An enemy within
A Story by LCM Mitth'raw'eana
Chapter Two
Thelea stands in attention in front of Admiral Hiram Drayson. Next to her is standing, also in attention, her wing mate Wellen Carlan. She is giving to the Admiral her report about her friend's actions after he was revealed to be an ex-Imperial.
Her report is good, for she has seen nothing that would guggest that Wellen would betray the New Republic.
Admiral turns to Wellen. "What you know about this Infiltrator Wing you mentioned some time ago?"
Wellen clears his throat. "Sir, all I know is, that they do exist, and they're using the very same ship types used by the New Republic."
"Do you know any names of those ships?"
"No, sir, I don't."
"How did you found about this Infiltrator Wing in the first place?"
"Sir, I overheard a conversation between Admiral Lendoan and an officer of this Infiltrator Wing. I managed to hear his name. It was Gared Jones."
Thelea recoils. Gared Jones? Her own superior officer. Quickly she takes a glance at both men and hopes that they didn't notice her recoil.
Unfortunately for her, the Admiral did notice. "Commander, is something wrong? Do you recognize this name?"
"Nothing's wrong, Sir. And yes, I do recognize that name. He's the reason I joined the New Republic in the first place." Drayson raises a brow so she continues. "When I was visiting Nar Shaddaa with my friend some time ago, we were approached by a group if Imperials. He was one of them." Her voice gets tense and anger, or hatred, brings a cruel glow in her milky- white eyes; so unusual to Arkanians. Her voice is quiet and filled with despise, when she continues. "They were drunk and when they saw two women, they..." She takes a deep breath. "The situation ended to my friend's death. He was never accused of it. That's why I swore I would make him pay!"
"So the only reason you're one of us is revenge?" Drayson asks very quietly.
"Sir, that was the reason I joined! And yes. It is one of the reasons why I'm still here."
Admiral Drayson nods. "Very well. That's enough for me now. You both are dismissed."
After leaving from the Admiral's office, Thelea nearly runs down the corridor, when Wellwn rushes to her side. "Thelea... I'm sorry... I didn't know..."
Thelea stops and turns around to face him. "Don't be." There's a cold fire in her eyes. It's something Wellen have never seen before, and he hopes he doesn't have to see it again, for it frightens him.
He grabs her shoulders and says to her firmly. "I think we need to discuss about this, Thelea." When she looks like resisting he looks directly into her milky-white eyes and says to her harshly. "Don't even think about it! You're gonna tell me what happened to your friend. Tell me everything, Understood?"
He knows that he shouldn't be this hard to her, but he also knows that it might be the only way to prevent his friend to fall apart.
She nods shortly, and tells him what happened on Nar Shaddaa that day.
Later Thelea walks around her living room. She knows she didn't tell the exact truth about this man, Gared Jones. He was the reason he joined the Empire, not the New Republic. At first all she wanted was revenge, but now she's confused. Gared is a good man when sober; good man and excellent leader. Now she understands that he wasn't accused of her friend's death, because the Empire just can't lose an officer like him. She wants him dead, but on the other hand she wants only what is best for the Empire.
With a sigh, she retires to bed. She'll think about this in the morning.
In the morning when the most of the other Rebels are still practically asleep, she's already wide awake in the control room trying to locate ships from the Infiltrator Wing.
After awhile, just before the Admiral arrives, she manages to locate one of those ships: The Mon Calamari Cruiser Fear.
She quickly checks the ship's files and then she makes sure that no- one can ever find out what she was just donig.
"Commander, I want you to get inside your Head Hunter and fly it as far as Tangrene to find out what the Imperials are up to", the Admiral says to the young Arkanian.
Thelea nods slightly. "Yes, sir."
About three hours later Thelea is in her Modified Z-95 Head Hunter near to planet Tangrene. She's immediately hailed by a flight officer onboard a Star Destroyer assigned to protect the Imperial shipyards at Tangrene.
"Z-95, you have entered Imperial space. Identify yourself and state your business."
Thelea uses her false ID. "This is Mercenary Corinne Sunrider from the Bounty Hunter's Guild. I'm here to investigate a crime occurred at Nar Shaddaa some time ago." Not exactly a lie...
"Then shouldn't you be in Nar Shaddaa?"
"I'm supposed to meet my informant here."
"You may land, mercenary, but know that people around here don't trust any of your kind."
Only a moment later Thelea is rushing down the main street to "meet her informant" as she explained to the stormtroopers who came to ask some questions after her landing. She goes to a cantina where she told them to meet this informant. If she wouldn't go, they would become suspicious.
In the cantina she sees someone familiar: Gared Jones. Isn't he supposed to be onboard Fear? She manages to avoid being seen and begins to follow him when he leaves the cantina. To avoid being seen she uses an ability natural for Arkanians; she can walk unnoticed. It means that everyone can see her, but they don't pay attention to her, and never look twice. To them she practically just isn't there.
