WARNING: THE FIRST PART OF THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SWEARING AND SEXUAL REFERENCES.

Well, this is my big finale. However, it is not the final chapter. There will be two more chapters to wrap things up.

Many thanks to Ladyofdarkstar for allowing me to use her OCs Jentessa Batch and Starla Serellis from her story Family Ties 2, and for using Torr Kann from Perspectives. I also thank Ladyofdarkstar for writing the dialogue of Jentessa Batch in this chapter.

CHAPTER 39 - VADER'S GAMBLE

"I'm telling you I saw it."

"There's no way you saw it." Sneered Mandala contemptuously.

"I'm telling you. I fucking did."

"Timor. You're full of shit." Smirked Davos.

It was our first day in our new unit under the command of Lord Vader. After being out on patrol for the day, we were sitting in the mess eating the evening meal. Even sergeant Dreyfus and Yalasa had joined us. For the first time in several days, the whole squad had gone out on patrol together and would eat together. For once, it was a routine day.

As we patrolled one of the Death Star corridors earlier that day, we had seen a group of navy troopers escorting Leia Organa to some unknown destination. When we sat down to eat, some members of the squad started to speculate about her.

As the others talked about Organa, it occurred to me that I had not heard anything about her since the destruction of Alderaan. I was so occupied with the training on Lord Vader's 5551 order that I had not even thought about Leia Organa in recent days. Despite the anxiety Organa had caused me, she had completely gone out of my mind.

I found myself wondering why she had not been terminated yet. The last time Yalasa and I escorted her, she was no longer under a high priority protection order. I had assumed that it would only be a matter of hours until she was terminated. But it seemed I was mistaken.

However, I realised that Organa was no longer of concern. She was safely in detention, her treasonous home world was destroyed and it would only be a matter of time before the Death Star located and destroyed the rebel resistance. Leia Organa no longer presented a threat to the peace of the Galactic Empire, nor was she a danger to obedient and loyal imperial citizens.

Of course, we did not speculate as to why Leia Organa was still alive. It was clear to us that High Command still needed her for something that would benefit the Empire. Instead the conversation went into a very different, less serious, direction. And of course it was Timor who led the charge.

"Fuck you, Davos." Timor made an abusive signal with his finger. "I definitely saw it."

"You're a fucking liar, Timor." Said Mandala. "You're always spouting your bantha shit stories."

The rest of the squad sat quietly in amusement as Timor argued with Mandala and Davos. I sat smiling as I slowly ate my rations. I was quite enjoying the conversation, especially as I was not the object of Timor's provocations for once.

"This is no story." Said Timor. "It is the plain truth."

"Oh, fuck off, Timor." Mandala waved a hand at Timor and looked away in disgust. "Only in your imagination."

"It was not my imagination." Timor said insistently. "I definitely saw it. It is a fact. There is no doubt."

Timor sat up straight and struck the table dramatically with his fist.

"I definitely saw Leia Organa's pussy."

A chorus of sniggers went round the table. Even sergeant Dreyfus grinned in obvious amusement. Only Yalasa wasn't smiling. Although, neither did she look angry. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Mandala looked down at his tray and also shook his head. "I just don't believe it, Timor."

"It's true, Manadala." Timor put on a serious expression. "It's no joke. When I was leaning over Organa's body to protect her from the deflected blaster bolts in the turbolift, her dress flew up and I found myself face to face with her big hairy cock snatcher."

That resulted in another round of sniggers and a guffaw from Lonn, our most recent clone recruit. I always imagined clone troopers would had no sense of humour. But I was beginning to realise that I was mistaken about that.

"You really are full of shit, Timor." Despite the harsh words, Davos was smiling broadly.

"Well, I can prove it." Said Timor.

"Really, Timor?" Said Mandala. "How are you going to do that?"

Timor looked over at me. He hesitated a moment. Then he said:

"Anal-boy saw it too. Didn't you anal-boy?"

I felt every head turn and look in my direction. I sat wide-eyed for a moment, feeling uncomfortable at unexpectedly being the centre of attention.

"Well?" Mandala looked at me expectantly. "Is it true what Timor says."

I looked around at the rest of my squad mates. They were all grinning and awaiting my response. Except for Yalasa who was looking in front of her, trying to look uninterested.

I looked at Timor. He just stared at me, imploring me to support him with his eyes. I realised that, for the first time, I had power over Timor. If I wanted to, I could deny Timor's story, making him look an idiot and a liar in the eyes of the squad. I could finally get my own back for all the times Timor had mocked me and made a fool of me.

But I didn't.

When I looked at Timor, I did not see the merciless beast who had strived to make me suffer at every opportunity. Instead, I saw a fellow squad mate who had shown me great loyalty and support. I saw the trooper who dragged my out of my depression and despair after Yalasa went missing. I saw the man who did not mock me even though he found me weeping in the shower. I saw the fellow trooper who smashed Brack's face in to save my honour and my chances of promotion.

