The Cost of Liberty
(5 ABY)
The Imperial garrison outside of Pandath looked just like any of the other prefabricated standard fortifications Serina had visited in her years of service for the Empire. But Taanab, although of some importance for the food supplies of the now faltering Empire, had obviously never become the object of any military interest. The current state of the base was proof enough. The once smooth gray duracrete walls sported patches of Chara Moss as well as long vines of Pona Ivy climbing up the steep inclines. The ten-meter high fence was crackling with arcs of electricity but from the color of the surges, it was only set to low intensity.
The elevated catwalks behind the fence were only sparsely patrolled by stormtroopers and Serina knew from their reconnaissance activities of the past few months that the base was severely understaffed. The four, five years of open civil war between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance had caused an overall withdrawal of military units from the smaller and less important planets to crew the ships leaving the shipyards at accelerated rates. Thus, the Imperials had been forced to deviate from their strict rule of staffing the garrison with non-natives only. Instead of soldiers from other planets and trained for years at the military academies, many locals had been force-recruited to fill in the gaps. In addition, much of the menial work had been tasked to civilian contractors, a situation that suited the purposes of the rebels only too well.
The visitor's entrance was located inside the ground level of one of the gate towers and was guarded by two stormtroopers. A young man, apparently a member of the service personnel, sat at a computer terminal to the side of the security checkpoint. With an air of cockiness, Serina approached the counter and slammed her ID card on top of it. "I'm Agent Wiscr. You will take me to General Minas. Immediately!"
For a moment, the young man just gaped at her while the troopers trained their weapons at the insolent visitor. Then he quickly reached for the card and inserted it into his terminal. After a startled gaze at the information displayed on his screen, he pressed a button on his comm unit.
"General Minas' office, Lieutenant Vron speaking."
"Sir, we have a visitor down here at the gate. MI Agent Salla Wiscr. She demands to see the General."
"You have checked her credentials?"
"Yes, Sir, her ID checks out."
"Hold on, I will contact the General."
For long moments, the only noise to be heard was the low humming of the machinery within and the occasional discharges of the fence's force field to both sides of the gatehouse. Then the surly voice of Vron came back on, "Have one of the troopers escort her up here. And make sure, she is clean."
The young man handed the ID back to Serina and motioned her to step through the security checkpoint. He grabbed a small tray and held it in front of her. "You heard the Lieutenant. Place any weapons in the tray. You'll get them back when you leave."
Raising an eyebrow and favoring the young man with an ironic smile, Serina removed the weapon from her belt and the small wrist blaster from the sleeve of her jacket. Then she stepped a second time through the security gate. When the terminal affirmed her innocuousness, one of the troopers motioned her to follow him across the middle ground and into the large structure of the base proper.
She recognized the man immediately. Though aged by twenty years, he had not changed much. His hair had turned salt-and-pepper, deep creases had formed around his mouth and eyes and he had added some weight throughout the years. But it was most certainly the same man who had once stormed into her aunt's house on his search for Marc and who had questioned her several hours later at the same base where she had given birth to Ben just a few months ago. Although his name had somehow rung a bell, she had just been too busy in the past weeks to investigate into it. She could only hope that her lack of thoroughness would not cause their plan to go up in smoke before they had even enacted the first step.
General Minas gave her a long, appraising glance before inviting her to take a seat in the chair in front of his large desk. "Agent Wiscr, what brings you to Taanab?" he finally opened the conversation.
Although Serina had sensed a flicker of suspicion in the man, she was quite certain that he had not recognized her as the teenage girl he had held in his custody so many years prior. "I have tracked a traitor all the way from Corellia to this mediocre planet. He arrived a few days before me and has apparently found some way to drop off the radar. I need access to your database to recover his tracks," she informed him with the air of self-importance so typical of any MI agent she had ever had to deal with. "And if you require additional confirmation," she added, her voice oozing with condescension, "you will certainly still know this code: Hapspir, Barrini, Corbolan, Triaxis."
Although it had been more than half a year since the death of the Emperor, the code still had the expected effect. General Buc Minas straightened visibly in his chair and the look he favored her with had even assumed some grudging respect.
"Of course, we will support you in any way we are capable of with our limited resources." Then he pressed a button on the terminal integrated into his desk. Moments later, the young man, Serina had passed only minutes earlier in the front office, entered the room. "Lieutenant Vron. Agent Wiscr requires access to our database. See to it, that she is assigned one of our spare offices."
As Serina got up to leave, he added, "Keep me updated on your hunt for the traitor. We don't appreciate such detestable elements in our backyard. And if you require any further assistance, just let me know." Then he dismissed her with a curt nod.
After his adjutant had led the young woman from his office to set her to work at one of the terminals further down the hallway, Minas stood for long moments gazing at the chair she had just occupied. He could not shake the strange feeling that he knew Agent Wiscr from somewhere. And, although he could not pin down the time or place, he was nearly dead certain that it had nothing to do with Military Intelligence at all.
Two hours later, Serina unplugged her datapad and shut down the terminal. As far as she could tell, everything had worked according to plan. If anybody checked into her activities, he would find the search results for one of Marc's men, information they had fed into the system during the past weeks for just this purpose. But they would have to dig really deep into the programming of the base's databank to find the virus she had loaded into the system during her search. It was more than doubtful that anyone with such profound programming skills was currently stationed at this understaffed garrison. Once they transmitted a very specific code, the hidden program would cause a complete shut-down of the whole facility.
At the same time, she had arranged a reorganization of the inventory of supply crates for the cleaning crews. The next order for additional supplies would release a very specific crate delivered to the base together with the last shipment. But it would contain much more than just the requested items.
With purposeful strides, she walked back toward the General's front office. "Lieutenant Vron, I am finished for now. Once I have followed the leads your database provided, I might be back for another search." She cast a quick glance at her chronometer. It was an hour after sunrise and time for early half-day lunch. "Can you recommend something at your mess hall?"
A short time later, Serina rounded the last corner toward the officer's mess hall and nearly bumped into a large maintenance droid blocking most of the corridor. It was accompanied by a middle-aged man, dressed in the orange outfit of the cleaning contractors. As she spat out some expletives at him and stepped around the bulky obstacle, she reached up with her right hand to rub the side of her nose. A quick outreach through the Force confirmed to her, that her signal had been registered. It would be only a matter of time until the contents of the large crate found their way into various promising spots spread out across the whole base.
The room was small and bare. She was bathed in the bright glare of the light right above the chair they had fastened her to. The dark training outfit she wore sported several small tears, mainly on her thighs, and her hands and forearms were quite grimy. She could feel the dried-up tears that had left trails on her just as dirty face. Tears she had worked herself into to give the impression of a desperate twelve-year-old. She could hear the door opening behind her. Then the same officer, who had forced his way into her aunt's house just a day prior, stepped in front of her. "So, you are ready to talk?" he barked at her.
But as she lifted her head to look up at him he was no longer the young man she had had her encounter with twenty years prior but the seasoned officer she had met little more than a standard day earlier. In his hand, he held a small metal cylinder, delicately carved with some ancient design on the thinner portion and with indentations perfectly fitting the fingers of her hand on the other end with the non-slip surface.
With a vicious smile, he informed her, "I still don't know, who you are now, but I remember who you were twenty years ago. And my contact told me that no MI agent is currently on a mission to Taanab. If you want to save yourself some pain, just tell me the truth now."
As she pulled herself upright - now no longer a young girl, but a well-trained powerful Force-user in her own right - she favored him with a condescending expression. "What I might have been twenty years ago, matters nothing today. I am an Imperial agent, no matter what any of your contacts say. And if you don't release me immediately, you will be very sorry indeed!"
