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Location: Hyperspace – Aboard The Reliant
Din entered the Squadron's briefing room to check on his men. He noticed several bottles of liquor strewn about and some of his men passed out on the uncomfortable furniture.
Drinking aboard a fleet vessel was typically banned outright by high command, but Din's squadron along with the other Special Forces squadrons typically ignored the rules given their unique status within the military. It was boarder line criminal, but most ship captains and flag officers looked the other way.
Wedge was in a corner and snoring loudly. Din smirked. His executive officer usually wasn't one to get black out drunk, but this was a particularly challenging op that had everyone drained.
Tycho was awake and reading a data pad as he nursed a glass of whiskey. The blonde was probably one of the calmer men in the squadron. Cool as ice would be a better word, Din thought enviously.
"Looks like I missed the party", Din said in a hushed tone so he wouldn't wake the sleeping commandos.
Tycho looked up. "Yeah, the boys needed to let off some steam after that last cluster of a mission."
"I'll drink to that", Din said as he took a swig from a bottle of gin and enjoyed the burning sensation as he swallowed the liquor.
"May I ask you something, Sir?" Tycho asked in a tone that suggested he was unsure if he should speak.
Din sighed, knowing where this was going. "Go ahead, Lieutenant."
"Why did you have me leave the depot with that fireteam of Stormtroopers? You know I have your back out there", he said.
Din sat down at the table opposite of the younger man. "I didn't want to risk your life in what could've been a fatal decision on my part." He shouldn't have risked life either.
"I get that, but this is the second time in less than a few weeks you've made a risky decision like that. The guys are worried you've lost perspective in what your role is", Tycho said carefully as to not overstep his bounds.
Din looked at Tycho carefully before asking, "What is it that you are suggesting, Tycho? Speak freely." He wanted the younger man to get whatever was on his mind out of his system.
"Do you have a death wish, Sir?" he asked hesitantly.
Din looked at the bottle of gin before he took another swig. "I don't have a death wish, Lieutenant. I'm not sure what the deal is. I've put you guys in some tight spots over the last year and a half, so maybe I'm trying to avoid doing that again." I don't have one, do I? he thought. No, he didn't, he just had a savior complex.
"I get that, Din. Really, I do. But we know the risks, that's why we signed up for the job. What we need is a leader that's going to make tough calls, but the right ones", Tycho said.
Din nodded in response. The man was right, he was losing perspective as to what his role within the squadron was. Well, years of sustained combat would do that to a person.
"I think what you need is some rest, Sir. Back down from taking any new assignments on for the time being. Recharge your batteries and then get the team back to it", he suggested.
"I appreciate you speaking your mind, Lieutenant. Maybe your right", Din said. He didn't want to dismiss his sniper's insight, but also couldn't fathom standing down. This was the only life he really knew. Maybe his life was changing with Leia, but he knew it would still take time to completely embrace that life.
"Neither of us should have missed those two combatants that got us into a hand-to-hand situation. We're all worn out", Tycho said.
Din could hear the frustration in the younger man's voice and simply nodded in response.
He took another swig from the bottle, needing to feel a buzz to release some of the tension he carried.
"I'll stand us down for the time being", he said. "I can't promise we won't be tasked to do anything in the meantime, but I'll do my best to let everyone recharge."
"Thanks, Sir", Tycho said sounding relieved that the conversation went well. Din was normally a commander that accepted feedback from his men, but the way he'd been reacting lately had everyone questioning how far they could press their leader.
"You're welcome. Get some rest", Din said as he stood up.
He walked out of the briefing room and headed back to his quarters. They had less than a day prior to reaching Coruscant and he needed sleep.
Din entered his spartan room and opened his locker. He took his bottle of whiskey out and poured half a glass instead of his usual finger.
He opened the sedative bottle and took two pills and quickly chased them with the half a glass of liquor.
Din sat on his bed and took his boots and uniform off. The effect of the additional alcohol and sedatives already made him feel lightheaded. He got under the covers, closed his eyes, and was asleep in minutes.
Location: Coruscant – Palace Military Compound
Din and his men strode out of their shuttle and walked across the landing pad. He saw Wedge's wife, Dalia waiting excitedly.
Wedge ran up to her, dropped his bags and picked her up, kissing her. The pretty blonde was delighted by the display of affection, which made Din miss Leia even more. In fact, he was downright jealous of his executive officer's ability to have such a public display of affection.
Give it time, Din thought. Once he and Leia had things figured out, they'd be able to come clean with Anakin and let him know they were in a relationship.
Din's mood turned foul when he saw Admiral Piett waiting for him inside of the hallway to the landing pad. It wasn't that he disliked Piett, in fact, he was one of the best flag officers in the fleet. Din just wanted to go home and see Leia.
"A word, Commander", Piett said as he motioned Din to walk with him.
"Yes, Sir. What can I do for you?" Din asked in the most respectful tone he could muster.
"I read your after-action report and have some concerns", Piett said slowly.
"Not you too, Admiral", Din responded with irritation in his voice.
"Come again, Commander?" Piett asked, picking up on Din's frustration. He allowed Din a certain latitude when conversing with him, but would assert his authority if the young man got out of line.
