Sophy'a stood standing with Hongeir staring at the Hologram of the Galaxy on the Bridge of Majesty Flame. The two stood around the hologram, looking as manifests and planets dotted the area in front of them. The hologram lit up the dark bridge like a single flair in the night.

"No, It cannot be done!" Hongeir tried to argue.

"You mean," Sophy'a said soberly, "you are not able to figure it out."

Hongeir furrowed his brow, "I've not heard of something more insane in my career! You are supposed to be a tactical leader, not a suicide agent!"

Sophy'a, staying cool, said, "I'd hardly call it a suicide mission commander."

"Hardly?" Hongeir said, his face now growing red, "You plan to infiltrate Mordan'Moran with a few dozen ships actively patrolling the area!"

Sophy'a smiled, "That's the point commander, and I want you to question yourself,"She turned off the map and looked Hongeir directly in the eyes, "Who is in Command, Commander?"

Hongeir let out a tired sigh, "If you want to kill yourself, fine. If it's on the Empress's orders."

That it is, some commander.

"Excellent," Sophy'a said, she turned back on the hologram and diverted her attention to it, noting the new additions to their fleet being labeled on the manifests. "Now that you agree, you can start by acquiring some supplies for me..."


The crew working on the Cordona Blu had finished the final adjustments by the time Sophy'a approached the Hanger. The hanger was as busy as usual, crewmembers running to and fro. She noticed the last of her supplies also was being loaded onto her ship and the final modifications being installed. Sophy'a was walking up the landing ramp when she heard her name being called behind her. It was Commander Hongeir.

"Nice of you to say your farewells Commander." Sophy'a said.

He looks out of breath, must have ran down here quickly. Didn't he know he could have sent a message?

"Sorry to delay you Cipher." Hongeir started, "But, Sir, Permission to speak candidly?"

"By all means Hongeir, it's not like you do not do so already." Sophy'a retorted, her sarcastic tone saturating every word.

Although in hindsight, this was a pretty humorous scenario in itself

Hongeir hanged his head in shame, his face blushing, "Thank you, Sir."

His tone got a little more stern. "Look, I may disagree with your methods, highly, in fact, but the crew has hope in you, and that is important in a commander. I had simply wanted to apologise."

Sophy'a thought about it for a moment, then, an idea popped into her mind, a smile grew on her face. She looked to her ship, the engineers closing the accesses panels, then back to Hongeir.

"Apology accepted Hongeir….in fact, i know just how you can repay me."


"You Can not be serious." Hongeir said, aboard the Cordona Blue, sitting arms crossed in the seat across her, staring into the streaks of hyperspace.

"You've asked that question many times, Commander," Sophy'a said, tinkering with a probe droid that was laid on the table between them; Parts of it were strewn around the table. "And every time, you seem to not like the answer."

"That would take a Miracle to pull-" Sophy'a interrupted him

"I don't need you to believe my plan will work, I need you to do exactly as I instruct, precisely when I need you to." She checked the control of the Probe droid, connecting it to a sensor.

Hongeir sighed. 'What makes you have so much faith in yourself Cipher?" he said, almost looking defeated.

Sophy'a didn't look up as she continued to check on the Drilling probe droid controls. She began to answer, but suddenly the droid, much to the surprise of the two sitting. It started to frantically roam the room, Sophy'a quickly clicked a button on her boot, and shut the probe down, it fell to the floor with a thud. Hongeir gave her a stare.

"Simple, Commander," Sophy'a said, picking up the deactivated droid,

"Planning ahead."


The Marketplace on Mordan'Moran was as busy as usual. Beings, mostly humans, scurried to and fro, covering their mouths from the atmosphere. Things have gotten a bit foggy since Sophy'a last visited the planet. She adjusted the glasses that hid her red eyes from the crowd, almost recoiling in the smell.

Definitely more toxic... but it won't be much of a problem for me for long.

Hongeir walked next to her. Both were covered in plain clothing and an urban poncho to blend it. Sophy'a know Hongeir felt extremely uncomfortable in the garb, which amused Sophy'a. She was also dressed in simple garb, and tied her hair accordingly. She carried a small leather satchel over her torso.