"We will see who and what you truly are." It was obvious that he was not about to let her go no matter what she told him. "Funny device you're carrying around." He turned the hilt over in his hands. Apparently, he had never seen this kind of weapon before. "What is it?"
"Just an ancient glow rod of sorts, I guess. I bought it on Coruscant some years back. But it doesn't work."
"Hmm," he considered her explanation for a moment. Then he stuffed the metal cylinder into his pocket. "I might just keep it. Now, let's find out what your little charade is all about." With a sardonic smile on his face, he motioned to somebody at the door behind her.
With the humming of the interrogator droid still filling her mind, Serina jerked upright in her bed. Minas knew! Or at least: would know soon. Her cover was about to be blown. It was only a matter of time. And yet, even if he knew who she had been twenty years prior, he could have no idea who she had become in the meantime. Perhaps there was no reason to deviate from their plans at all.
"If he knows, then don't go back!" Marc had been quite emphatic when she had told him about her vision during the night recess period. "Your little innocent girl act won't work this time around. He will use any method in his repertoire."
But she had only dismissed his concern with a shake of her head. "I've worked for more than sixteen years for the Empire. There is nothing he can subject me to that I haven't used on someone else before or that hasn't been employed against me during one mission or another. And none of that came even close to what my master put me through during my training. So, don't worry, I'll survive. And I won't tell him anything that I don't want to." She had not bothered to mention to him her true worry: would she be able to refrain from succumbing to the dark side if the pressure Minas put on her got too severe? It was a concern, nobody could aid her with, not even Marc. This temptation she would have to overcome all by herself.
She had decided to return to the garrison at sunrise. Marc would continue with the arrangements at the Governor's residence. All the other preparations would not require any contribution from her side. So even if Minas arrested her already upon arrival, the whole set-up was not at risk. And if he was occupied with her, his vigilance might just slacken in other areas.
The guards at the front gate recognized her from the previous day. After depositing her weapons in the designated tray, they allowed her to pass unaccompanied into the main structure. Before proceeding to the room, she had been assigned to the day before, she checked in with the General's front office. Lieutenant Vron tried to return her smile but was not very good at lying and she could sense the tension he was under. Apparently, Minas was already on to her.
She had just switched on the terminal and plugged her datapad into the corresponding slot when the door to the private office was slammed open and two stormtroopers charged into the room. While one of them took up position right next to the entrance and trained his blaster at her, the other strode around the desk and jerked her to her feet. "You are under arrest. Come along!" he ordered her and pushed her toward his comrade. Then he twisted her arms to her back and slammed binders on them.
Before marching her out into the hallway, he frisked her thoroughly. Her datapad from the desk and the small metal cylinder from one of the pouches on her belt found their way together with her ID card and the various other contents of her pockets into a transparent bag. Wedged in between the two troopers, she was then marched down into the detention block and placed into a small cell, bare except for a hard metal cot on the far wall and a simple refresher unit to the right of the entrance.
Except for a few complaints about the rough treatment, Serina had refrained from any attempt of starting a conversation. The General would show up early enough, and him she would give a piece of her mind regarding this unjustified and outrageous behavior toward her.
Slowly the minutes ticked away as she tried to find a semi-comfortable position on the hard bunk with the binders still in place. Then she closed her eyes and forced everything from her mind: the arrest, the vision from the night before, the planning and preparation for the coup against the leading Imperials on her home planet. Instead, she dwelled on the moment she had held Ben in her arms for the first time, on the deep emotions that had washed over her, and on the sense of motherly pride that filled her every time she saw some improvement in the training of her daughter. Then she opened herself up to the Force and reached out toward Marc.
She had just found his familiar presence several kilometers outside of Pandath and confirmed that everything was proceeding according to their plan when she was rudely pulled out of her meditation by the same troopers who had arrested her earlier. Without a word of explanation, they dragged her out of the cell toward the far end of the corridor.
The bright light above a chair in the middle of the otherwise bare room was only too familiar. One of the troopers removed the binders and shoved her into the metal seat. Then he closed the straps around her arms and legs. When he was finished, he nodded toward the entrance.
The General's smile was just as vicious as she remembered it from her vision. When she opened her mouth to start a barrage of accusations at him, he cut her off with an angry gesture. "I still don't know, who you are now, but I remember who you were twenty years ago. And my contact told me that no MI agent is currently on a mission to Taanab. If you want to save yourself some pain, just tell me the truth now."
She pulled herself as upright as possible despite the restraints. "What I might have been twenty years ago, matters nothing today. I am an Imperial agent, no matter what any of your contacts say. My mission is secret. I doubt that anybody you know will have the kind of security clearance needed to get any information about it. And if you don't release me immediately, you will be very sorry indeed, especially, if my target escapes!"
But his reply confirmed what the vision had already foreseen: nothing she could say would change his course of action. Then he questioned her regarding the metal cylinder. He even pressed the prominent activation switch located at the end of the indentation for her thumb, but nothing happened. When she had built her first own lightsaber, she had secured it with a safety catch of sorts. Instead of one activation switch, her weapon sported two. Both had to be pressed to ignite the blade. A safety measure she was extremely pleased with at this very moment.
Then he tucked the hilt into his pocket and motioned to the trooper at the entrance. As the interrogator droid advanced toward her, he just smiled sardonically. "Now, let's find out what your little charade is all about."
Half a Taanabian day later, the sardonic smile had changed into a quite frustrated expression.
Minas had ordered the droid to start with torture methods that caused no permanent damage to her body. Apparently, he was not at all certain that she was not what she claimed to be and intended to limit the consequences for himself for the – although in his eyes quite unlikely - case that her assertion proved true.
First, the IT-O had injected her with mind-altering drugs. Then it had scanned her to find her most sensitive areas. Powerful electroshocks directed at her neck, joints, and lower abdomen had alternated with attempted invasions into her mind.
The mind probes had been easy to block. They had fallen quite short of the powers the Emperor had used on her many years prior. And her own innate abilities to manipulate the information transferred through the neural system to the brain - the ability that had made her such a useful tool for her dark master - had prevented the drugs as well as the electrical currents from producing any of the intended effects.
At the end of each "treatment", the General had questioned her.
"Who are you?"
"Salla Wiscr."
"Why are you on Taanab?"
"To find and apprehend the traitor Lard Felsr."
"Who are you working for?"
"Military Intelligence."
She had answered him with a voice devoid of any emotions. But once he had been finished, she had favored him with a dark, ironic smile that left him in doubt if the treatment had forced her to tell the truth or if she had just been playing him for a fool. The smile had only deepened with each new effort the droid had started.
After the third session, the questions changed.
"Where were you born?"
"Taanab." No reason to lie about that, Serina thought, careful to not let her amusement at the inquiry show.
"Was Salla Wiscr your birth name?"
"No."
"Which name did you grow up with?"
"Serina Wanders." No reason to not confirm what he already suspected.
"What was Marc Camon to you?"
"My teacher." If it would not have given away how little the treatment had affected her, she would have quirked an eyebrow at the direction the questioning was taking. Apparently, Minas had never gotten over the fact that Marc had slipped through his fingers.
"But he was more than just a teacher?"
"Yes."
"In which way?"
"He helped me get ready for the Naval Academy."
That drew Minas up short. If she had gone to any of the Naval Academies her claim to be Military Intelligence might be true after all. But he still wouldn't believe that. Something just didn't jibe properly.
"Did you attend a Naval Academy?"
"Yes."
"Which one?"
"Prefsbelt."