Yes, Timor had mocked me. He had insulted me. He had physically beaten me. But everything he had done to me had all made me stronger. It had made me a better and more worthy stormtrooper. And I owed him a debt.

So I did one thing that I had never done before. One thing I had always refused to do. Until now.

I lied to my fellow stormtroopers.

"Well?" Said Mandala again.

"Yes, it's true." I nodded. "Organa's dress flew up as she lay on the floor of the turbolift. Timor was right there and saw everything. Timor is speaking the truth."

For a moment, there was stunned silence. Then everyone burst out laughing and slapped the table with their hands.

"I don't believe. It's true." Mandala was almost crying with laughter. "Timor actually saw Organa's love box."

"By the Emperor." Davos was wide eyed with glee. "You really did see Organa's fun hatch, didn't you?"

"And saw the humid jungles of Alderaan." Sniggered Lonn.

Everyone laughed again.

Timor opened his arms in a sign of false modesty. "Hey, I told you it was all true."

Of course, I had no idea what Timor had seen before he was hit in the head by the deflected blaster round that knocked him unconscious that day. I was too concerned in protecting the prisoner from harm as was required by order 4669A.

But I knew that if I supported Timor's story, everyone would almost certainly believe me. I had a reputation for being a very serious and completely honest trooper. Thus my nickname of anal-boy. No one would believe I would lie.

And such was the case. It was clear by the way the others grinned and laughed that they completely believed me unreservedly. All, that was, except for two of them: Yalasa and Kann. Yalasa glanced across at me, smirking and shaking her head. Kann also looked at me, a sly smile on his lips.

"Hey, corporal." Mandala called out to Yalasa. "Did you see it? Did you see Organa's joy hole?"

Yalasa rolled her eyes again and sighed, shaking her head in feigned despair. For a moment, I thought she wouldn't answer.

"No, trooper. I did not see it." Yalasa said dryly. "And if Timor had been concentrating on protecting the prisoner, rather that staring at her private parts, perhaps he would not have been injured."

"Hey!" Timor frowned in feigned indignation. "I put my head on the line to protect the prisoner's big hairy wookie. I deserve a commendation for that."

Everyone laughed. Yalasa turned away smiling and shook her head again. Despite her apparent disdain, it was clear that she was amused by the whole thing.

At that moment an alarm went off in the mess. It was a yellow alert. It required all troopers to go out on patrol, even if it was not their turn for duty. We all immediately made our way out of the exit and headed for the armoury to equip ourselves again. As I walked down the corridor, Timor passed me and slapped me amiably on the shoulder.

The sounding of the yellow alert did not stir any sense of curiosity or anticipation in us. Such yellow alerts often sounded in imperial space vessels. Sometimes they were sounded as a drill. Sometimes there were sounded as a precaution. Most times, nothing happened.

But this time, it would be different.

After collecting our equipment in the armoury, sergeant Deyfus led us to a large corridor intersection in our patrol area. We were required to stay there for the duration of the alert period and respond to any orders or instruction which stormtrooper command gave us. Like all stormtrooper squads on yellow alert, we were expected to be able to reach any location in our zone of operation within two minutes.

We waited for over an hour in silence. Nothing happened and we received no orders. I started to think that it was just a standard alert drill.

Then stormtrooper command contacted us with an urgent order.

After receiving instructions by comm, sergeant Dreyfus ordered us to move at the double to detention block AA23. Stormtrooper command had received reports of blaster fire and suspicious activity in the detention block and sent us to investigate. We were under a 0162E investigate and detention order. We were to investigate the incident and detain or kill any unauthorised individuals who found themselves in the detention area.

We rushed into the turbo lift leading to detention block AA23. When the lift arrived at our destination, we found the blast doors leading to the detention area were sealed shut. Sergeant Dreyfus ordered clone trooper Wark to set explosive charges on the door.

After Wark blew the door in, sergeant Dreyfus stepped through the gap. Being the squad leader, he had the honour of entering the mission area first. He was met by a hail of blaster fire and immediately collapsed to the floor, partially blocking the gap made by the explosion. I was next through the door. I squeezed through the narrow gap and scrambled over Dreyfus' lifeless body.

I saw two figures run towards the cell bay. One was a human wearing stormtrooper armour, but without the helmet on. The other was a Wookie armed with a bow caster. They fired off a few blaster shots at me, but failed to hit.

I moved swiftly into the detention block and led the squad towards the entrance of the cell bay into which the fugitives had fled. The control room of the detention block was a wreck. The control panel was shot up and the black uniformed guards were lying strewn about the floor. From the way the fugitives had mercilessly slaughtered the guards, it was clear that we had a violent, ruthless and dangerous group of rebel infiltrators on our hands. I had no idea who they were or why they were here, but I was determined to administer the Emperor's justice on the rebel scum.