"I don't see why this is necessary." Hongeir whispered into her ear, trying to brush off something that fell on his shoulder, only to recoil in disgust.

Haha! Sophy'a chuckled inside her head, then grew serious,

"The Market is the easiest place to find guards." Immediately Sophy'a spotted two Eternal Empire soldiers patrolling the outer perimeter of the Market. Sophy'a eyed them as they walked around the corner.

"Why would we need guards?" Hongeir asked. Sophy'a shushed him and continued staring at the guards, watching their movements. She waited until precisely the right moment, grabbed a fruit from the local stall, and hurled it at the Trooper. It splattered all over his golden armor, causing the fruit to stain and stick to his armor.

Hah, It'll take weeks to wipe that off for him.

"Hey! Why you little-!"

"Run" Sophy'a ordered Hongeir and ran into the crowd as fast as her legs could carry her.

Hongeir could be heard running and yelling behind her. The Eternal Empire Troopers were quickly closing in behind her. Sophy'a made a right turn over a Vendor that sold necklaces and rings, which were knocked over by the Eternal Empire's soldiers as they chased after the two. Looking back, Sophy'a saw they were getting farther and farther back. Smiling, Sophy'a looked forward to see that two other Troopers were blocking their path, Blaster raised.

"Sir!" Hongeir yelled at her as he was gunned down with stun bolts

But that was all Sophy'a ever heard as she fell to the floor, the stun bolt piercing through her nervous system. SIlently, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and awaited the stun to take full effect.


"Make sure you watch our Imperial guests, especially Her…" a voice echoed. Sophy'a awoke with a sharp pain in her temple. She was strapped to a wall. her energy wrists bound above her. Hongeir was bound right beside her, his Wrists being bound to the wall as well. As soon as her hearing came back, she could hear Hongeir stirring.

"Wha- what happened?" his arms suddenly shook viciously as he tried to shake free. "What?! Where am I?"

"Quiet" The guard outside the Cell said.

Yes please quiet. Sophy'a said, her head still throbbing
"Cipher, what is this?!" Hongeir yelled, furious.

"Quiet down Commander, this is all going to plan." Sophy'a said calmly, as she tried to see if the Bracers would open.

Hongeir continued, "I must Protest, this was Humiliating from the Start, but THIS?! I'll have to file this in my report!"

Being this close to you would definitely be the hardest part of my plan. Sophy'a thought bitterly.

"Hongeir please let me in peace so I could concentrate." Sophy'a said, trying to listen in. she noticed the hum of a ships engines.

"We are on a Ship," She whispered, "not a large one at that...Excellent."

'I Said quiet!" The guard outside yelled into the cell.

She looked down to her boot. The Guards looked through her bracers, and the satchel laid on the floor across from her; but they never checked her boots.

"So if this is part of the plan," Hongeir, now calmer, questioned, "how will we get out of this?"

"Wait for my signal, look in the Satchel, do exactly what it says." Sophy'a said quickly under her breath as she noticed movement outside, "you'll know when." The cell doors opened, and in walked in a Man, he was tall, and had rugged dark red hair and pale tan skin. His eyes matched with His uniform which displayed an officer's plaque on it, which was odd, because he looked especially young. He walked in and stared at Sophy'a for a moment, and Sophy'a stared at him. He motioned to his aid, "Darm, take off her binders." the Aid agreed and removed her binders. She rubbed her wrist which were sore from the restraints they had on her, but mainly she was focused on this new officer.

He doesn't look like a threat. Sophy'a said as she studied the Young Man's features, he looked to be around mid twenties, although, she couldn't tell for sure. He seemed almost….familiar.

Nonsense, everyone could be a threat.

The Man turned his heels and walked out, motioning the aid to escort her. He put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off, not wanting him to guide her like a pet. They walked a little down the white and gold hallway while until they had come across a room farther down in the Prison. The room was dark and only furnished by a cheap white table and two metal chairs, a single light source hanged from above. Sophy'a soon realised why she was here;

Interrogation


Carmari sent Darm to the observing room, to make sure the Prisoner did not feel too uncomfortable. She had long black hair, blue skin and red piercing eyes, eyes that wouldn't reveal any secrets about her. From what Carmari could gather from his data reading, she was of a species known in the Galaxy as the Chiss, born in the farthermost reaches of the Galaxy, which had aligned with the Empire during the Galaxy's Civil war. What caught his attention was the fact that mostly, Chiss have been used for infiltration and reconnaissance in the old Sith Empire. This Chiss wanted to be found, which made Carmari all the more curious to find out what she was hiding.