For a moment, Minas interrupted the questioning and commanded one of his aides to send an inquiry to Coruscant to validate this new information.
"When I questioned you regarding Marc twenty years ago, did you lie to me?" No, he definitely had never gotten over that incident.
"Yes."
"In which way?"
"I had met him in the forest."
"So, you knew where he was?"
"No. We had gotten separated."
"Oh, I knew it. You did play me for a fool."
It was not really a question directed at her, but she could not refrain herself from answering it anyway. "Yes." She could barely keep herself from bursting out laughing, as she watched his face contort in anger.
Then a realization hit him. With all the drugs in her system, she should have never given him this answer at all. "Are the drugs still working?" he barked at the hovering droid.
"I cannot confirm that, Sir. She appears quite resistant to the usual methods. Perhaps you should proceed to the next level of treatment."
But Minas dismissed the suggestion. As long as he could not be certain that she was not who she claimed to be, he would refrain from more violent methods. And yet: his patience was about to run out. So, he motioned the IT-O to start the next session without delay.
By the time Tive had set in the west and the long Taanabian night had fallen on the garrison, Minas reached his limit. Three more sessions had yielded no further information. When the inquiry into the databank at the Imperial capital had come up empty, Serina had provided him with an explanation, he had not been able to refute. "When I joined Military Intelligence, my prior naval records were deleted, and I was assigned a new name." This might be true if she had been destined for secret missions, but there was just no way to prove or disprove this assertion. This interrogation was going nowhere. Perhaps it was time to heed the droid's suggestion.
After the IT-O and Minas had left, two of the troopers entered the room and unshackled her from the chair. Then they started to push her around between them, hitting and punching her, yet avoiding direct strikes to her face. A solid punch into the pit of her stomach caused her to double over. When the trooper behind her pushed her toward his comrade, she stumbled and crashed to the floor. Trying to avoid further attacks to her abdomen, she rolled up into a fetal position, but they continued to kick her with their armored boots at her back and legs. And yet she would not allow a moan to escape her lips, retreating in her mind into regions of fond memories while shutting out all painful sensations. Finally, they dragged her to her feet and cast her back into her cell. She slumped to the cold hard floor, bruised, and bloodied all over.
It had been worse than Serina had expected and she was reaching her limit as well. Not the beating itself, but what the treatments did to her frame of mind. Although she did her best to avoid any feelings of anger or hate for the troopers or the General to poison her soul, it had been hard to just allow them to attack her without fighting back. Toward the end of the beating, her subconscious mind had conjured up unbidden imaginations of grabbing the troopers through the Force and slamming them into the walls, of choking them in the way that had once been her master's trademark or of using the moments their fists made contact with her skin to unleash onto them the pain and other sensations stored away in a heavily guarded part of her soul.
But to give in to those thoughts would lead to doom. As long as she had used her powers to accomplish what she had been commanded to do, she had been able to keep the dark side at bay. If she started to use them to satiate her own anger, she might not be able to turn away from the kind of satisfaction it would provide. After all that she had been through in the years at her master's side, she was not about to succumb to the dark side now. Thus, she banished all unbidden imaginations from her mind and placed herself into a speedy healing meditation, ignoring the bright lights and loud noises that continuously flooded her cell.
If Minas was puzzled regarding her quick recovery or her stamina, he did not show it. Two more times during the night, they pulled her from her prison, beat her to a pulp, and threw her back into her cell again.
Shortly before sunrise, the droid was ordered to repeat his previous treatments. Two sessions later, she finally caused herself to pass out despite the droid's attempts to prevent just that. After that, they locked her back into her cell without any food or water.
And yet, her claim to be the MI agent Salla Wiscr had not wavered during the whole time, leaving Minas with less certainty than he had started with. Perhaps the Governor, scheduled to arrive shortly before sunset, would have some advice for him. During the past five years, they had developed a close friendship and Sirak had been in the Navy for many years before being assigned to his current position. Surely, he had had more dealings with MI during that time than Minas himself.
The Badger arrived with a slight delay. Due to the activities of the Alliance they had to take a detour from their usual route from Imperial Center to Taanab. Several rows of stormtroopers had taken up the position as honor guard along the passage from the landing pad where the shuttle had settled down into the main building. Admiral Noray, the commanding officer of the Victory-class Star Destroyer, accompanied Governor Sirak as he descended the exit ramp and stepped up to the waiting general.
"It's good to have you back, Governor," Minas greeted him, hands clasped firmly behind his back, "and you as well, Admiral." Then he turned and motioned invitingly toward the entrance. "Please follow me to my office."
As the three men strode down the long corridors, Sirak reported briefly on the newest developments at Imperial Center. How Grand Vizier Sate Pestage had been deposed by Ysanne Isard about two months prior and how she had taken over control of the whole Empire. The coup had also been the reason why he had not been to Taanab during the past months.
Right before he had left, there had been rumors of an attack being planned by the New Republic. "It is quite possible that we will have to return to the Core Worlds shortly," Sirak concluded, "let's just hope nothing happens until after the reception at my residence tonight. It would really be a pity to let all that good food go to waste, wouldn't it?"
Minas could only agree. The events at the Governor's residence were well known for the sumptuous foods and the choice wines served, but also for the select female entourages hired to entertain the single guests. He had looked forward to it. After all, it was one of the few highlights in this mundane place.
At last, they had reached Minas' office and settled down in the chairs in the sitting area across the room from his desk. The serving droid had supplied them with a glass of Tevraki whiskey each - a beverage reserved by Minas for very special occasions and very exclusive friends. As Sirak and Noray allowed the sweet fire to coat their tongues and warm their limbs, Minas disclosed to them his concerns regarding his special prisoner.
"Hmm," the governor finally wagged his head at Minas' predicament. "She could be MI, from what you described. Why don't you bring her here and we'll have a close look at her?"
It did not take long for the stormtroopers to drag Serina from her cell and into Minas' office. With a wave of his hand, the general dismissed the troopers. For long moments, the three men scrutinized the young woman, standing next to the entrance, her hands secured with binders at her back.
When Serina had caught sight of the visitors, she had drawn herself upright, ignoring the stiffness in her joints, still present despite the healing meditation, and the rumbling of her empty stomach. Now she let her gaze wander around the sparsely decorated room. Suddenly, she caught sight of a familiar object sitting on a small shelf right next to the general's large desk. Her lightsaber! As a plan started to form in her mind, she was addressed by the younger of the two visitors.
"I'm Admiral Noray," he informed her. "General Minas has told us, that you claim to have attended the academy at Prefsbelt."
"Yes, Sir, that is correct," she replied taking a closer look at him. He was about the same age as Minas, several years younger than the governor. His hair sported already more gray than the original auburn, but his face had retained a fairly youthful look. When their eyes locked for a short moment, Serina realized that she knew this man. But she was not certain, where she had met him. At a reception at the palace, perhaps? For a moment, the picture of a large group of high-ranking officers standing around a holo-simulator together with a familiar black-clad figure appeared before her mind's eye. But she did not get a chance to search her memories for the appropriate where and when.
"Who was the headmaster during your time there?" Noray continued his questioning.
"Former Senator Sauro, Sir."
The admiral nodded, gazing at her contemplatively. "I seem to remember you from somewhere. Have we met before?"
"I don't know, Sir, but it's possible. I have been on many missions during my time with the MI."