In the meantime, a squad of black clad navy troopers also arrived through one of the other tubo lift doors. I immediately recognised Lieutenant Korlov as the squad commander. It was the navy trooper squad who had escorted Leia Organa on the day that Alderaan was destroyed. I wondered why they had been called here.

I reached the edge of the cell bay and was met by a hail of blaster fire from the corridor which led to the individual detention cells. From my position, I could see at least four individuals, two bare-headed humans in stormtrooper armour armed with E-11 blasters, the wookie with the bow-caster and what seemed to be a female in a white dress.

The navy trooper squad also followed us in. Incensed by the sight of their fallen fellow navy troopers lying slaughtered on the floor, they also rushed towards the cell bay.

Seeing the two men in stormtrooper armour angered me greatly. It was clear that these criminals had stolen the armour from two of my fellow stormtroopers who they had undoubtedly murdered. For stormtroopers, stealing our armour and impersonating an imperial stormtrooper is one of the worst crimes against the Empire. It was not only a theft of property which was regarded as belonging personally to the Emperor, but it was also a desecration of our stormtrooper honour. Only the men who had proved themselves worthy during stormtrooper training and conditioning had the right and honour to wear stormtrooper armour.

We only had one punishment for criminals who stole our armour and impersonated imperial stormtroopers. We sealed the thieves in the armour for two days. If they survived, we then shot them through the head, assuming they was still alive. If the criminals had murdered the stormtroopers, then the punishment was the same, except we left them in the armour until they died. I was determined that the two criminals who had murdered my fellow stormtroopers and stolen their armour would suffer the harshest punishment, assuming they survived our assault.

Taking cover, I raised by E-11 and prepared to sweep the corridor with a blast of rapid fire. I was ready to mow down these criminal rebel scum and avenge the loyal soldiers of the Empire who these murderous rebels had gleefully slaughtered. But just before, I pulled the trigger, I received a new order through my comm. I was expecting it to be a standard kill or detain order. But I was wrong. It was the order I least wanted or expected to receive.

It was a 5551A order. It was a 'shoot-to-miss' order with the highest priority. For a moment, my blood froze as I contemplated what that meant. Not only would we have to let these rebel criminals escape, but we would have to protect them if they came under fire.

Cursing silently under my helmet, I just managed to stop myself from squeezing the trigger and pulled myself into cover. By now, Yalasa had reached the combat zone and was giving instructions to the squad to implement order 5551. She ordered me, Skeen, Wark and Mandala to start laying down steady fire on the rebels, shooting to miss as per the directives of order 5551. She ordered the rest of the squad to hold back in reserve.

The Navy Troopers also reached the cell bay entrance and started laying down fire with their blaster pistols on the rebels in the corridor. In horror, I realised that they were aiming to hit the fugitives. If they succeeded we would fail in the execution of the 5551 order assigned to us.

Yalasa had no choice. There was only one thing she could do to ensure the mission did not fail. Using the squad comm, she gave us the order which none of us wanted to hear. She ordered us kill the navy troopers.

Without hesitation, every stormtrooper in the squad turned their E-11 on the nearest navy trooper and opened fire. For a few short seconds the control room was filled with blaster bolts going in all directions as we gunned down the navy troopers beside us. Most of them died almost immediately, but a couple of them responded, either out of instinct or mistakenly believing that we were working with the rebels.

By the end of the short firefight, all six navy troopers were lying dead on the floor, including lieutenant Korlov. We also suffered one critical casualty. Timor had received two blaster bolts in the chest and was lying prone on the ground. Lonn confirmed Timor was alive, but only just.

Apart from that, Davos was injured in the shoulder and Lonn in the leg, but both could still fight. The rest of us had received hits to our armour or minor wounds that did not affect our combat capability. I myself had received a minor hit to my left side and another bolt had grazed my helmet. But none would stop me continuing with the mission assigned to me and fulfilling the will of the Emperor.

Now some imperial officers might say that Yalasa should have tried to take alternative action to avoid killing the navy troopers. But the truth is that there was no time for anything else.

Yalasa had no control over the navy troopers and was not in a position to order them to cease fire. They were under the command of a navy lieutenant and were subject to a different chain of command. They were not under the 5551 order and would not obey the command of a stormtrooper corporal.

Trying to stun the navy troopers was not an option either. The action of setting our blasters to stun would have lost precious time which could have resulted in one or more of the fugitives protected by the 5551 order being hit and killed, thus causing us to fail the mission. Plus, since the stun blasts were less accurate than regular blaster bolts, the navy troopers would have had more time to return fire, risking casualties both among the fugitives and our squad.

So Yalasa had no choice but to give the kill order against the navy troopers. It was the only way to ensure that she stayed in full control of the mission that was assigned to us.