Din grunted. "I get it, I acted without thinking through the problem with the bomb. My XO and team sniper have already spoken to me about it."
Piett looked at him with a frown on his face. "While I too have some concerns about that, Commander, that was not the topic of our discussion." He did have concerns about Din, the young man was exhibiting classic signs of a complete burn out.
Din was irked with himself. He'd misread the situation. "Sorry, Admiral. What did you want to discuss?" Keep it together, Din, he thought.
"I have a theory about who the supplier of the weapons is, but it is strictly confidential and you're to mention this to no one, including your team. Do you understand?" Piett asked in a tone that clearly stated that it was an order, not a request.
Din nodded. "What's your theory, Admiral?" His curiosity overcame his desire to get back to Leia, but not by much.
"Are you familiar with the name, Moff Tarkin?" Piett asked in a hushed tone.
"Yeah, he was the leader of the opposition during the Civil War and got killed when you encircled his flagship during the battle of Dantooine", Din replied, not knowing where this was going. He wasn't interested in a history lesson.
"That's what we thought at the time, but I'm beginning to have doubts that he was aboard the flagship when it was destroyed", Piett said.
Din stopped walking. "What makes you assume that Admiral?"
"The weapons cache that your team raided contained more weaponry than intelligence originally thought. The Slaver Confederacy has become so organized that they've been producing capital ships with slave labor on Mon Calamari. I don't believe the Hutts are so organized that they'd be able to coordinate such an effort. The tactics that are being applied are too similar to Tarkin's to be a mere coincidence", Piett said.
Din mulled the statement over in his head. "Have you approached the Emperor with this theory yet?"
"No", Piett replied. "And neither will you for the time being. I'm having intelligence gather evidence to support such a theory quietly, but without telling them who to specifically to look for."
"It's going to make their job a hell of a lot more difficult if they're working from the ground up instead of comparing tactics of Tarkin with the Hutt strategies, Admiral", Din said.
"You were a boy when the Civil War was being fought. You may not remember this, but I was present when Anakin saved you from a beating when you were a slave", Piett revealed.
Din looked at him sharply. "You've never mentioned that to me before, why now?" That was something he would've liked to know. It did make sense as to why the Admiral had always taken an interest in Din's carrier. Hell, the man had him assigned to his fleet when he graduated from Cardia as a Stormtrooper.
"Because I'm trying to get you to understand that there are implications to this that aren't aware of, Din", the Admiral said. It was uncharacteristically of him to use the Commander's first name, the Admiral was careful about familiarities.
"Enlighten me then", Din said. His patience was already warn razor thin, partially due to memories of his slavery being brought freshly into his mind.
The Admiral glared at him. "Watch your tone, Commander."
Din forced himself to take a deep breath. The Admiral was an ally, it wouldn't bode well for him to make the senior officer an enemy.
"Apologies, Sir. Please continue", Din said
"We won the war by convincing the galaxy that Tarkin was dead. He had too many supporters in the Senate and regional governors that succeeded from the Empire to join him on his crusade. If they were to find out that there was even a possibility that Tarkin is still alive, there's a great chance that they would succeed again and plunge the galaxy into another civil war", Piett said.
Din thought for a moment. "We're already fighting a large-scale war. The Outer Rim is largely loyal to the Slavers."
"But they do not have the support of the core worlds, Commander", the Admiral reminded. "Should they gain control of Kaut or Corellia, the Empire would be crippled and unable to produce capital ships or even star fighters."
"So where do I fit into your theory, Admiral?" Din asked. He understood the gravity of the situation but was unsure why the Admiral was divulging his theory to him.
"Because once intelligence is able to confirm my theory, I'm going to need you and your men to hunt him down as quietly as possible", the Admiral said.
"My team needs rest, I've promised them that I would stand them down for the time being, Sir", Din replied. "We can't be the only team that is tasked with priority missions. There are dozens of other squadrons that can take on a hit mission."
"I'm aware of that, Commander. I'm also aware of your team's prior successes. Should my theory be correct, I need the best men possible to respond. You'll get your downtime, but after that, I need you and your squadron ready to deploy at a moment's notice", Piett replied.
"When are you planning to tell the Emperor, Sir?" Din asked. He felt extremely uncomfortable keeping this kind of information from Anakin.
"If I am able to obtain enough information, I will tell him. You don't understand how zealous the Emperor was in tracking down Tarkin during the Civil War. If he was to find out before I have enough to at least confirm my theory, he'll send half of our fleets to the Outer Rim on a rampage", Piett said.
"Maybe that's what we need, Admiral. The Slavers have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Imperials over the last few years and we are losing the war", Din said.
"Let me be concerned about that, Commander. Now go enjoy your time off. I'm personally approving a week of liberty for your squadron. I'm sure you'll have downtime after that to get your squadron back in order, but I'm expecting you to answer the call when I need you too", Piett responded.
"Aye-Aye, Admiral", Din said.
Piett nodded to Din and walked off, leaving the younger man with considerable stress.
What the fuck, Din thought. Can't we just focus on one fucking mission at a time?