For long moments, Noray continued to scrutinize her. Then he got up and motioned for the general and the governor to join him as he stepped up to the large viewscreen currently depicting the nightly skyline of Pandath, turning his back on the young woman. "I can't be certain, but she might be what she told you," he informed the general in a low voice. "Sauro was the headmaster at Prefsbelt some fifteen years ago. And I might have seen her at one of the receptions at the Imperial palace some years back. Perhaps, you should release her. Hopefully, she will finish her mission and leave Taanab."
Suddenly, the overhead lamps went out, plunging the three men and their shackled prisoner into semi-darkness, only sparsely lit by the lights depicted on the viewscreen. Minas moved toward his desk. But before he could contact his front office, the lights came back on. Wearily, he cast a glance toward the entrance. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he found the young woman still in the same place she had occupied before the darkness had engulfed them. "Lieutenant Vron," he contacted his aide, "have the prisoner returned to her cell."
After the troopers had escorted her from his office, he accompanied his visitors to the landing pad. The reception at the governor's residence would start in a few hours. Any decision regarding the young woman would have to wait until the next morning.
As she was led back to the detention block on the lowest of the above-ground levels, Serina allowed herself a contented smile. Nobody had noticed the small metal cylinder now securely tucked away at the small of her back. Minas would be quite surprised to soon discover the true nature of the "broken" device.
A low rumble permeated the metal bunk she was sitting on and the walls of her small cell. In the distance, alarms sounded, getting closer with each new tremor that shook the whole prefabricated installation. Serina removed her lightsaber from where she had hidden it just an hour prior at the back of the primitive refresher unit and stepped up to the door. As she placed her ear against the metal, she could feel further detonations, apparently some levels above the detention block, and the sound of heavy feet stomping past her cell.
As she reached out through the Force, she could sense the presence of several troopers disappearing in the distance. The cells around her were vacant. If there were currently any other prisoners in the garrison, they had to be held on one of the other levels.
Suddenly, the overhead light went out, plunging her cell into absolute darkness. Holding down the safety catch with her small finger she pressed the activation switch of her weapon. The red blade, close to the color of venous blood, emerged. It did not take long to cut through the locking mechanisms at the right jamb of the cell door. Then Serina reached out through the Force to push the still sweltering metal aside.
The corridor of the detention block, only dimly illuminated by reddish emergency lights, was deserted, the blaring alarm reverberating from the bare duracrete walls. Serina switched off her weapon and started down the hallway toward the nearest staircase. With the main power still out, it was the only access to the upper levels of the installation. Knowing the general layout of these prefabricated garrisons by heart certainly has its advantages, she thought by herself with a wry smile as she pressed the emergency activation panel next to the entrance into the stairwell.
At first, the stairs were as deserted as the detention block had been and just as dimly lit. The alarm was drowning out all other noises as she cautiously edged her way up the steps toward the command center. When she had just passed the entrance into the third level of the garrison, the door suddenly swooshed open beside her. She whipped around to face the stormtroopers marching unto the half-landing, her thumb hovering over the activation switch of her weapon. Without a glance in her direction, the white armored figures filed past, heading down the steps she had just come up moments earlier. For several seconds, she pressed herself close to the wall beside the portal, barely daring to breathe.
Then the last set of troopers had passed her, and the door resealed behind them. Serina had just allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief when the regular lights abruptly returned. Instinctively, she raised her hand to shield her eyes against the sudden glare.
"Hey, you there, don't move!" A voice barked at her, loud enough to be easily heard above the din of the alarm. The whole squad had come to a standstill. One of the troopers down on the next half-landing had already trained his blaster straight at her with the others quickly following suit.
Without even thinking about what she was doing, Serina pushed herself away from the wall, increasing her momentum with the help of the Force, and raced up the stairs crouching low behind the solid metal banister. The first blaster bolts struck the duracrete where she had stood only seconds prior and followed her up the steps. With a forward roll, she landed in the back corner on the next half-landing just out of the line of sight of the uppermost of her pursuers. She would have to be quick about eliminating the troopers before they could alarm others to her presence. If it was not already too late for that! But hopefully, her computer virus had also disrupted the communication with the stormtroopers along with all the other electronic equipment.
With a fluid motion, she got back on her feet. Crouching low behind the banister, she peered over the railing. And ducked her head back down quickly, when a blaster bolt whooshed by, missing her only by an inch. The troopers had secured the half-landing in front of the entrance and were starting to move up the stairs toward her position. Quieting her mind, eliminating all those emotions she would have used in the past to draw on the dark side and wrapping herself in her feelings of love and care, she gave herself fully to the Force surrounding her. Reaching out with her mind, she became aware of the position of each of the white-clad figures below. With a fluid motion, she ignited her weapon and leaped onto the metal railing. Then she dove downward for the next half-landing, flipping in midair to land back on her feet right in the midst of the surprised soldiers. A wide swipe of her lightsaber cut through the plastoid-composite plating of the pair closest to her, slamming the men against their comrades before they slumped to the floor.
The others scattered up and down the stairs to gain enough distance from the dark red blade now weaving a protective layer in front of their attacker. Before the troopers had a chance to regroup, Serina flung herself at the group that had chosen to retreat toward the next lower half-landing. Deeply immersed in the Force, time slowed and, while deflecting the few stray bolts leveled at her from above with her lightsaber, she evaded those from below by flipping her body away from them. Using the restriction caused by their helmets against the troopers, she extended her leap through the Force until she was directly above the trio. Then she made use of the rest of her momentum to slam into them. A few slashes of her lightsaber and some solid kicks later and the soldiers lay crumbled at the bottom of the stairs. With a hiss, her lightsaber deactivated as Serina crouched low between their bulky figures and the metal banister.
The troopers above her had suspended their fire due to her close proximity to their comrades, but now they released volley after volley of blaster bolts at her cover. She could feel the metal railing heating up rapidly while the strikes to the duracrete wall behind her pelted her with billows of small chippings and dust. For a moment, she hesitated, evaluating her options.
But time was running out. During the past minutes, she had not felt any new detonations. Soon, the rebels' X-Wings would start their strafing runs at the facility. With the deflector shields and the weapons emplacements victims of the first stage of her computer virus, the only defense would be provided by the TIE fighters. But the Imperials would be in for quite a surprise if they tried to launch them.
At the same time, the local group of dissidents, recruited during the past two months and organized into a perhaps not well trained, yet highly motivated strike force - in spite of Kayv's expectations to the contrary - would start a riot directly in front of the main gate and attempt to storm the base. Once the second phase of her virus implemented, the fence together with the force field gates would shut down for good. Just as with the rest of the attacked electronic devices, without the proper codes, the Imperials would have to do a complete reset of all computers to regain control.
But Serina was worried, that Minas would give the order to open fire on her fellow citizens. There would certainly be a blood bath if she did not manage to get to him first. And there were still four troopers blocking her way to the command center.
Again, she reached through the Force toward the troopers up on the next half-landing. And froze when she realized that there were only two presences to be found. Where was the other pair? There were only two ways to go: further up in the stairwell or back through the door into the level they had come from originally. But before she could search for them, she would have to dispatch those still blocking her advance. A small diversion would certainly be of advantage.
She quickly examined the downed soldiers around her. Carefully staying within her limited cover, she wrenched the blasters out of their dead hands and loosened some other items from their belts. Soon she had a small pile of potential missiles at her side. Then she grabbed the whole collection through the Force and flung it upward at the still firing troopers. The cluster of items started to spread out as it approached the half-landing, temporarily drawing the fire away from her cover. It was all the distraction she needed. She wrapped herself in the Force, ignited her weapon, and rushed up the stairs with unnatural speed.