With the navy troopers neutralised, Yalasa ordered me, Skeen, Wark and Mandala to engage the rebels in the cell bay with blaster fire as per the provisions of order 5551. She ordered the injured Davos and Lonn to guard the entrances to the detention block. There was no way we would permit any other unauthorised units to enter while we were engaging the enemy under the 5551 order. She also ordered Kann to hold himself in reserve. He was to replace any of the stormtroopers who were killed or wounded while engaging the enemy.

Skeen, Manadala, Davos and I fired a steady stream of aimed blaster shots down the cell bay, taking great care not to hit the enemy. In the meantime, Yalasa kept watch on the situation and directed our actions by squad comm to ensure that the risk of hitting the fugitives was kept to a minimum, while keeping up a steady rate of fire. Of course, we could have overrun and neutralised the enemy at any time. In a standard mission, the whole squad would have stormed down the cell bay corridor with our blasters set to rapid fire. We would have undoubtedly received a couple of casualties as we advanced, but we would have easily neutralised the enemy in a matter of seconds.

There was a lot of smoke from the blaster fire in the cell bay corridor, obscuring our vision and making the task of shooting to miss more difficult. The rebels responded to our blaster with their own. Most missed, but one round hit Mandala in the chest killing him instantly. Yalasa immediately ordered Kann to take his place.

The firefight lasted for a couple of minutes and I began to wonder how the rebels would escape. We had them trapped and there was no obvious way out. It looked like we would have to let the rebels gun us down to let them escape. If they did not advance on our position soon to escape out the main exit of the cell bay, Yalasa would have to order a general advance against them so the rebels could gun as down and escape past our fallen bodies.

However, we did not have to sacrifice ourselves in a suicidal advance. The female dressed in white grabbed a blaster from one of her stormtrooper clad escorts and moved across the centre of the cell bay corridor. Just for a moment, she stood in the centre of the corridor as our accurately aimed shots flew to either side of her. And then I recognised who the figure in white was. It was Leia Organa.

I now understood why Korlov and his squad were here. They were responsible for guarding Organa and had responded immediately when informed of the incident in the detention block where she was held.

For just a split second, Organa stood motionless in the centre of the cell bay corridor, as if daring us to hit her. Ignoring the blaster bolts that we accurately placed to either side of her, Organa crouched expertly in the standard firing position used by imperial stormtroopers and opened fire with her E-11 blaster. Firing from the hip, she fired three shots.

All three hit their mark.

The first hit Wark straight between the eyes. He flew back into the main part of the control room and was dead before his body landed back on the floor.

The second shot hit Skeen in the chest, killing him instantly and causing him to slump forward onto the stairs leading to the cell bay. It was Leia Organa who had started Skeen's decent into madness. Today she definitively finished the job with one blaster bolt.

Kann was more fortunate. The bolt struck Kann on the shoulder, penetrating his armour and causing him to fall back. Organa had started moving when she had fired the shot and her aim was slightly off. Kann only received a minor wound. He was still combat effective.

Yalasa took her place beside me and started firing bolts down the corridor. She issued an order to Lonn who rushed over to join us at the cell bay entrance. Kann was soon back up on his feet and firing on the rebels.

Organa seemed to dive into a hole in the cell bay wall. The other rebels followed her in quick succession. Soon, there was no one left in the corridor. All the rebels had disappeared. For a few seconds we continued send a steady stream of blaster bolts down the corridor, aiming high to ensure we didn't hit anyone by accident. But when we received no return fire, Yalasa gave the order to cease fire.

Yalasa waved me and Kann forward into the cell bay. She ordered Davos and Lonn to remain in the control room to secure the area and guard the entrances.

The three of us moved swiftly up the cell bay corridor, blasters at the ready. Normally we would have charged up the corridor with the whole squad guns still blazing. But in this case, we had to act more passively in case there were still any rebels in the area.

We reached the hole in the wall through which the the rebels had fled.

"It looks like they have gone down the garbage chute, sir." I said.

Yalasa activated her comm to speak to central command.

"Report." Barked a voice over the comm.

"Some of the fugitives have fled down a garbage chute." Reported Yalasa over comm. "Do we have orders to pursue?"

There was a moment's silence over the comm as the operator on the other side consulted with his senior officers. Like me, Yalasa would have been aware that pursuing the fugitives into the trash compactor would mean certain death for us all. But we would do so if ordered to do so. We would sacrifice ourselves willingly if it was the will of the Emperor.

"Negative, corporal." Replied the operator. "Do not pursue the fugitives. Secure the area, report your status and await further orders."

"Yes, sir." Replied Yalasa. Then she turned to me and Kann. "Check the cells. Ensure they are all empty."

We spoke openly rather than by private comm as we normally would. We wanted to give the rebels a chance to gun us down if they happened to be hiding somewhere in the cell bay. Normally, we would never be so careless. But since our objective was to allow the rebels to escape, diligence was neither necessary nor desired.

We split up. Yalasa took the left side of the cell bay while I took the right. Kann went up to check the cells at the far end of the corridor. I made my way into the first cell and checked the interior. Again, normally we would have charged in guns blazing supported by one or two squad members. But in this case we had to be more cautious and passive.

