13 The Epic: FLASHBACK- 30 STANDARD DAYS OF BLISS

Note: This chapter contains violence.

It couldn't have been a coincidence. And the Executor wasn't even the kind of ship she would ultimately be assigned. She would serve under Admiral Piett for the completion of her training as Captain. For a standard month, Eva would be as near to Lord Vader as could be managed. The prospect was both thrilling and intimidating.

But when she boarded, Vader was on the planet Mustafar, and all she could do was stare at the smoldering, volatile planet from the bridge windows. She noted movement of angry red lava flows visible from space, and studied with misplaced concern, the planet's erratic orbit between two gas giants.

Two standard days later the message came. Vader asked to meet at a docking bay when her day's assignments were completed. She cherished the fleeting moments spent with him. And mercifully, when they were alone in the TIE/ag fighter, he let down the hardened exterior. He spoke to her with the familiarity he had talked her through Sriluur and in the aftermath of Hoth - as if no time had passed in between.

She was strapped in the gunner's seat, b ack to his back, while he piloted the TIE fighter down to the dramatic surface of Mustafar. With dizzying closeness as he was prone to navigate, they swept over violent river flows of red and gold lava, and smoky forests of dead iron trees. Vader even pointed out his fortress residence in a fly-by, though he had no reason to land there- an isolated black spire perched on a cliff. Lava funneled through its base, from a molten lake on the high side, and cascaded far down the other like a waterfall.

At first Vader asked about her academy training on Imperial procedure, tactics and equipment, and he explained that she was fortunate to have Piett as an instructor. The Admiral was competent and would be fair. 'Fair,' in meaning he wouldn't begrudge her skipped ranks and the anomalies in her training. Piett was tuned in to the concept of a higher purpose, in addition to having skipped 5 ranks in an instant himself. Her future subordinate officers would also need to be selected with the same consideration. Vader wasn't concerned about her competence managing a single Star Destroyer - one to be assigned routine tasks until she gained experience. It was her allegiance to him instead of the cause, and her willingness to creatively fulfill an order as she saw fit, which troubled him (though he had to admit, sometimes her methods worked for the better).

But random shapeless dark rock formations which supported structures long burned or abandoned, agitated his memory and he allowed himself to talk about darker times. The unsettled soul hinted in the Sriluurian talks, manifested himself in the hellish inferno of a terrain he chose to inhabit.

"Mustafar was a grave turning point for me- where I left my old life with the Jedi order, and suffered the scars that have me dependent on this suit. In my overconfidence, I lost that battle…Lava is as sinister as it looks.

"I had a wife at the time. Senator Padmė Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo. Because of our positions, our marriage was clandestine- so hard won. I could not believe my blessings to have her…

"She died from this place. Because of me." It needed to be said. He let Eva know the end of the story, because she knew the beginning and the middle. Though why she knew any of it, he was not quite sure himself. The telling was neither cathartic nor regrettable. But there was something she stirred in him, her clear acceptance and desire to know. Eva deserved to understand where she stood. He was grateful she did not to ask him to elaborate - like the adept infiltrator she was, always responding to perfection. But by then he wanted to shake off the melancholy of the past. Back to the now.

Vader stood in silence at the Executor's bridge windows. Eva resisted approaching him as that wasn't something anyone around would do, but eventually he called her to him. She followed his attention down to the green and teal moon below. Reverstat-1. There was an insurrection in progress, independent of the Alliance. Where there was trouble, there was Vader. But what he wished to tell her came out of the blue.

"Mag Doum is assigned to a base on Reverstat. After your shift, you have permission to take a shuttle there. The base is under heightened alert. It's dangerous."

That was when a normal person would have added 'be careful.' She waited in silence. Nothing came.

Eva was deflated to hear the offer. She had no interest in seeing Doum, and didn't want Vader to think otherwise.

Vader understood. He simply added, "A goodbye is in order."

The group seated in the mining oversight office looked her over, then made a point to get back to their work. When Mag saw her standing there in her grey-green uniform with her Captain's rank (donned prematurely, but who would know?), he silently rose from his console and stared, confused and hopeful. The very first time she had seen him, she also stared, having not come across one of his species before. Greyish skin, a triangular head with wide mouth. His chin length silky black hair was his best feature. They had worked together and when he approached her, she was more surprised by their two decade age difference than his being of another species. He sounded human. He moved human. One could forget. In her small world he was exotic and accomplished. In his, she was beautiful and intelligent. For numerous reasons, it was easier to keep their relationship unknown.

He wasn't from Arda-2, and his was the first private starship she had stepped aboard. He had shown her more of the galaxy in one year than all those before. One weekend was even spent on Coruscant where they stood outside the mighty halls of government, like the rest of the tourists.