She follows him to the Imperial Office building. She has to use every bit of her self-control to keep herself from taking her BlasTech DL- 44 Blaster Pistol and shooting him on the spot.
She follows him into his office, and when he leaves, she begins her search for information.
At first, there's nothing useful, but then she spots a datacard. She quickly checks it's contents with a datapad.
"No way! Exactly what I was looking for..." She copies the datacard and leaves the building. Unfortunately something did notice her after all. Even though she managed to avoid the cameras, she wasn't as lucky with an astromech, that registered her presence when she left.
Thirty minutes later Thelea is onboard her fighter flying away from Tangrene. But she's not alone. Not even close. She's being chased by a few TIEs, let alone one Star Destoyer.
She manages to avoid all TIEs, but then the Star Destroyer opens fire with it's ion cannons, and each hit reduces her shields and speed.
Suddenly a direct hit forces her fighter to come to an halt. Then the Destroyer's tractor beams lock into their target.
She's running out of options. She knows that she doesn't need much time to escape, for her engines are running again. On the other hand she could just tell them who she really is...
Next morning Thelea wakes up in her quarters in the Imperial Palace. She has a strange feeling that something isn't right.
When she steps into her living-room she finds out what's wrong. There's a man standing with his back towards her in front of a viewport. She clears her throat. "Excuse me, this is my apartment. So maybe you should leave."
He turns around and she recognizes him. "You!" Suddenly her eyes are burning. "How dare you?! After what you pulled I should..."
"You shouldn't talk to me in that tone, young lady. I heard what happened at Tangrene yesterday."
"Get out! Just get out before I call the security!"
He laughs. "I know your 'little' secret. You cannot afford to let your new 'friends' to know it too, do you?"
"You wouldn't..."
"Try me." Coldly.
She glances at him for a long time before opening her mouth again. "What do you want?"
"You know exactly what I want, my young apprentice!"
She sighs. "Yes, I do know."
She closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again, he's gone.
A quarter of an hour later Thelea is in front of a data screen looking for a planet. She finds it and sends it's coordinates to her fighter's navigation computer.
Suddenly Wellen Carlan comes to her. "Dromund Kaas? Why would you like to go there? It's a swamp planet."
She turns to face him. Wellen, there's something in that planet I've been looking for a long time. And don't ask, it's personal."
Wellen nods and swallows the question he was about to ask.
Four hours later Thelea is above the planet Dromund Kaas. Her first destination. "For the Empire", she says to herself.
To be continued
A Story by LCM Mitth'raw'eana
Chapter Two
Thelea stands in attention in front of Admiral Hiram Drayson. Next to her is standing, also in attention, her wing mate Wellen Carlan. She is giving to the Admiral her report about her friend's actions after he was revealed to be an ex-Imperial.
Her report is good, for she has seen nothing that would guggest that Wellen would betray the New Republic.
Admiral turns to Wellen. "What you know about this Infiltrator Wing you mentioned some time ago?"
Wellen clears his throat. "Sir, all I know is, that they do exist, and they're using the very same ship types used by the New Republic."
"Do you know any names of those ships?"
"No, sir, I don't."
"How did you found about this Infiltrator Wing in the first place?"
"Sir, I overheard a conversation between Admiral Lendoan and an officer of this Infiltrator Wing. I managed to hear his name. It was Gared Jones."
Thelea recoils. Gared Jones? Her own superior officer. Quickly she takes a glance at both men and hopes that they didn't notice her recoil.
Unfortunately for her, the Admiral did notice. "Commander, is something wrong? Do you recognize this name?"
"Nothing's wrong, Sir. And yes, I do recognize that name. He's the reason I joined the New Republic in the first place." Drayson raises a brow so she continues. "When I was visiting Nar Shaddaa with my friend some time ago, we were approached by a group if Imperials. He was one of them." Her voice gets tense and anger, or hatred, brings a cruel glow in her milky- white eyes; so unusual to Arkanians. Her voice is quiet and filled with despise, when she continues. "They were drunk and when they saw two women, they..." She takes a deep breath. "The situation ended to my friend's death. He was never accused of it. That's why I swore I would make him pay!"
"So the only reason you're one of us is revenge?" Drayson asks very quietly.
"Sir, that was the reason I joined! And yes. It is one of the reasons why I'm still here."
Admiral Drayson nods. "Very well. That's enough for me now. You both are dismissed."
After leaving from the Admiral's office, Thelea nearly runs down the corridor, when Wellwn rushes to her side. "Thelea... I'm sorry... I didn't know..."
Thelea stops and turns around to face him. "Don't be." There's a cold fire in her eyes. It's something Wellen have never seen before, and he hopes he doesn't have to see it again, for it frightens him.
He grabs her shoulders and says to her firmly. "I think we need to discuss about this, Thelea." When she looks like resisting he looks directly into her milky-white eyes and says to her harshly. "Don't even think about it! You're gonna tell me what happened to your friend. Tell me everything, Understood?"