"Cell 21a1 empty." I reported.

"Cell 21a2 Empty." Confirmed Yalasa from her side of the corridor.

"Cell 21a20 empty." Reported Kann by squad comm from the other end of the cell bay.

We swiftly made our way along the corridor checking all the cells, confirming each one to be empty. I went into the forth cell on my side of the corridor.

"Cell 21a7 empty." I reported after checking it thoroughly.

I expected Yalasa to report the same from her side of the corridor. But initially, there was a pause. Just as I left the cell, Yalasa's voice sounded on the squad comm.

"I have secured cell 21a8." Confirmed Yalasa. "Continue to check that all other cells are empty. And report when complete."

Both Kann and I acknowledged the order and continued checking the other cells. When we were finished, I confirmed to Yalasa that all cells were secure.

"Acknowledged." Said Yalasa. "Come immediately to cell 21a8."

After entering the cell 21a8, I immediately noticed that there were three bodies lying on the floor. Two of the bodies were dead navy troopers. Yet further victims of Organa's band of ruthless assassins. Yalasa was bending over the third body belonging to a women in the fine clothing of an aristocratic lady. My blood froze when I recognised her.

It was Lady Jentessa Batch.

For a split-second I thought she was dead. I do not know what perturbed me most at that moment. The thought that the sweet Miss Jentess Motti could be dead, or the fact that I found myself concerned over the death of a civilian who I had no particular orders to protect. As expected of an imperial stormtrooper, I had not flinched when five of my fellow troopers had fallen in combat. I continued to focus on my duty and the mission at hand. But here I inexplicably found myself worrying about a female civilian I hardly knew.

I felt a wave of relief wash over me when Lady Batch turned her head to look at me. She was alive, but seemed to be injured.

"Trooper. Carry out a scan on lady Batch." Yalasa ordered me.

"Yes, sir." I replied. Normally, Yalasa could have scanned Lady Batch herself. I assumed Yalasa's scanner was malfunctioning or damaged in the firefight with the rebels.

I took out the light medical scanner I carried on me and knelt beside Lady Batch. Lady Batch made a whimpering sound. I could not tell if she was sobbing or giggling. She was clearly in a distressed state.

"Left shoulder scored a direct hit." I reported. "She is in shock, sir."

"Return to the others and issue a status report to command." Said Yalasa turning her helmeted head to me. "And then call in medical aid for Lady Batch."

"Yes, sir."

Before I could carry out my order, Lady Batch wrapped her good arm round my waist and pulled me towards her, so that her head was resting on my chest plate."

"I should have married you," Sobbed Lady Batch as she held me fast. "You're good and strong and… good. I said good, right? And loyal, and you wouldn't let me do stupid things like visit prisoners."

At that moment, I realised that Lady Batch knew it was me. There was only one way she could have known. Yalasa must have revealed our identity to Lady Batch for some unknown reason. I didn't ask myself why. It is not my place to question my commanding NCO's orders or actions.

"I don't want to do this anymore." Lady Batch continued to sob. "I'm not a warrior. I'm just… me. Can I please be me for a minute? I promise I just need a minute and I'll be the Lady Batch again. I just… I need to be that girl you pulled off of Alderaan and pretend we're in the turbolift and you're taking me to my brother for the first time and...and…"

"Sir?" I said, turning my head to Yalasa.

I expected her to order me to extract myself from Lady Batch's grip and leave immediately. But instead, Yalasa just nodded her head to me indicating that I should stay. I turned my head Back to Lady Batch who looked up at me with her imploring eyes.

"I can always count on you." Tears streamed down Lady Batch's cheeks. "You've always been exactly what you've wanted to be. I'm… I'm jealous. So damn jealous. And… oh, stars, I'm a kriffing idiot. Just forget it. Forget everything here. Everything said here is… uh… under Order… oh, stars, I'm not under that order anymore, am I?"

As I looked on the weak pitiful creature lying before me, I knew more than ever that Timor was wrong. Lady Batch was definitely no imperial agent. She was no cunning and ruthless spy tasked with routing out criminals, traitors and other enemies of the Galactic Empire. She was just the delicate naive girl I had first met on Alderaan. And at this moment, she was a very frightened girl who was delirious from pain and shock.

Normally, I would have felt disdain for such weakness. But instead, I experienced something that I had not ever felt since becoming a stormtrooper. A feeling that stormtroopers are conditioned to reject. I realised with shame and guilt that I felt pity for her. I shuddered as a wave of what I can only call compassion swept over me. I looked into her big mournful eyes and found myself falling into them.

Fortunately, Lady Batch let go of me and tried to get up at that moment, causing me to snap out of my trance.

"Stay there, Lady Batch," Yalasa snapped. "You are no longer under Order Four-Zero-Alpha. But you are under the protection of several important officers of the Empire, including General Tagge. You must stay calm and still until proper medical assistance can be provided."