She was rather beautiful Carmari thought, but shook it off, but the lingering feeling of his memory still ate away at him, as if he could remember her from somewhere. Slowly, she sat down in the seat opposite from the Observation room, Carmari sat down in front of her. He put his hands in a ball and leaned on the table, "Afternoon," Carmari said, remembering how his books had said to have a friendly approach during Interrogation. Carmari saw it had little to no effect, and the Chiss simply looked in another direction to ignore him. Carmari groaned internally

Why did I have to get signed up for this, I've never even done an interrogation! Carmari thought for a little bit. then, Knowing it would get her attention, he finished his sentence. In a more quiet voice, he said,

"Chiss."


"Chiss" her interrogated said.

Adorable.

"Was that supposed to get my attention?" Sophy'a said softly, cracking a small smile.

The Man began to blush. "Look," he started to say. Sophy'a could feel his nervousness, his sweat dripping from his brow.

There wasn't much attempt to mask it anyway. Poor boy.

Sophy'a took a deep breath, trying to stay cool and confident while being interrogated on a Hostile ship.

"I don't mean any trouble" He said, raising his hands up, trying to make himself seem more believable.

"That makes two of us." Sophy'a said, not bothering to look back at him, instead, out of the corner of her eye, Sophy'a studied him, and every motion he made. Humans had a problem with being….Unpredictable….and yet simultaneously, predictable; A rare trait in galactic species. This Human was young, almost Naive.

His hands came back down to the table, a more confused look grew on his face.

"Hey, I'm in charge of the Interrogation here!" the Interrogation Officer said.

Sophy'a chuckled, "Well, that's wonderful to hear. ."

First piece of advice taught in any Imperial academy, Sarcasm is the best way to get answers.

The Frustration on the Officer's face grew, then, he actually managed to calm himself down.

"Apologies, my Friend."

He emphasised the word Friend, as if he was attempting to get his point across.

"We started on the wrong foot, Why don't we start with a name?" The Officer said, folding his arms. Moments of silence passed.

"Alright," the Officer said, "I'll start, You are speaking to Captain Carmari, head of ZSID in this sector."
That name…

"ZSID," Said Sophy'a, "Interesting, i hear they are a relatively old Organization, and for you to have the honor so young as well…" Sophy'a's voice trailed off, "Must be proud." She said

Another look on his face, his eyebrows lowered and his eyes skirted from the bottom left to right.

"It isn't all it's cracked up to be, I only received my promotion after the conquering of this world from the Empire." It took Sophy'a no small amount of Strength to hide her anger.

"Must have been quite an honour to receive that promotion." Sophy'a said.

The Officer - Carmari - sat there silently for a bit, then nodded.

"I have read about the Empire." Carmari said, "despite a recent surge, much of it is now in tatters, but, why would they send you?"

Sophy'a moved her head down and her eyes up, "You don't seem used to interrogations, are you? So, why did they send you?"

A hint of confusion glimmered in his eye, his eyebrows arched down. "What?"

Sophy'a opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

"Enough of this," he said, his voice serious, "Why have you come here, Imperial?"

Sophy'a tapped her heels together, activating the signal for her droid.

It'll be time to leave...

Sophy'a shrugged, "Wanted to see the view again, felt your officers could use a splash of colour."

Carmari chuckled, then looked back at her, "and Now, the Real answer?" He leaned in a little closer, perhaps to not let the others hear, an almost sincere look on his face. "I really don't want to hurt you."

An Explosion rocked the ship, almost knocking her and Carmari aside. Alarm bells began to ring out and the room was now filled with a red glow pulsing with the tone of the alarm. A voice over the intercom was activated. "Alert, Alert, Reactor Malfunction, reading power loss, Major damage to center mass, all crew, Evacuate!"

