into view. The Purifier had its shields lowered and they entered at just about the same time as the other dropships were landing.
The five craft had all landed neatly inside of the hangar, and the squads all disembarked. They had been given different orders by the deck officers immediately. Most were assigned to return their armaments, others were to handle debriefing and supervision of the reentering of the troops.
The light from the hanger pierced the cabin of the dropship immediately as the ramp came down, and the five occupants of the dropship began to disembark.
But before they could leave down the ramp they stopped.
They dared not move. They dared not speak. They simply stood and saw him.
The Inquisitor was right at the base of their ramp, his dark gray uniform and black armor still clean with the exception of a deep scorch mark that ran through the shoulder. His hands were behind his back and his eyes glared straight ahead at the Scouts.
S-Man did not know what to do. He did not know whether to speak, or follow their usual procedure to the armory. He could not even think.
"Escorts, continue to your duties." The Inquisitor said.
The Escorts did not even look at the Scouts, they just walked off without a word, no doubt as fearful as the Upper Cut, S-man, and Nak were.
They stood in silence for a moment, the three scouts not sure what to do. The silence was broken by Nak.
"Sir, we…"
Nak was instantly cut off by the Inquisitor.
"I'm to personally debrief you on the mission." He said quickly and sternly. "Please step back inside."
The Inquisitor gestured behind them for them to return to the inside of the dropship.
The three did not wish to refuse the order and so they moved back inside to the rear of the cabin. The dim lights gave a very sterile feeling to the metallic, utilitarian interior. The metal benches for sitting on took up little of the small room, and there was just enough space for a tall man to be standing upright inside the craft without hitting his head.
As they arrived at the back, their rifles all still slung, they turned back to face the Inquisitor, who was making his way up the ramp and into the craft. He activated the ramp control, and the ramp retracted. It cut off the light that came from the rest of the hangar.
They stood in silence once again, but only for a few seconds. Only the sound of the Inquisitors light breathing could be heard.
The pilots had disembarked from separate doors and were likely unaware that anyone was even still inside the dropship. But even if they were they wouldn't say anything as the Inquisitor was likely the highest ranking official on the entire fleet.
"By now I'm sure you are aware of what our quarry was." The Inquisitor asked, his words sharp, with a crisp accent of someone of the Core Worlds.
"Yes, sir." The three responded in unison.
"So you all can understand what difficulties could arise, especially if word of their existence got out to the public at large." The Inquisitor suggested.
"Yes, sir." The three scouts answered again.
"So I'm curious. Exactly what happened out there in the field?" The Inquisitors tone sounded curious, but something in his eyes told S-Man he wasn't.
Nak took a breath, and as the highest ranked among them, he was the one who was supposed to answer.
"I made visual confirmation on the target. I called it in with the others, and proceeded to open fire as ordered."
"I see." The Inquisitor cocked his head. "And did you make a tally of the marks, and number of rounds fired?"
"There were four rounds fired, in rapid succession. They were fired center mass, and they were…" Nak stopped as Upper Cut spoke up.
"Fired at her, sir." He said, causing the Inquisitor to look at him.
"And did you fire any of these shots?" the Inquisitor asked Upper Cut, adjusting his posture slightly.
"I fired one shot, but I couldn't tell where it contacted. The four shots between us were fired very quickly, and I was firing on the run."
Upper Cut told a lie, and S-Man knew why. He was trying to spread around the blame. Officially they couldn't know who had actually struck the Inquisitor, and while it was good he'd survived, they were still having to stand before his ire and hope for the best.
But S-Man said nothing, he just stood there and watched.
Until the Inquisitor looked at him. "Is this as you saw it, Trooper?"
"I was shifting position when the shots were fired" S-Man answered. "I did not see them connect, I only was able to count the number."
Immediately S-Man hated himself. He was lying too, but he didn't say the right lie. He was covering himself and them at the same time, not all three. He was claiming denial rather then accepting the ones that Upper Cut had put down.
This was what years of Imperial training were for. To make sure that if such situations arose that Troopers would not lie to superiors. And in many ways that was still inside of S-Man's head. That was after all why they called him "S-Man", as he could not deny the orders or requests of superiors. A "yes man", through and through.