It surprised me that Yalasa's words showed such concern for Lady Batch. But I realised that she must have received separate orders to give Lady Batch assistance in any circumstances that did not interfere with our assigned missions. With the rebels safely out of the cell block, at the moment we had no active mission and Yalasa was permitted to provide assistance.

Firmly but gently, I pushed Lady Batch softly but firmly back so that she was lying flat on the durasteel floor.

Yalasa turned to me. "Return to the control area and provide a report to command." She ordered.

"Yes, sir."

I stood up, swiftly left the cell, headed back to the control area and requested a status report from Davos. Davos confirmed that Dreyfus, Manadala and Wark were dead. Timor was critically wounded. Lonn had stabilised him with first-aid. But if Timor did not receive assistance soon, he was unlikely to survive.

Davos also confirmed that there had been only two prisoners in the cell block. Leia Organa and the previous handmaid of Lady Batch, Starla Serellis. Now I understood what Lady Batch was doing here. She had come to visit her maid who was detained here.

I opened a comm line to command. I confirmed that the area was secure and that no more rebels were in the detention block. All had fled down the garbage chute. I confirmed the casualties and requested medical assistance for Timor. Finally, I reported that we had discovered Lady Batch in one of the cells and that she too required medical assistance.

"Understood." Replied the command operator. "Lord Vader is on his way to your location. He will be there in two minutes. Inform your squad leader to prepare a full report."

"Yes, sir." I said.

I immediately contacted Yalasa by comm and informed her that Lord Vader was on his way. A few seconds later, Yalasa arrived, having left Kann to guard Lady Batch. Yalasa ordered us to take up guard positions in key parts of the control room in preparation for Lord Vader's arrival.

A minute later, the detention block door sished open and Lord Vader swept in, his dark cloak flowing elegantly behind him. He was accompanied by two stormtrooper bodyguards and an army officer in uniform.

Yalasa, Davos, Lonn and I immediately snapped to attention. Yet again, I felt Lord Vader's warm beneficial influence flow through me. His dark majestic aura seemed to envelope and flood through my very being. I immediately felt stronger, fitter and energised as waves of his dark force rippled through me. The pain from any minor wounds I had received from the recent fighting seemed to dissipate and disappear.

I felt so proud and honoured to be in Lord Vader's magnificent presence. At that moment, I only felt one desire. To prove my worth to Lord Vader, to do his bidding and fight to the death for the glory of the Galactic Empire.

Lord Vader walked forward purposefully and placed himself in front of Yalasa. He made a hand signal and the uniformed officer rushed into the cell bay to attend to Lady Batch.

Lord Vader paused for a couple of seconds in front of Yalasa, taking time to observe the stormtrooper corporal in front of him. For a moment, the room was silent except for the sound of Lord Vader breathing through his respiratory mask.

"Your report corporal." Lord Vader's deep authoritative voice was almost tangible as it reverberated around the room.

"A group of rebel infiltrators freed Leia Organa from the detention block, sir." Yalasa spoke firmly in the synthesised male voice of her helmet. "They all escaped down the garbage chute."

Lord Vader said nothing. Instead, he looked around at the bodies of the navy troopers lying on the floor. From the nature of the wounds they had received, it was clear that they had not all been killed by the rebels. Lord Vader turned his gaze back to Yalasa. He didn't say anything. All we could hear was the sound of his heavy breathing.

"The squad commanded by lieutenant Korlov opened fire on the rebels with the intention of neutralising them." Said Yalasa. "We had to terminate them in order to prevent them from injuring the rebels, sir."

Again, there was a tense silence for a couple of seconds, only broken by the regular sound of Lord Vader's breathing. We all waited to hear what Lord Vader would say next.

I was not afraid and I'm sure Yalasa wasn't either. Stormtroopers do not fear Lord Vader. We only fear failing to execute our mission successfully. Today we had not failed.

"Good work, sergeant." Said Lord Vader after a short pause.

Lord Vader had referred to Yalasa as sergeant. That meant he had given her a field promotion. A promotion that was assured in permanence. No one would ever dare contradict Lord Vader's decision.

"Take your men to the docking bay, sergeant, and relieve the squad posted there." Said Lord Vader. "You are to guard the rebel ship."

"Yes sir." Yalasa nodded in obedience.

Lord Vader turned away and walked swiftly through the exit followed by his guards.

Yalasa turned to me. "You are promoted to corporal."

"Yes, sir." I replied.

In critical priority missions like the current one, NCOs and officers have the right to field promote regular troopers to NCO rank to replace casualties. To ensure successful completion of the mission, it was regarded as important to maintain an established chain of command in place.

I felt honoured to have received the promotion. But I did not think much about it. We still had an important mission to complete. There was still work to do if we were to fulfil the will of the Emperor.

