Chapter 4: First Encounter of the Worst Kind

Captain Othune sat in his office. He would have normally gone to his quarters by now, but ever since the incident on the freighter, he couldn't stop thinking about the idea of parasites loose on his ship. He had tried to remind himself that there was only one parasite, and that it was too busy with one stormtrooper to be wreaking havoc around the rest of the ship, but his imagination was running wild nonetheless.

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't even hear his comlink at first, but the sound eventually penetrated through to his consciousness, and he was grateful for the distraction.

"Yes."

"Sir, we're receiving a transmission from the Aparo Sector."

"The Aparo Sector?"

"Yes Sir. It seems to have originated from the Governor's Palace."

Othune got up and quickly made his way to the bridge. After all, a transmission from a governor was not something you ignored if you didn't want to lose your command. As he arrived, he signaled his communications officer to start the transmission. An image of an officer, not the governor, quickly formed in front of Othune, about half size, coming up to his waist. Othune was slightly disappointed.

"Captain Othune?"

"Yes."

"Colonel Wulmaw, ISB."

At this, Othune stiffened noticeably, his disappointment quickly replaced by dread. ISB, or Imperial Security Bureau, was one of the most feared government agencies in the entire Empire. If ISB knew about the freighter…

"I understand that you have recently found a derelict freighter along your patrol route."

Othune's gut tightened. "Yes Sir."

"I also understand that one of your stormtroopers is suffering from a macroparasitic infection."

"Yes Sir."

"What is his condition?"

"I've been informed that he is recovering already. However, his commander believes that he has an embryo of some sort inside him and that we need to do surgery immediately."

"Listen carefully. I want you to place the trooper in a detention cell, and keep him under constant surveillance. There will not be any surgery."

"But Sir, if the doctor can remove the embryo, then…"

"If you question my orders again Captain, then you will not live to regret it. Understood."

Othune winced. "Yes Sir, sorry Sir."

"Very well. Wulmaw out."

As Wulmaw's image disappeared, Othune sighed and was immensely glad that that conversation was over. He walked back to his office, wondering how ISB had gotten in the loop so quickly. Obviously, there was a spy aboard the ship, although Othune had always dismissed the rumors about ISB moles on Imperial ships as well, rumors.

Well, there was nothing to do about it now, but Othune made a mental note to start a discreet investigation after this whole mess was over.

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As Colonel Wulmaw ended the transmission, he opened another link to the Valorum, directed at the crew quarters. He encrypted it, to help prevent discovery by the bridge crew, and sent it. A few seconds later, the image of the ISB agent on the Valorum appeared.

"Yes."

"The infected trooper is being moved to the detention level. I want you to make sure that the detention level is deserted for the time being."

"Yes Sir."

"Oh, and eliminate Othune. I shudder at the thought of an incompetent like him in command of a Star Destroyer."

"It will be done."

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Jaxter was tending to the trooper, when his comlink went off in his office. He excused himself and went over to answer it.

"Yes."

"Doctor?"

"Yes Captain."

"How is your patient?"

Jaxter looked over at the trooper. "He seems fine, Sir. Very hungry, though."

"Listen carefully. I want you to transfer him to the detention level immediately."

"Sir?"

"Immediately, Doctor. Do I make myself clear?"

"With respect, Sir, I can't perform surgery effectively in a detention cell."

"Then you should be glad that you don't have to."

The comlink shut off before Jaxter could respond. He returned to the trooper.

"What was that all about?" the trooper asked.

Get your stuff together. You're being moved."

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LaRone walked into the infirmary, only to see it deserted. He walked over to a med droid standing in the corner.

"Where's Doctor Jaxter?" he asked.

"On the Detention level."

"What! Why?"

"He was moving the patient there."

LaRone was out of the infirmary before the droid could finish. He sprinted to the turbolift, causing several odd stares to be directed at him. Just as he was about to reach it, he saw Jaxter coming out of it. He stopped.

"Damn it, Cole, what the hell's going on!"

"Captain's orders, Cam."

"What?"

"He commed me and told me to move him down there."

"Is he all right?"

"Other than the fact that he's constantly and obsessively hungry, yeah, he's fine."

"What about the surgery? We need to get that thing out of him before it does it for us."

"I know, but the captain said no."

"Othune's not that stupid."

"Well, from the way he sounded, it wasn't entirely his idea."

LaRone thought about this for a second, before coming to a conclusion.

"ISB?"

"Probably, but it wouldn't be good for them to hear you talking about them."

"I suppose, but we still need to do something about this."

"I suppose the captain didn't institute a no visitors policy."

LaRone and Jaxter both headed for the turbolift.

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Using his security code, the ISB agent entered the security network and clicked on the Detention subroutine. The screen looked like this:

Detention:
1. Door locks
2. Communications/Surveillance
3. Suppression

Back

The agent first clicked on the second option:

Communications/Surveillance:
1. View Cameras 1-15
2. View Cameras 16-30
3. Pipe Audio to User Computer
4. Block Communications
Back

The agent clicked on the fourth option, then clicked Back. He then entered the Suppression subroutine.

Suppression:
1. Turrets
2. Nerve Gas

The agent clicked on the Nerve Gas option, and then selected a gas that affected humans only, and ordered instant deployment on the detention level. The computer showed a warning, but he quickly dismissed it.

Deploying…

The agent logged out and sat back, imagining that he could hear the hiss of the gas being distributed.

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LaRone and Jaxter got in the turbolift, and Jaxter pressed the button for the detention level. They endured the trip in silence, staring ahead at the bulkhead. As the doors opened, LaRone was disturbed that there didn't seem to be anyone on duty. He looked at Jaxter.

"They were just here," Jaxter said.

The next thing that LaRone felt was a sense of intense drowsiness, and he collapsed to the floor. Jaxter quickly followed in suit.

Meanwhile, in one of the cells, the infected trooper was writhing on the floor. He felt like he was being consumed by hunger. Suddenly, he felt something ram hard against the inside of his ribcage. He went rigid with pain as his chest exploded in a burst of blood and gore. The trooper looked down and saw a small creature, similar to the larger one that the boarding party had discovered on the freighter. He groaned and then lay back as the creature wormed its way out of his body.