The troopers did not have a chance at all. Within a few moments, it was over. When the last one slumped to the ground, Serina had already deactivated her lightsaber and was reaching out with her mind for the missing pair. As she had expected, they had not gone back into the third level but had moved further up into the staircase toward the command center. Taking several stairs at a time, Serina raced up after them.
The two men had just arrived at the half-landing right below the exit to the sixth level when she caught up with them. While the trailing trooper turned and loosened a volley of bolts at her, the commanding officer of the squad tried to scramble up the last steps toward the door. But Serina could not allow that to happen. Relinquishing the deflection of the bolts with her lightsaber to her instincts, she concentrated on the armored figure little more than a flight of stairs above her. As she grabbed him with the kind of Force grip her master had been so famous for, she yanked him backward down the stairs and into his comrade who was still firing at her. For a short moment, they tried to regain their balance, but it was to no avail. With the rest of the shots ricocheting off walls and banister railings without even getting close to her, the two men tumbled down the remaining steps and landed in a heap at her feet. With two more slashes, the situation was finally back under control.
With a hiss, her blade retracted into the hilt. For a long moment, Serina just reached with her senses into the din of the alarm still filling the stairwell and beyond the door toward the command center. But she discovered no undue attention in the minds on the level slightly above her. Apparently, nobody had taken any notice of the short fight. Although it had delayed her progress toward the General, the troopers had provided her unwittingly with an unexpected opportunity to enter the large command center unnoticed. With quick, well-versed moves she started to strip off the armor of one of her downed opponents.
Several minutes later, Serina found herself an unobtrusive spot in the large command center. The corridor she had stepped into from the stairwell had been bustling with activity. Nobody had taken any notice of her not quite complete stormtrooper armor. Cradling the blaster rifle in her arms, she had fallen in step behind some Imperial officers on their way past the entrance to the command center. Then she had taken up a position right beside the blast doors, waiting for the next person to step through.
The wait hadn't taken very long. With most of the computer systems still fighting with her virus program, communication was still erratic, and orders had to be delivered by couriers instead of the com system. There was a constant in and out of the currently unguarded entrance. When another of the General's aides had stepped back into the command center, Serina had eased her way past the doors and had taken up a position just to the right of the portal. Then she had slowly edged her way into a corner nearly hidden from view beside some tall terminals.
As her gaze swept over the wide expanse of the central control room, she was glad to notice that there were fewer officers attending the terminals than she had expected. Most of the displays were still dark. The few active ones were attended by officers frantically tapping buttons and punching in orders. But they would be in for a surprise shortly. General Minas stood amid the frenzy of activity and was barking orders at his subordinates.
Suddenly, another alarm filled the room, drowning out all other noises. As one of the larger viewscreens on the far wall started to display the sensor readings of the attacking X-Wings, Serina turned her attention to the large blast doors. Reaching with her mind into the electronic control system right above the entrance, she used the Force to disconnect it from the approach sensors and the manual override. Until she reconnected those links, nobody would be able to enter or leave the room unless they cut their way through the thick metal plates. With everybody's attention centered on the approaching ships, she started to strip out of the stormtrooper armor.
When the lights cut out a second time only moments later, the flurry of activity that erupted in the dim emergency illumination was already close to chaos. Minas started barking even more orders, not willing to accept that his subordinates had no way to comply with any of them. Most of the terminals that still had had power moments earlier were now dead, too. Shields, weapons, and most of communications had been disabled earlier. Now the death fence around the facility, tractor beams, and sensors followed. The few unaffected controls were of little use for the defense of the garrison. After all, neither waste management nor equipment manufacture would have an influence on the imminent events.
Into the din of the blaring alarms, the first explosions caused by the strafing runs could be heard and the tremors felt despite the supposedly secure position of the command center several levels below the base of the sensor tower on top of the garrison. Then the shaking got stronger. Billows of duracrete dust floated down from the ceiling, reducing the sight within the large room even more.
A commotion started at the entrance when somebody wanted to leave but the doors would not budge. As the attention found a new center point, Serina used the blaster to pick off her first victims at the other end of the room. Before anybody took notice of what was happening, several officers had already slumped across their stations or to the floor beside them. Then she veered around and showered the small group at the entrance with a whole barrage of stun shots taking out two of the armed guards in the process. By the time, the remaining officers and Minas himself had taken cover behind diverse terminals, the Force had provided her with the exact location of each of the men in the room.
The last two armored guards tried to use the cover of the bulky stations to advance toward her position. But she was not about to give them a chance. Switching the blaster to her left hand, she reached for her lightsaber. When the dark red blade sizzled into existence, she stepped out from behind her cover and into the open. It did not take long for the men to seize the opportunity to attack.
As she advanced toward their position behind a waist-high console, she deflected their blaster bolts back into their cover. It only took a few shots, and the whole terminal erupted into flames. With a sharp outcry, the guards tried to jump toward more secure positions, but Serina did not grant them the time to reach them. With loud thuds, both of them dropped to the floor and slammed into their targeted new covers as her stun bolts hit home. With a hiss, the blade retreated into the hilt.
The rest was only a question of time. Moving swiftly around the large room, Serina used the Force to pull the remaining men from their covers before she stunned them individually. When the alarm suddenly cut out and silence fell on them like a thick blanket - only disturbed by the crackling of the fire in the destroyed console - there was just one other person still able to move besides Serina: General Minas. Still cowering low behind one of the data stations and frantically trying to get a glance at the situation in front of his cover despite the dim illumination and the smoke that was swiftly filling the air, he did not even notice her soft-footed approach.
"Get up!" Serina ordered the older man who jerked toward her with a startled expression on his face. But he quickly tried to regain his composure. Rising to his feet, he faced the woman who had been his prisoner twice.
"I guess you had your little act of revenge. But what did you try to accomplish with it? And what will you do now? Kill me? You're never going to get out of here alive!" His face had taken on an expression of contempt as he regarded her intently.
"But you see, in this you err greatly, my dear General," Serina could not quite withhold the glee from her voice. "I never intended you any harm nor your men. Most of them will survive this whole action if you do exactly as I say."
"Why should I?" His disdain was palpable. He still had not realized the full extent of their defeat. It was time to bring him up to speed. She could only hope that everything had gone according to plan at the Governor's residence and outside of the command center. But on the other hand, would she not have felt it through the Force before now if it hadn't?
A feeling of unease overcame her as she hurried to get into contact with the other rebel groups. Ordering the general into one of the vacant chairs and keeping him at bay with her blaster, she walked over to the comm station and punched in the code required to deactivate the part of the virus program currently impeding the transmissions. Then she selected the frequency agreed upon with Marc and send out the prearranged signal.
"I wouldn't try that if I were you," she advised the general without bothering to turn in his direction. He had tried to use her apparent state of distraction to edge out of the chair and toward the downed guards. He cast a furious glance at her but slumped back down and didn't dare to move another inch.
Finally, Marc answered her signal, and the connection was established. "You've got him?" his voice appeared strained but at the same time relieved.
"Yes, the command center is under my control. But I didn't have the chance yet to check on the progress of the others. And the systems are still down, so I am blind and deaf in here. But that will change shortly."
"I'll inform Blount of your situation," Marc promised. "Just wait for them to reach your position," he advised her. Apparently, the take-over of the garrison with the help of the local dissidents was still in progress, although she hadn't heard any further explosions during the past few moments.
"Is everything alright at your end?" Serina had not forgotten the strain in Marc's voice.
"It is now. We'll talk about it later. Just wait for us with the celebration, you hear?" She could barely restrain her curiosity at what had taken place at the governor's residence. But first, she would have to find out, how the rest of the rebels had fared so far. Once Blount arrived at the command center, he would help her transfer the general and the rest of his crew down to the detention blocks.