Now. she got up from her chair, pushing the table in front of her. Carmari was pushed back, shaking his head, trying to recover. Screams could be heard outside, and in the observation room.

Carmari looked at her and pulled out the blaster strapped to his waist "hey-!" he never finished his sentence as Sophy'a grabbed his arm and flipped him onto the table, cracking it under the sudden weight. The Door opened to reveal the aid with Blaster in Hand. Sophy'a, catching Carmari's blaster, shot the aid square in the chest. He fell to the ground in a thud, clutching his shoulder. She looked to Carmari, who now stood up and looked ready to throw a punch. Aiming the Blaster at his head, Carmari slowly stopped, and raised his hands in the air, a look of panic on his face.

"I-I remember you…" he spat out in a panic amidst the alarms which coloured the dark room in a terrifying red, "You were one of the bodies in that crashed shuttle…"

The wave of memories flooded Sophy'a. In an instance, she remembered the shuttle, waking up, seeing Veranlea, seeing her fall, seeing a single officer with a sniper Rifle in the Dropship…..her finger twitched, Her eyes gaped wide open

Its Him…


Its Her…

Carmari thought as he stared down the barrel of a blaster pointed directly between his two eyes. He could feel the sweat being absorbed on his tunic. He looked at her again, then said for certain

It's her, the one among the bodies of Mordan'Morar, when I shot the Sith...It can't be….

The Chiss gripped the Pistol tightly. "Give me one good reason i shouldn't end your life right now…" Her voice dripped with fury, which only made Carmari all the more nervous. He shuffled through ideas.
"I..I could help you gain access to whatever you need onboard! My security clearance allows me to go to where I choose."

The Chiss thought for a moment, then pulled the trigger, shifting her aim directly beside Carmari's head; He felt the hot laser scorching past him, only to hit a wall not so far behind him.

"Try again." She said.

Carmari's heart began to beat faster, "What...what would you want?" he asked, in a desperate panic.

"You captured a Sith the day you invaded!" she said, her voice raised, "Veranlea, where did you take her!?" She demanded, pushing the weapon closer in his face.

"Wait wait...you mean, Darth Imperious?" Carmari said, trying to understand, looking past the barrel at her face.

The Chiss nodded, not moving her blaster.

"Oh, Oh, I...I know where she is!" the now excited Carmari said, realising he had a bargaining chip that could save his life. His gratitude for his favour with the higher ups grew exponentially.

The Chiss lessened her grip. "Prove it."

Carmari nodded, "I was with the Prince's as they took her away, she is on an Outlast Station, just like the ones orbiting Mordan'Morar."

A moment passed.

"And?" she said Impatiently.

"Let me come with you, and I may tell you the rest." Carmari said, gambling she simply won't end his life.

"That's not good enough." Sophy'a said, a near whisper.

Carmari grew more determined, "I know the Eternal Empire better than you do, I know their Access codes, locations of major bases, supply routes. If you want to win," he paused, "well, you would be a fool to kill me now."

"Alright, Captain, Let's say I believe you." She began to say, "and Let's say I were to bring you with me. Why won't you just Betray me?"

Carmari frowned, "it's not like I cared much for the Eternal Empire to begin with." the Chiss listened to him attentively, "I only got this because my Father had set me up in a small corner of the galaxy.." He plucked off the badge and threw it away, landing with a loud clunk. "I have always wanted something more, to see the galaxy, not just from afar."

Carmari waited as she thought about his words. They were as genuine as he could make them.

"Alright," The Chiss said, "Might want to grab the Badge back, you'll need it, and do exactly as I say." She lifted her blaster to his chin. "Or else…"

"Fine," Carmari said, picking back up his badge.

"Now, lead me to the control room." she said as she turned to walk outside

"Woah woah Hold on," Carmari said, catching her, "I don't even know your name."

She turned around and extended her hand. "Sophy'a."

Carmari reached out his hand, gripping Sophy'a's cold hands, and shook it. "Carmari, a Pleasure."


The Two slowly creeped out of the Interrogation room.