Yalasa led Kann, Davos and Lonn into one of the turbolifts. Just before I entered, I turned round and looked at the scene of death and carnage caused by the rebels. Timor lay critically injured. Four of my fellow stormtroopers and twelve navy troopers lay dead. Every one of them was a loyal soldier of the Empire, their deaths caused by Organa and her murderous henchmen. Many a grieving widow had been made this day in the name of Organa's deluded and destructive rebellion.

The rebels say that the Empire is ruthless and cruel, but they are hypocrites. They do not take prisoners and gleefully murder Imperial troops in cold blood. They are nothing more than ruthless fanatics who will not hesitate to slaughter anyone who does not share their vile and deluded views.

It made me understand that the Emperor was right to destroy Alderaan. If a small number of bloodthirsty rebel foot soldiers could cause so much death and destruction, I could only imagine the billions who would die and suffer if the rebel leadership could enslave the resources and people of a core world to their treasonous cause. That is why the planet and population of Alderaan had to be destroyed. The root of the rebel infection had to be cut out. Destroying Alderaan was necessary to avoid chaos, death and destruction from sweeping through the galaxy.

I looked over the fallen heros of the Empire lying before me one last time. I brought myself to attention, clicked my heals and saluted, proudly honouring each one of these loyal soldiers of the Empire. Timor would have looked on my actions with contempt. He would have said it was a sign of weakness. Timor would have walked away without a second glance, saying that dead men were no longer worthy.

But I was not Timor. And I did not agree with that view.

We left the detention block and made our way to the docking bay. Now that I was a corporal, I was permitted and expected to monitor the command channels by comm. Reports confirmed that the rebels had just exited from the trash compactor. A steady stream of orders were being issued to our forces throughout the station.

Units who had not received 5551 training had been ordered to vacate all areas of expected rebel activity. Lord Vader also issued an order to all units that were not under order 5551 to avoid contact with the rebels at all costs.

At the same time, stormtrooper command was moving all units with 5551 training into position. The deployment had three purposes. Firstly, to engage the rebels in combat and make them think that they were being pursued. Secondly, to ensure that the rebels were herded efficiently towards their ship and eventual escape. Lord Vader obviously did not want the rebels to accidentally get lost while trying to escape the Death Star. And thirdly, the 5551 trained stormtroopers were to prevent other units or individuals from interfering in the rebels' escape.

We arrived at the docking bay and relieved the squad that was guarding the rebel ship. They departed to be redeployed elsewhere along the rebel escape rout.

When I looked at the ship, I recognised it as the one that had escaped from Tatooine a few weeks before. I reflected that they must have cut communications and jumped several times between outlying systems to avoid detection by imperial patrols.

As well as the critical 5551A order, we were issued with a 8100Z guard order on the rebel ship. The lowest priority of 'Z' indicated that we were not expected to successfully prevent the rebels from reaching their ship. We were nothing more than a token guard detail posted to convince the rebels that we were trying to prevent them from escaping.

If imperial command had really wanted to keep the ship from the rebels, they could have deployed a whole company of stormtoopers to the hangar bay. Instead, they only deployed half a squad of stormtroopers, most of whom were wounded. Imperial command did not want or expect us to succeed in guarding the ship. When the rebels came, we would let them gun us down and they would fly off unharmed.

I now knew what the true purpose of order 5551 was. It was to allow Leia Organa to escape the Death Star. I felt a tinge of bitterness. We would have to let Organa escape, despite the fact that she was ruthless rebel fanatic who had caused the death of many good imperial servants.

I assumed that imperial authorities had fitted a tracker on the ship in the expectation that Leia Organa would lead them to her rebel comrades. But if that was the case, it meant Organa must have somehow resisted interrogation from imperial authorities. I wondered how that could be. She was after all only a princess from one of the Galaxy's royal houses. How could she possibly resist the rigorous interrogation techniques she had been subjected to?

Yalasa ordered us to stand easy and told me to switch off the command comm. It would do us no good to know when the rebels would arrive. In order to obey our orders, we would have to put up a token resistance, aiming to miss in accordance with the directive of order 5551, before letting the rebels gun us down.

Yalasa, Davos, Lonn, Kann and I stood around casually and in silence. We all knew that some, if not all of us, would be killed in the impending rebel attack. But we would do our duty and sacrifice ourselves to achieve the mission objective. We would execute Lord Vader's order, die with honour and fulfil the will of the Emperor. The Emperor's will would be done.

But the impending rebel attack did not come. And we did not have to stand in front of the ship and let the rebels gun us down.

Because Lord Vader saved our lives. Or at least some of our lives.

At the back of the docking bay, we heard an unusual sound and we all looked round. To my surprise I saw Lord Vader engaged in a light-sabre duel with an an old man in a brown cloak.