Careful to keep her blaster trained at the older man at all times, Serina moved about and collected the small hand weapons of the downed guards. Then she entered another command into one of the terminals, reactivating the lights in the command center as well as the internal monitoring system of the base. Although several of the security cameras had been sabotaged along with other sensitive targets throughout the facility - including the three AT-STs and the lonely AT-AT in the vehicle bay - enough of them still existed to grant her a general overview of their plan's success.
As screen after screen lit up and displayed scenes from various areas of the garrison, Serina's expression grew harder with each new sight. Yes, they had overpowered most of the Imperials on the bottom levels of the base and were moving slowly toward the command center, but at what price! Wherever she looked, there was destruction and death. And by far not the majority of the dead were Imperials, either.
With a stony face, she turned to the general. "You will command an end to this, now!" she barked at him.
With a haughty expression, he just repeated his previous statement, "Why should I?"
Serina could feel the anger boiling up within her, the darkness she had successfully driven back during the beatings vying for preeminence over the light. You do want to end it quickly, a little voice whispered at the back of her mind, just use your powers. It's for a good purpose. The end justifies the means, doesn't it? But she knew better. The end did not always justify the means. To give in now would just drive her back toward the dark side, a path she had vowed to herself to never walk again. With her free hand clenched into a tight fist, she just stood there, glaring at the older man in front of her.
If the general was aware of the fight taking place within her soul or if it was just his callousness, acquired in the many years of service to an unjust and cruel Empire, did not really matter at all. His next remark was snide, and it was the straw that broke the eopies's back. "Is this the kind of surviving you were talking about?"
For just an instant, her tight control on the emotions, collected and honed in fifteen years to grant her quick access to the dark side, wavered. The anger at herself for not having prevented the deaths of so many of her fellow citizens surged through her, gathering speed as it was joined by the memories of the many other losses in her life, starting with her parents and ending with the man she had and would always love. It mingled with the experiences of the treatments she had received, the beatings, the questionings, and the pains that had been inflicted on her from the most recent just hours prior to those she had endured at her master's own hands. And it was finally joined by the emotions caused by the condescension and disregard the Imperials had shown toward her, from John Rogards and his uncle to General Minas himself, whether it was because of her age and descent or just because she was a woman.
As the darkness welled up in her, as the desire to open up to it, to tab into the Force through those powerful emotions, reached the point where she just could not fight it any longer, Serina was suddenly overcome by a dead calm. As she opened herself to the powers she had learned to wield through the teachings of her Sith master, she straightened up to her full height and her eyes acquired a fiery, red-rimmed yellow.
Minas watched the frightening transformation, his condescension from moments earlier replaced by an expression of utter terror. For a moment, he was reminded of the stories he had heard from those who had had the questionable privilege of meeting the now dead Dark Lord of the Sith in person and had managed to survive it. The dark and powerful presence now glowering down at him had nothing at all in common with the young girl he had once arrested.
But he did not get a chance to ponder what might have caused the change. For a short moment, he felt Serina's gaze pierce through him, then it was past and continued outward. Her face took on an expression of absent-mindedness, yet at the same time reflecting an all-encompassing awareness as if she could see everybody at the garrison at the same time. She dropped the blaster and raised both of her hands, no longer clenched into tight fists, but extended in a clawlike posture toward him. Then a wave of power emanated outward from her, washing over and past him. Within the wink of an eye, everything was swallowed up into nothingness as her stasis field hurled him into a near-catatonic state.
With a last mental effort, Serina reached for the mechanism above the entrance into the command center and reattached the severed connections. Then she slumped to the floor and covered her face with her hands. Bitter tears streamed down her cheeks, as shame eliminated any triumph she might have felt about defeating the remainder of the Imperials. For a short moment, giving in to the darkness had made her feel all-powerful - a feeling she remembered only too well sharing many times with her Dark Lord in the years that had passed. It had been one of the few pleasures he had allowed himself. And pleasurable it had been. It had felt right and satisfying. And at the same time all wrong! It was a path, she didn't want to tread, a power she didn't want to wield. And yet, she had done it again! How would she ever manage to be free of the dark side, to turn into the Jedi she had always envisioned herself becoming during her childhood days?
When Blount and Derk found her long minutes later, the tears had subsided and Serina had regained a certain amount of her composure. But it was only skin-deep. The immersion in the dark side had left her drained and distraught, but the others quickly ascribed it to overexertion.
"Are you alright?" Blount addressed her as he helped her back to her feet.
Serina only nodded weakly. "I'll be ok. Don't worry about me. Just keep a good eye on him." She motioned toward the general who was just starting to stir again in his chair. "What's going on outside?"
"We've got the Imperials under control. Once they were knocked unconscious, we just went around and disarmed the whole lot. Most of the troopers are locked in the detention cells and the others we've rounded up in the mess halls. But say, did you do that?"
Before she could answer Blount's question, her attention was drawn back to Minas. Derk had just made the general get up out of his chair and was about to place binders on his wrists. The expression on the older man's face was a mixture of fear and defiance as he addressed Serina, "What are you? And how did you do that?"
But she just gazed at him stony-faced and motioned for Derk to lead him out of the control room. His snide remark had tipped her over the edge. She was not about to give him a chance of getting under her skin like that ever again. And it would be better for him as well. He might not survive another outburst of her anger.
Several hours later, Serina dropped onto the comfortable couch at her aunt's house with a deep sigh. Marc took a seat across from her and reached for one of the glasses with cold diluted Cashok nectar Marisa had just put there. It had taken them the rest of the long Taanabian night to consolidate their hold on the garrison. The first task had been to transfer the prisoners from the Governor's residence to the base. There they locked them up in the same detention blocks where General Minas, his command personnel, and the surviving stormtroopers had already been secured earlier. The rest of the Imperials - the pilots and the walker crews as well as the support and technical personnel - had been rounded up in the large mess halls and, after searching them and their quarters for weapons and anything else they could use against their captors, they had been transferred into their respective rooms with the doors centrally locked. All in all, it had proved quite beneficial, that the garrison had been badly understaffed. Instead of a few thousands of Imperials, they had to only deal with several hundred that had survived the fights.
By that time, all systems had been restored to their proper working order and the base had been firmly under their control. It had not taken much convincing to get Governor Sirak to send orders to the Badger to stand down from any rash actions until Admiral Noray had recovered from his wounds. When Tive had risen the next day, Serina and Marc had left the base in the hands of their comrades and the local dissidents and returned to the farm.
"So, you still haven't told me what happened at the residence." Serina was aware that two of the rebels and at least two of the locals were dead and that several others and a few of the Imperials had been brought back seriously wounded, including the admiral. But Marc had not found the time during the busy night hours to explain how their simple and apparently foolproof plan had gotten so completely out of hand.
Marc sighed deeply. Then he recounted for her and her aunt the events of the previous evening...
We had finished the preparations about an hour before the base contacted us and advised us of the imminent arrival of the Governor and the officers from the Badger. Lens and Smark took over the positions as guards at the front entrance. Most of the others were either dressed up as part of the event team in the main lobby or as support staff in the kitchen.
When the transport arrived, I went outside to greet the governor. I introduced myself as the event manager and showed him the preparations for the reception. His officers and the two accompanying guards remained in the main lobby and several of our men entertained them with some pre-dinner drinks and appetizers. When I returned with the governor from the tour of the kitchen and the ballroom, I gave everyone the signal. They pulled their weapons from the diverse hiding places and overpowered the men. Only one of the guards tried to fight us, but we could eliminate him quickly. The second one surrendered and we disarmed him moments later. Then we split the men up and locked them into the two smaller offices just to the side of the main lobby.