No guards, Interesting.
Sophy'a corrected herself, there did lay a restrained naked guard body in the Cell block were Sophy'a and Hongeir was restrained

Hongeir!

Sophy'a ran to the cell, Pistol in hand, to discover the Guard lay unconscious, and the Cell, including where Hongeir was restrained, was empty.

He must've escaped. Let's hope he remember where the ship was going to be. The Instructions in the Satchel were very specific.

The memories of Hongeir and his antics came to Sophy'a's mind

I hope this will work...

Carmari followed behind her, very carefully. Sophy'a pointed the blaster at him. "Show me the way to the Control center for this ship."

Carmari raised his hands and chuckled. "Are you going to threaten me with that for the rest of the day?"

Sophy'a said nothing but a small smile crept on her face. She motioned towards the door.

"Wait, said Carmari, "The outside is going to be crawling with troops. There's no way you'll be able to fight them off." Sophy'a raised an eyebrow. "That is," Carmari stammered, "there's no way you'll do it quickly."

Sophy'a sighed, "Okay, what do you have in mind?"

Carmari smiled and retrieved a pair of Binders from the nearby hold

"Youll have to trust me on this one." he said, holding the binders up.

This might be a grave mistake.

She thought for a moment, then lifted her arms up, allowing Carmari to place the Binders on her.
"Walk in front of me, stay in pace, and please," Carmari whispered, "Don't do anything foolish."

I got a bad feeling about this.


Carmari held the Pistol to her back as she escorted her through the Hallway of the dreadnaught. The alarm echoed in the hallway, with crew and soldiers running to and fro, trying to secure the ship.

I could shoot her at any moment Carmari realised as she looked down on her. He shook the thought off and maintained a fast walk as he led her down to the control room.

I could go back to my comfortable life. The intruding thought was raised again in Carmari's mind. Soon after, the memory of her sparing his life also came into view. Carmari shook his head.

No, this is the right thing to do.

"Down that hallway," Carmari motioned to the right, "Is the control center." He saw Sophy'a nod, but then look down to see that two guards stood between them and their objective.

"Where your guards part of the plan?" Sophy'a questioned sarcastically.

"Hey, Lockdown protocols, give me a moment." He nudged Sophy'a with the Blaster and they both walked towards the door.

"Halt." one of the guards said. "State your business."

"Oh hey Sergeant!" Carmari said, obviously feeling very casual, "ZSID needs to access this room for a technical readout, security protocols and whatnot"

"And the Prisoner?" the other guard questioned, pointing his rifle at Sophy'a, who looked down at her.

"Oh...well...umm…She's A-"

Suddenly Sophy'a seemed to decide she had enough of this and slammed all her body weight into the guard, the second one raised his weapon, but Carmari raised his first. He pulled the Trigger.

Nothing.

The guard managed to get a shot off, only to hit the bulkhead right behind Carmari's ducked head. He ran to the guard to try and pistol whip the guard. He caught his hand, struggling against the other. He raised his other hand up during the struggle and punched the Guard square in the cheek, he fell to the floor, trying to recover. Carmari took the opportunity to kick the fallen guard, causing him to twist around, unconscious. He looked to the other guard, who Sophy'a was strangling with her Brinders, soon falling to the ground with a thud. She raised herself to a stand, taking a deep breath. Looking at the two guards, Sophy'a started to make for the door, but Carmari caught her.

"Why wouldn't my gun fire?" he asked Sophy'a with hints of anger in his voice

Sophy'a pointed to a Powerpack clipped to her belt. "Safety Precautions, now, unbind me."

She almost killed me!

He shook his head

No, it made sense. Smart.

Carmari, hesitantly, unbinded Sophy'a's shackles. Sophy'a rubbed her wrists again, with an obvious look of relief on her face.

"After you." Sophy'a said, picking up the Rifle one of the guards were armed with.

"Ladies first," Carmari said, following suit.

"Charming," She said sarcastically, "but we need your codes." she said, motioning to the console

"Ah, Yes," he said, his face having a red tint. "Right…"

Carmari inputted the codes needed to enter the command center. The door slid open with a hiss and the two walked in to see Inside were three officers standing at consoles, they looked back suddenly, then looked behind them to see the bodies on the floor.