She couldn't believe the occasion was just awkward enough to make her jittery. Eva asked Doum's commanding officer if she could borrow him for a while. Though Eva was not her supervisor, the rank disparity required reasonable accommodation.

Outside, they went on a walkabout under the late daylight. The clouds were tinted blue. The sun had just set for an evening that would last three standard days, but it was still warm and sticky. The small Imperial base seemed older and was carved out of a thick forest on flat terrain.

"I heard about the Emperor's award. I didn't know you were in the Navy or a Captain."

"Do you know why I received the award?"

"Not the details. Officially it says 'Exceptional service to the Emperor in aid of insurrection.'"

She wasn't about to explain now. "Isn't it ironic? This…the Empire…was your thing."

"But you've done well. I have to think it's because…"

She cut him off with a look. This wasn't going where she wanted. Back in the day, Doum had attempted to use her for his own gain with the Empire. Then Vader ripped the two of them apart for his own means. Yet none of it mattered. She had to admit she'd most likely do the same. The fact was, she enjoyed manipulating people. She supposed she was aggravated with Mag for not at least attempting to apologize.

Her hands were sweating in her black gloves. No other officers around seem to be wearing them. "I'm here because the ship I'm assigned, is just up there. It wasn't a problem to come. I'm just here to check in on you."

"I missed you. I didn't expect to see you again."

Eva kept gravitating to walking the wooded edge, she had so little opportunity to be in natural outdoors.

"Don't go near the trees. That area is lain with explosives so the wall wouldn't have to be completed," Doum cautioned. "There's Sumatii insurgents out there that are wanting to disrupt the mining operations...In a civil war with the Sumatii that are behind the mining operations." He shook his head, then he motioned over with his chin. "There's a well traveled road over to the mining facility from the Imperial base. We can walk through there."

The guarded entry gate was flanked with high walls which disappeared into the woods. Just beyond the opening, local Sumatii had set up a few stands to sell an odd assortment of goods to any Imperials who should want them. The Sumatii were a third again taller than humans. Their leathery tan skin hung in folds over their thin frames. Their cloths were adorned with metal clasps and amulets. Half of them had their faces covered in metal masks. The exposed faces had the eyes to the sides of their heads and long curved snouts and dangling cheek appendages. They cleared away their wares and shade structures for the long night, and were heading home down the dirt road which branched off just beyond the gate.

The paved road was used by heavy vehicles with cargo bins filled to the brim with waste. They would run from the processing facility beyond sight, to a turn off midway where by-products were dumped. Processed materials were taken directly through into the base. As they walked, the two of them would have to step aside for the occasionally passing equipment.

Eva was thinking about the official statement. Not for the exalted Emperor...she had started down this path to save Doum's life. One…insignificant…life. "I didn't do anything for the Emperor." She referenced Palpatine as symbolic, having no idea how soon and how much she'd be directly intertwined with extreme duty to him. That it had worked out after leaving Arda-2, was a miracle in her mind. Those left behind surly had their own difficulties. She should check on them, just as she was able to read up on Queen Amidala. Her new rank allowed unrestricted access to the holonet.

There was an explosion in the distance, back beyond the direction of the base. There were mining operations near-by, but Doum thought more of it. Eva noticed the expression of his face, and called up the Executor on her commlink. An attack had begun. The contact aboard the Executor told her the gate to the base was to be closed as the Sumatii were approaching. She should head in the direction of the mining facility and a landing craft would catch up to her.

They looked back in the waning light, as the massive gate closed off the base entrance. Sirens wailed and Sumatti poured from the forest onto the road. They wore heavy armor and had missile launchers in tow. Those not on foot were in smaller units that reminded Eva of the Imperial's All Terrain Tactical Enforcers.

Doum ducked into the tree line as Eva followed before they were sighted. She called after him, "Is there an isolated clearing on the way- better than the road?"

"The scrapyard."

"Show me the way!" A quick look back through the edge of the trees, and she could see the Sumatii shooting over the gate, not at it. Stray blaster shots made their way in their direction. She turned to get away. It was darker still under the tall canopies. The ground was soft and uneven with root bulbs that grew up like stakes the base of the trees.

"They may not be trying to get in. They could be trying to hold in the Imperial ground defense while they get the mine." The roar of tie fighters and low altitude gunships cut out her last words. She could still see sparks of light from blasters through the trees. Imperial forces were landing beyond, to trap the Sumatii against the gate. Up ahead, there were more explosions where the attack on the mining facility began.