But I somehow had a bad feeling all along. It had just been too easy. No matter how good our planning had been - I hadn't expected it to work quite that well. The others already started to congratulate themselves when there was suddenly a commotion at the front entrance. We heard some blaster shots and when I tried to contact Lens via comlink, neither he nor Smark responded to my call.
The lobby was just too large to be defended against an unknown number of attackers, thus we split up into two groups. I had the others herd the Imperials from the small offices and bring them into the main kitchen. That was the largest room in the residence. It didn't have any windows and only two entrances. I figured it would be easy to defend. Then I had my group take up positions on the gallery above the lobby and we braced ourselves for the attack.
We didn't have to wait long. Apparently, the troopers didn't dare to risk the lives of the admiral and the other officers. They cracked open the front door and tossed some smokers into the lobby. When there was enough smoke to cover their advance, several stormtroopers tried to enter the building. But smoke or no smoke, they were pretty easy pickings for us up on the gallery.
Then there were shots from the direction of the kitchen. We raced down the steps, but then we heard a noise from the other side of the residence as well. There was a second group of stormtroopers that must have come in through one of the back windows. I figured they would try to charge toward the kitchen as well and sent two of my men in that direction. The rest of us hid in one of the rooms along the hallway. We waited until they advanced past us and then sprang the trap on them. The fight was fierce but short. Two of my men got wounded, but we took all six troopers down. Then we hurried toward the kitchen, but by the time we got there, the fight there was over as well.
Come to find out, that the third group of troopers had entered the residence through the subbasement delivery entrance. But what they hadn't reckoned with was the fact that the only access from the subbasement to the ground level would lead them directly into the kitchen. And our men in there were already waiting for them. There was a short fight but our men were clearly in a better position. But when their attention was diverted, Admiral Noray suddenly pulled a small holdout blaster from under his tunic and shot down two of the locals from behind before the others could stop him. The admiral was actually quite lucky. One of the younger locals took him down, but, as you know, most of them don't have much experience. His wound is debilitating, but with the right treatment, the admiral will survive. A few others got wounded during that fight as well, but none of them seriously, and neither the governor nor any of the other officers came to harm. We later discovered that two of the troopers had survived heavily wounded as well.
We never found the transport that had brought the two squads to the residence. It probably left right after dropping them off. But when we searched the admiral, we found a comlink hidden in one of his pockets.
"It must have been him, who had arranged that whole attack. But we still have no idea how he could have gotten suspicious. When he has recovered enough, we will have to question him about that," Marc concluded his account of the events.
Serina nodded thoughtfully. A thorough search of her memories had provided her with additional insight into the matter. "I think I might know. You see, when they stopped at the base, Minas had me brought into his office. Noray was not sure, but he thought he recognized me from some event at the palace ..." For a moment, she trailed off as a name flashed through her mind, a name she hadn't thought of since the destruction of the first Death Star. A picture emerged from the depth of her memories: a young woman, peering out from the entrance to a turbolift, confusion over what she had just witnessed clearly visible on her face. With an effort of will, she pushed the thought aside and continued with her explanation. "He probably came to the conclusion that either I was who I claimed to be - which would make Minas one unhappy general once Isard found out what he had done - or I had become a traitor and had infiltrated the garrison. And he has always been one to cover all bases. Apparently, he ordered some of his troopers to the residence just for the case that I wasn't who I claimed to be. It really is a pity that he is such a staunch Imperialist. He was one of the few admirals I met in all those years who had truly earned his position based on his competence and not just due to relationships and intrigues. The New Republic could use men like him."
"And you don't think that there's a chance he could be won over to our cause?"
Serina shook her head. "No. From what I remember about him, his loyalty to the Empire runs quite deep. People like him have a hard time accepting that the object of their loyalty is rotten to the core. But who knows, somehow, I can't imagine him getting along too well with Isard. Perhaps her actions will open his eyes in a way Palpatine's never could. Only time will tell. But I was just wondering, was there, by chance, a female officer from the Badger among those at the residence? About my age, a little bit shorter than me, stockier, with dark hair and brown eyes?"
Marc considered for a moment. "There were two female officers in that group. One of them does match your description."
"You wouldn't happen to know her name?" Serina could feel a strange excitement growing in her, accompanied by an unusual awkwardness. Could it truly be? After all these years?
"No, but I can call at the garrison and have them find out," Marc offered.
"Don't bother, I'll check into it myself when we get back there later on."
"Ok," Marc agreed. He was just about to question Serina regarding what had happened at the base after the general had arrested her when the sound of the opening front door interrupted him.
"Serina! Marc! How did it go? Did everything work out the way you had planned?" Caaroq greeted both of them with a joyous embrace, holding on to Marc just a little longer than usual. Serina had to smile to herself. She had noticed the growing attraction between her two friends and was really happy for both of them. They had so much in common and she had sensed a bond that had formed already during their very first encounter. But both were still too preoccupied with other issues to realize that themselves. And yet, she was quite certain they would once the Imperials were gone, and a semblance of calm returned to Taanab.
Letting go of Marc, Caaroq drew up short as she noticed the strain on both of her friends' faces. "What happened?" she questioned in a sober tone.
"We did succeed," Marc informed her, "but we had quite some casualties and if it hadn't been for Serina, our losses would have been even much higher."
"But you are in control of the garrison, right?"
"Yes, we have all of the Imperials locked up, either in the detention cells or in their quarters. And in a few days, we will have them all shipped to the Badger. The Conglomerates have already congratulated us on our success and indicated that they would be pleased to sign the agreements we came for in the first place. But we did lose quite a few of our men, mainly local dissidents, but Lens and Smark were taken out by some stormtroopers that charged the residence, and Renard and Mirko got killed during the attack on the base. Like I said, if it hadn't been for Serina, I don't know how many more would have died. But I was just going to find out what really happened at the garrison." All of them turned toward Serina and gazed at her expectantly.
For a long moment, the young woman just looked down at her restless hands in embarrassment. Then she straightened up and, after a deep sigh and with a determined expression on her face, she started to recount what had taken place after the general had arrested her two days prior. As awful as she felt about what she had done, it had saved the day for the rebellion, and anyway, she was not about to conceal her actions from her friends.
The cell was not far from where General Minas had kept her locked up during her short, but quite unpleasant stay there. Two women occupied the sparse room, both of them still in the dress uniforms they had worn to the governor's reception a whole Taanabian day prior.
Serina did not need the Force to confirm that she had found her former academy roommate and friend. A friend, she had never met again after their graduation and after Pat had accompanied her to the shuttle pad tower in Prefsbelt Green. For many years, she had kept a tab on her friend's progress through the ranks of the Imperial Navy. At times, she had interfered and arranged assignments she had considered beneficial to the young woman, at least as far as her survival was concerned.
After studying Admiral Noray's records for an upcoming meeting with Lord Vader - a task that had been hers regarding anyone her master had any personal dealings with - she had arrived at the conclusion that an assignment on this man's ship would grant her academy friend the greatest chances of all to survive the upcoming conflict. Just as she had told Marc, Noray was truly an honorable and honest man, attributes not often found in high-ranking Imperials. And he didn't have the habit of charging into conflicts without considering the risks as some others she had known. It had not taken long to make the necessary arrangements. Two months later, Pat had been offered the position of head of communications on the Badger and, obviously, she had accepted the appointment.