He knows that he shouldn't be this hard to her, but he also knows that it might be the only way to prevent his friend to fall apart.
She nods shortly, and tells him what happened on Nar Shaddaa that day.
Later Thelea walks around her living room. She knows she didn't tell the exact truth about this man, Gared Jones. He was the reason he joined the Empire, not the New Republic. At first all she wanted was revenge, but now she's confused. Gared is a good man when sober; good man and excellent leader. Now she understands that he wasn't accused of her friend's death, because the Empire just can't lose an officer like him. She wants him dead, but on the other hand she wants only what is best for the Empire.
With a sigh, she retires to bed. She'll think about this in the morning.
In the morning when the most of the other Rebels are still practically asleep, she's already wide awake in the control room trying to locate ships from the Infiltrator Wing.
After awhile, just before the Admiral arrives, she manages to locate one of those ships: The Mon Calamari Cruiser Fear.
She quickly checks the ship's files and then she makes sure that no- one can ever find out what she was just donig.
"Commander, I want you to get inside your Head Hunter and fly it as far as Tangrene to find out what the Imperials are up to", the Admiral says to the young Arkanian.
Thelea nods slightly. "Yes, sir."
About three hours later Thelea is in her Modified Z-95 Head Hunter near to planet Tangrene. She's immediately hailed by a flight officer onboard a Star Destroyer assigned to protect the Imperial shipyards at Tangrene.
"Z-95, you have entered Imperial space. Identify yourself and state your business."
Thelea uses her false ID. "This is Mercenary Corinne Sunrider from the Bounty Hunter's Guild. I'm here to investigate a crime occurred at Nar Shaddaa some time ago." Not exactly a lie...
"Then shouldn't you be in Nar Shaddaa?"
"I'm supposed to meet my informant here."
"You may land, mercenary, but know that people around here don't trust any of your kind."
Only a moment later Thelea is rushing down the main street to "meet her informant" as she explained to the stormtroopers who came to ask some questions after her landing. She goes to a cantina where she told them to meet this informant. If she wouldn't go, they would become suspicious.
In the cantina she sees someone familiar: Gared Jones. Isn't he supposed to be onboard Fear? She manages to avoid being seen and begins to follow him when he leaves the cantina. To avoid being seen she uses an ability natural for Arkanians; she can walk unnoticed. It means that everyone can see her, but they don't pay attention to her, and never look twice. To them she practically just isn't there.
She follows him to the Imperial Office building. She has to use every bit of her self-control to keep herself from taking her BlasTech DL- 44 Blaster Pistol and shooting him on the spot.
She follows him into his office, and when he leaves, she begins her search for information.
At first, there's nothing useful, but then she spots a datacard. She quickly checks it's contents with a datapad.
"No way! Exactly what I was looking for..." She copies the datacard and leaves the building. Unfortunately something did notice her after all. Even though she managed to avoid the cameras, she wasn't as lucky with an astromech, that registered her presence when she left.
Thirty minutes later Thelea is onboard her fighter flying away from Tangrene. But she's not alone. Not even close. She's being chased by a few TIEs, let alone one Star Destoyer.
She manages to avoid all TIEs, but then the Star Destroyer opens fire with it's ion cannons, and each hit reduces her shields and speed.
Suddenly a direct hit forces her fighter to come to an halt. Then the Destroyer's tractor beams lock into their target.
She's running out of options. She knows that she doesn't need much time to escape, for her engines are running again. On the other hand she could just tell them who she really is...
Next morning Thelea wakes up in her quarters in the Imperial Palace. She has a strange feeling that something isn't right.
When she steps into her living-room she finds out what's wrong. There's a man standing with his back towards her in front of a viewport. She clears her throat. "Excuse me, this is my apartment. So maybe you should leave."
He turns around and she recognizes him. "You!" Suddenly her eyes are burning. "How dare you?! After what you pulled I should..."
"You shouldn't talk to me in that tone, young lady. I heard what happened at Tangrene yesterday."
"Get out! Just get out before I call the security!"
He laughs. "I know your 'little' secret. You cannot afford to let your new 'friends' to know it too, do you?"
"You wouldn't..."
"Try me." Coldly.
She glances at him for a long time before opening her mouth again. "What do you want?"
"You know exactly what I want, my young apprentice!"
She sighs. "Yes, I do know."
She closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them again, he's gone.
A quarter of an hour later Thelea is in front of a data screen looking for a planet. She finds it and sends it's coordinates to her fighter's navigation computer.
Suddenly Wellen Carlan comes to her. "Dromund Kaas? Why would you like to go there? It's a swamp planet."
She turns to face him. Wellen, there's something in that planet I've been looking for a long time. And don't ask, it's personal."
Wellen nods and swallows the question he was about to ask.
Four hours later Thelea is above the planet Dromund Kaas. Her first destination. "For the Empire", she says to herself.
To be continued