Mag was falling behind and she practically screamed out loud in frustration. But in that moment she was grateful to Vader, who wouldn't make allowances in her fitness requirements despite her being an officer. She had felt treated as child, but the time consuming workouts were paying off huge.

Randoms shots slipped past the spindly tree trunks, seemingly aimed at them. Eva dunked behind a tree and looked back in the blackness for Doum. She felt a pang of indecision to wait for him. She could not make him run faster, but she supposed she had to hold back to help cover for him. She paused briefly to call up the Executor, to get a handle on the offensive movement and her best course. They could determine her location by her commlink.

Movement caught her eye in the darkness, as some of the distant tree trunks appeared to sway. The motion seemed morph into a gait growing near as she tried to work out what she was seeing. Blaster fire shot down at from above. Doum returned fire and from the flickers of light she could see he was aiming at a rider perched high atop a beast with stilt like legs. She followed suit, and they must have hit both. The poor animal came crashing down with painfully squealed calls, breaking some of the trees on its way. The fallen canopy knocked her to the ground. She was in the process of freeing herself when she sensed someone approaching. She grasped the ground around her, seeking her blaster, and at the last second she turned and pulled back as a knife hit her hip. She screamed out in pain, and caught the hilt with her hands. With effort, she pulled it free and aimed for her attacker. The first blow hit armor. The second blow hit home. It was his turn to squeal. Eva kicked at the branches and freed herself. If the Sumatii had not just fallen from a great height or located his blaster, she might not have bested him.

Doum had to cross the felled trees to reach her as the beast continued to moan. "They have night vision." He whispered.

She understood then, why he was able to zero in on her. This was not a battle to fight. She simply need to survive. "What was that?" Another one of the creatures seemed to be coming up from behind.

"A common Sciatiss. That's why the tree canopy is up so high."

Eva was still on the ground, her hip bleeding. Doum's arm had been grazed by one of the blaster shots. Even so, from the sound of the blasts, he decided he might actually be better off outside the base. "Let's go."

Fires blazed against the pitch black sky where the trees made way for a clearing. Eva had reached the scrap yard. It looked like the action had had already passed through as the area was in shambles. The byproducts were highly flammable and the very dirt burned. What had started out as a pleasant evening had deteriorated with incredible swiftness into hellish destruction. Her last communication with the Executor had the area clear enough to be a rendezvous point, but from somewhere, off to the side, she could hear heavy equipment approaching. Mag was nowhere to be seen, but she guessed he'd soon come up from behind.

Eva ducked between the oversized legs of an All Terrain Recon Transport tipped on its side against a berm, then eased back into the crevice between the legs and undercarriage for cover. In the few moments she was there, the sounds of the onslaught seem to intensify as though they were nearing, or possibly retreating past. Voices suddenly seemed extremely close. A couple armed Sumatii passed by, but if she shot at them it would only give her away. She was beginning to feel weakening from the blood loss. It had been too eventful to think about the accompanying pain. She pulled out her commlink again. A third Sumatii passed, but this one turned to look at her. She opened fire and leaned out to take out his two companions. The others closed in and the rest was a blur.

The black shadow rose up on top of the bank behind her, darkening out the chaos and flames beyond. He immediately drew the ire and intense fire from the enemy before him. The living tempest was better discernible when the blood red saber was ignited, its scarlet radiance transcending the darkness. Flashes of blaster light descended from every direction. The saber swirled everywhere at once, changing course to meet every threat. Blurred silhouettes of weapons torn from their hands, whisked by and landed mangled and unseen. Voices screamed in agony. She had never witnessed anything like it. There would not have been mercy even if they weren't the instigators. There would certainly be no mercy now. He continued on his path, unperturbed, stepping over the bodies of the victims already fallen by his ruthless attack. Firelight danced across his armor. The support troops filled in from behind and finished the job. Vader returned to her. His gauntleted hand grasped her upper arm and yanked her up out of her hiding place, and when her feet moved too slow, he had swooped her up and carried her.

" 'Captain' Eva… " Vader had noted the rank she had worn, "…you will feel much better tomorrow."

"Did Doum survive?" she finally thought to ask.

Vader messaged one of his officers to check. "No word, as of yet."

Against the monochromatic backdrop of a vivid white medical bay, his ebony figure was seated by her bedside. Above the ringing in her ears that had not yet subsided, she listened to his breathing. The most exquisite sound she could possibly imagine.

He was filthier than she'd ever seen him. Marked with grey ash, his black cape spotted blacker still; her own blood. Eva was both smitten and humiliated. She had turned her face to the wall, because at the moment, the latter was more at play. Everything was so easy for him.

"I won't be on the Executor your remaining time here."

She immediately looked back. So this was it. A moment more, and hope relinquished...

Take me with you.