But he always knew he was more then that. He knew that in spite of a great deal of the training they still had to watch out for each other. There was simply no way to prove it here. And he had thrown a bit of his chance to do so away right there.
Maybe it was fear of repercussion, or having too much respect for superiors, but something made S-Man say what he did, and there was no backing out.
"Four shots. No connection, but one, and it struck the wrong target." The Inquisitor recounted. "A difficult ratio. Friendly fire is not greatly appreciated in the ranks of Empire, though it is at times unavoidable."
The three troopers said nothing, as the Inquisitor spoke on his currently burnt arm that had a small field bandage placed upon it.
The Inquisitor did not seem to look at it all. He did not seem bothered by it. His left shoulder practically smelled of burnt flesh from where Nak's shot had gone through, but he did not react to the pain. His cold eyes glared, and his pale bald head bore no signs of sweat.
"Apologies, sir." Nak started again. "The target was more then expected."
"Oh, I know." The Inquisitor said, seeming to lighten up a bit. "The Jedi are rather tenacious and resourceful. They will utilize any means to bring down the Empire and its subjects, most certainly its soldiers. Their powers are many and they masters of them."
The Inquisitor looked off to the side of the transports wall a moment, seeming to drift off in his own thoughts. He did not move however.
"Their existence is a threat, a dangerous one, perhaps even the most dangerous to our Empire and we must have a respect for that danger. And as such we shall deal with it swiftly and with the tempered fury that all of the Empire possesses."
The group did not have anything to add. S-Man in particular did not disagree with the Inquisitor given the things that he'd seen the Jedi do. And as much curiosity he had on the matter regarding the Jedi's existence, the thought it best to hold his tongue.
"I likely will not be requiring the services of your unit any time soon. But should the need arise, you now are aware of the powers they possess, and the great care you must take when dealing with them, yes?"
"Yes, sir." The group replied.
"Very good." The Inquisitor said.
He looked back at the group and smiled, looking each of them over with his eyes. Their heights all being about equal, just a slight difference in their muscle tone. They simply had the visor and rifles of marksmen in of the Empire and nothing more. The only real way to tell them apart was by their voices and their designation markings on their armor.
The Inquisitor looked at them and nodded.
"This should help you remember."
The Inquisitor then reached onto his belt, and pulled up the silver handle of his own lightsaber.
He reached his hand back slightly, and ignited the red blade.
The Inquisitor then thrust the blade forward, directly into Nak's heart.
The red blade singed straight through the older Scout Troopers armor, piercing through it like a knife cutting through butter. It burned a hole right through, which came out of his back just beside his auxiliary pack. It cut through a piece of his rifle and it left a stinking smell of burnt flesh and duraplast in the entire cabin.
S-Man froze. He's body jerked at once, his arms moving up slightly, but immediately his training had kicked in again. When standing at attention and in the presence of an officer, one was to hold his place. There was no other alternative, no matter what happened. Whether they be taking fire or having a man suffer an injury, one was to hold their place.
That was what Stormtroopers trained for. This was precisely what they learned. That in battle it could become necessary to continue the mission in spite of casualties sustained. Service to the Empire came before ones selfish needs and obligations to friends and family.
And as Nak gave a slight groan, the emotion on his face impossible to see through his helmet, he held for just a moment before his body began to collapse.
As it did the Inquisitor withdrew his blade, and placed it back upon his belt. Without a word he activated the ramp, and it began to descend. He walked down a few steps once it dropped down all the way, and turned around to face them once more.
Both S-Man and Upper Cut were utterly frozen in the moment as they watched Nak, their squad leader, their friend, die on the floor.
"And that" The Inquisitor concluded. "Should remind you not to miss."
The Inquisitor turned back to start walking down and finished with a cold word that S-Man struggled to believe he was hearing.
"Dispose of the body, and get back to your stations."
The bald, pale man then walked away into the hangar and out of sight, leaving S-Man and Upper Cut alone to deal with Nak, who was slumped over face down upon the floor.
But for a moment they did not move. They just stood there in silence staring down at the body.
And as S-Man disobeyed a direct order for the first time in years, his mind was completely blank. He did not move at all to pick up the body.
He just stared at it.
And all the while he felt the Icy hole that the Inquisition had just left in his own heart.