Yalasa ordered us to move towards Lord Vader's location so we were in a position to intervene in the fight. This was the correct protocol. Lord Vader was protected by a 0000A order which had a higher priority than guarding the rebel ship. This meant we were obliged to protect Lord Vader at all costs. We all moved to the back of the docking bay and formed a line near to the two duelling men. Yalasa ordered us to stand ready, but to take no action. I assumed that she had received an order from Lord Vader forbidding us to intervene in the fight.

I recognised the old man from Tatooine. He was the one who had tricked Skeen into believing that the two droids accompanying him were not the ones we were looking for. I realised that the old man must be a Jedi Knight. I grimaced in contempt as I looked on the man who had once been a tool for defending the tyranny and oppression of the decrepit and corrupt Old Republic.

Lord Vader and the old man continued to fight, their light sabres crashing together, as if oblivious to our presence. From the way the fight was going, it did not look like our intervention was necessary. It was clear that Lord Vader was superior to the old man in skill, courage, determination and spirit. It was only a matter of time before Lord Vader would finish the old tyrant off.

"Your powers are weak old man." Said Lord Vader.

"You can't win Darth." The old man sneered. "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

The old man's arrogance filled me with anger. His claim that he would be more powerful than Lord Vader after his death was nothing more than a lie. The lie of a power crazed fanatic designed to intimidate, frighten and subdue lesser men with myths and superstitions which had no substance.

His words also demonstrated the Jedi insatiable lust for power which they strived to obtain at all costs. They claimed to have a higher spiritual and moral authority over all others. But they were nothing more than thieves, tricksters and tyrants, exploiting and oppressing the honest hard-working citizens for the benefit of a corrupt few like Leia Organa and her treasonous father

But the old man was not facing the feeble minded here. He was facing Lord Vader and a squad of his devoted imperial stormtroopers. We had the benefit of the Emperor's infallible teachings and wisdom. We would not be fooled by the veiled threats and insidious deceit of the Jedi.

The fight only continued for a short time. Eventually Lord Vader forced the old tyrant into an error and struck him down.

From behind us we heard a scream of "Noooo!" We turned round to see that the rebel fugitives had reached the ship. Two of the rebels opened fire on us. Behind us the blast doors to the docking bay closed shut, blocking Lord Vader from view and releasing us from the 0000A protection order.

Yalasa ordered us to slowly advance and spread out. The rebels had a clear escape rout. All we had to do was engage them and encourage them to leave quickly. If all went well, the rebels would be so desperate to escape that they would leave without inflicting further casualties on us.

But things did not go well.

Davos fell almost immediately when a blaster bolt hit him straight in the chest. He fell forward and plummeted into the wide docking bay lift shaft in front of him.

The rest of us spread out and laid down a steady rate of fire, aiming to miss as drilled into us by the 5551 training. Despite having a clear opportunity to escape, one of the rebels was determined to fight us to the end. He screamed like a lunatic and fired his blaster with an almost fanatical rage.

Organa screamed at him to get in the ship. For the first time in my life, I found myself in agreement with Organa. I wanted to scream at him too. To get in that damn ship and leave.

But he continued firing in a murderous killing frenzy. We could of course have gunned him down at any time if we had aimed to hit. But Lord Vader's order did not permit us to hit him. All we could do was try to evade his shots while continuing to lay down a reasonable rate of fire as required by order 5551.

I really wanted to gun that rebel down. He was a blood thirsty murderer who deserved to die. But I was determined to obey my orders and fulfil the will of the Emperor. I would shoot to miss, dutifully executing order 5551 with dedication and honour.

Lonn received a blaster bolt to the stomach and collapsed to the ground. I almost screamed out in frustration as the blood thirsty rebel still continued firing. He was clearly intent on killing us all.

"Keep firing." I heard Yalasa's voice over the squad comm. "For Lord Vader. For the Galactic Empire. For the Emperor."

Yalasa's order calmed my spirit and reinforced my determination to carry out my orders to the end.

A moment later, it was Kann's turn to go down. He was hit in the chest and crashed to the ground. There was only I and Yalasa left.

At last, the blood thirsty rebel turned and ran into the ship. Yalasa and I continued to advance slowly. I thought for a moment that the fight would end. That Yalasa and I would survive relatively unscathed. But then the blaster cannons underneath the ship opened up. Both I and Yalasa dived for cover as rounds from the blaster cannon exploded around us.

All of the blaster canon rounds missed me...except one.

I felt an impact in the front of my armour. I felt myself fly back through the air and land hard on my back. In shock, I found myself lying motionless on the floor, looking up at the ceiling of the docking bay. I did not feel any pain, but I couldn't move. I was paralysed.

I heard the rebel ship lift off and speed out of the docking bay. My vision started to go blurred, and then darkness slowly enveloped me. I felt my body go cold.

Then it all went silent. And I felt no more.

A/N - I have used a little artist in licence with Ben Kenobi's quote to Vader. In the movie, Ben says the quote before the stormtroopers arrive. But I had the stormtroopers hear the quote so that the protagonist could react to it.