Then time had sped up, leaving Serina with no more opportunities to check on her friend from academy days... - ...until now. As she cast another look on the small screen next to the entrance into the cell, she wondered how Pat would react to seeing her. It would be an awkward moment, that much was certain. What conclusion had she arrived at regarding what she had seen there on the shuttle pad tower? She had noticed Pat's gaze at her lightsaber, but had the young woman recognized it for what it was? And what it implied?
There was only one way to find out. With new resolve, she straightened up, pulled her robe tightly around her body, and placed her hand on the access panel beside the door.
Both prisoners cast a bored look at her when she stepped into the brightly lit cell, but she could sense their worry behind their mask of indifference. Suddenly, the shorter, stockier one of them jumped to her feet and planted herself in front of Serina. Inadvertently, her hand jerked to her lightsaber, but with an effort of will, she dropped it back to her side and forced herself to relax. With as friendly a smile as she could manage in the awkward situation, she gazed into the face of her onetime roommate.
For long minutes, Pat just glared back at her in silence. At first, there was still an amount of doubt, but it was quickly replaced by unquestionable certainty. And with the recognition, anger turned her face a shade of crimson before it hardened with contempt so palpable, that Serina reared back as if she had been struck with an invisible fist. "You!" With a vicious snarl, Pat turned away and returned to her place beside her fellow officer. "Go away, I don't want to have anything to do with your kind."
Although she had known it would be an awkward kind of reunion, this reaction was beyond anything Serina had expected and it left her stupefied. What had her former friend experienced in the many years since their graduation? What was she referring to with "your kind"?
"I'm sorry," she finally managed to mumble while taking a step backward toward the door, "I have no idea what I did to you. If I did, I'd do anything in my power to atone for it. I never meant to do you any harm. I better go now. You'll be transferred back to your ship in a few hours. If you want to talk about it, just have them call me. I'll be around." Then the door opened behind her and she retreated backward through it into the corridor beyond.
For a long time, she just stood there gazing blankly at the closed entrance, for once totally at a loss for words. When her comlink chimed in her pocket, calling her attention back to other issues, she forced herself to relinquish the emotions the confrontation had caused. No matter how unjustified Pat's reaction might have been, she would not allow indignation and the resulting anger to have mastery over her as she once did on Telos. It would only lead her back closer to the dark side. Unless she somehow discovered the crux of the matter, there was really nothing she could do now. Accepting situations, she could not change, had never been an easy lesson, but it was a lesson she had learned the hard way a long time ago.
Most of the Imperials, including her former friend Pat, had left Taanab and were either already onboard the Badger or currently on their way there. The locals had been quick in appropriating anything they could use from the stocks of the garrison during the week that had passed since conquering the facility. A large portion of the weapons, the few remaining TIE fighters and bombers, and some of the ground vehicles together with several shiploads of supplies had been transported to the rebels' base. Much of it would stay there for the case that the Empire tried to launch any kind of retaliation against them, but some of it would be transported to the current headquarter of the New Republic for use wherever needed.
With the Imperial leaders in their custody and the main garrison in their hands, the smaller installation close to Legath on the other side of the planet had been quickly evacuated and turned over to the local government. It was not one of the prefabricated bases as the main one outside of Pandath but had once been a large harvesting facility, taken into possession and rebuilt by the Imperials several years back to suit their needs. It would not take long for the conglomerate in control of that area to restore it to its former use.
Once the last of the soldiers left with their shuttle toward the waiting Star Destroyer, everybody was scheduled to evacuate the already heavily damaged base and Marc would activate the automatic self-destruct of the facility. Actually, the proof of their ability and determination to destroy the base had finally convinced General Minas to order the withdrawal of all Imperial forces from the system.
The governor had already left the base a few days earlier. The rebels had granted him leave to transfer his personal belongings from the residence to the Badger and he had chosen to accompany his possessions to the waiting ship.
The last to leave the base were General Minas and Admiral Noray. Serina and Marc escorted them to the waiting shuttle. When the admiral had recovered from his injuries, Marc had questioned him regarding the events at the governor's residence and he had freely confirmed Serina's conjecture. He had actually been quite cooperative once he had realized their inevitable defeat and had confirmed the governor's orders to his ship to refrain from any countermeasures.
At the foot of the ramp leading into their vessel, Minas just took his leave with a curt nod in Marc's direction, avoiding any eye-contact with Serina, and disappeared into the shuttle. But Admiral Noray stopped and turned toward the black-clad woman he was still convinced to have met years prior. "May I ask you a question?"
Serina favored him with a friendly smile. "Sure. What would you like to know?"
"I was right, wasn't I? We have met before, somewhere at Imperial Center, if I'm not mistaken. And I don't remember your name being Wiscr, either."
"Your memory serves you well. It was a meeting Lord Vader had with several of the moffs and admirals regarding a combined effort to locate the rebel headquarters. It took place about six years ago; right after the rebel leaders had escaped from the first Death Star. Lord Vader had introduced me as his communications aide and coordinator for the action."
Noray nodded, as he called the event back to mind. "He introduced you as Captain Wanders, didn't he?"
"Yes. That's my real name and my rank at that time. As I told you the other day, I did graduate from Prefsbelt and served in the Imperial Navy for several years. However, I had become assigned directly to Lord Vader even before I graduated."
For a moment, the admiral considered what she had just revealed to him. "I see. Quite a position to hold for a young woman. And most officers wouldn't have wanted to trade that assignment with you, either. But there is one thing I'm curious about. After holding such a position in the Empire, how could you turn into a traitor within such a short time after the Emperor's death?"
"That is actually quite simple: my loyalty always belonged to Lord Vader and as long as he served the Empire, I did, too." For a moment, she hesitated. "Did you ever hear a report about what happened on the second Death Star? How the Emperor died?"
Noray shrugged his shoulders. "There are rumors and there is the official version. Somebody told me that that self-pronounced Jedi, Luke Skywalker, killed him. But I also heard from Imperial Center that the Emperor killed himself to defeat some rebel plot."
"No," Serina shook her head, "forget the official version. And it wasn't Luke Skywalker, either. But it was indeed a Skywalker who hurled the Emperor to his death, Anakin Skywalker." At the quizzical expression on the Admiral's face, she expounded further, "Did you know that the Emperor himself was a Dark Lord of the Sith?"
Noray shook his head in disbelieve.
"Well, only very few people were aware of that," she continued. "He was quite careful to present another Sith to the galaxy: Lord Vader. But the Dark Lord, you all feared so much - and rightfully so - was only his apprentice."
Again, she paused to let the words sink in. "You see: he had once been a famous Jedi Knight by the name of Anakin Skywalker. He fought in the Clone Wars until Palpatine turned him to the dark side and into a Sith Lord. But right before Vader's death, he recovered what he had lost so many years prior. Actually, it was the Emperor's ploy to replace Vader by turning young Skywalker to the dark side. Luke did defeat the Dark Lord, but he refused to kill him and take his place at Palpatine's side. So, the Emperor turned on the young man and would have ended his life. Vader intervened and hurled the Emperor down the reactor shaft, sacrificing his own life in the process to save his son. That's what truly happened and don't let anybody ever tell you anything else."
Noray favored her with a dubious expression. "And how do you know all that?"
A sad smile appeared on the young woman's face. "I was there when it happened. I saw both of them die." Then she added with fierce determination, "And now I am free. I'm free to serve whatever cause I consider to be just and true. And I can only hope that one day you will be free as well."
With a final nod toward her and Marc, the admiral turned and strode up the ramp into the shuttle. Serina had sensed an unusual introspection in the older man. Perhaps there was still some hope to win him over to their cause. But as she had told Marc before: only time would tell.