"I can explain-" Carmari said, before Sophy'a started to spray Blaster bolts towards the officers. The three officers ducked and pulled out their own pistols, returning fire. Sophy'a and Carmari dove for cover behind a console.

"Didn't I tell you to follow MY lead?" Carmari said, sending two bolts in the officer's direction.

Sophy'a ducked under a laser blast, which nearly took off her head, "well lucky for you, I improvise well."

"Well," Carmari said, kneeling up to send a few more shots in the general direction of its intended recipients, "how do you plan to get out of this mess?"

Sophy'a thought for a moment, looking around the room. "There!" she said, pointing at a metal shield that hung on an armory rack.

"You hold the shield, and i'll stay behind you." Sophy'a instructed.

Carmari starred at the shield for a moment, another laser bolt flying above his head. He dove for the shield, and turned his heels around. Sophy'a rolled behind him, Firing careful shots the three officers. The officers turned and fired at them, but the shots kept on bouncing into the shield as the two slowly walked towards them. Sophy'a closely followed behind the shield and, within moments, the three officers lay dead sprawling on the ground.

Carmari tossed the shield down on the floor, landing with a iron sounding Thud. Sophy'a ran towards the console while Carmari began to remove the bodies.

"Give me a moment." She said, as she entered into the mainframe. Suddenly she was blocked off, the console requiring to her to enter in security codes.

"Carm, what are the Security Codes?" she yelled as Carmari pulled the second officer by his arm.

"One Two Three Four Five.." he yelled back, straining.

"One...Two...Three...Who in blazes thought that was a good idea?!" Sophy'a said, entering the code. The screen lit up green and information began to file through.

"I figured it wouldn't be suspicious!" Carmari defended himself.

Sophy'a was torn between laughing and being in utter disbelief.


Carmari watched the screen as Sophy'a searched through the datafiles. She linked her datapad to the console and rigged the controls of the ships aboard to her datapad in a few short moments.

Interesting…

He looked down, her fingers were typing away at frightening speeds, her black hair flowed down to her shoulders. She still wore the same outfit they had captured her in. Her skin-

"Alright," said Sophy'a, "I had just finished downloading what I need-"

She stopped.

"What is it?" she said, noticing Carmari was distracted.

Snap out of it Carmari reminded himself.

"Oh-" Carmari said, trying to think of an excuse, "I was thinking about your friend from the cell!" he lied.

Sophy'a stared at him for a while. "Listen," she said, approaching him her voice very quiet, "I have served with Imperial Intelligence for years on end. I know when someone is telling the truth." She got closer, Really close, Carmari felt a lump forming in his throat and something press against his stomach. Looking down, he saw a loaded blaster pressing right against him. "Or if they are lying to me." she said, almost a whisper. She put away the blaster, allowing Carmari to breath a sigh of relief, the rest of his thoughts were both praises of gratitude and panicked expressions.

"Besides, I wouldn't be too worried about him," suddenly a flash appeared on the console. Sophy'a turned around and began to type again. "Ah, see, I told you."

Carmari was confused, "What do you mean?"
Sophy'a looked up at him, "none of your concern." she unplugged a datapad and attached it to her belt. "Come along now, let's head to the Hanger. We need to leave," she approached the door, suddenly the ship rumbled again, causing Sophy'a and Carmari to catch themselves on the nearest study structure. "Soon." she added.

She opened the door, and motioned Carmari to follow.

Carmari, still standing around confused, reluctantly followed.

The two ran down the halls of the Dreadnaught, which were empty anyway as the Crew had already evacuated to the escape pods. The Ship was falling apart, the Hallways shook constantly; Sophy'a and Carmari tried to keep their balance as they ran

"Warning, Warning, Reactor in Critical Condition" the alarm rang

"What did yall do to my ship?" Carmari yelled as they ran

"I used a probe to cause an "accidental" malfunction in the reactor! I already sent out a distress signal!" Sophy'a said, continuing the run.

"How did you get a probe onboard?" Carmari yelled, now more confused than ever

"It's a Secret!" She yelled back, smiling.

Carmari shot her a look, then looked forward, "there, that way!"

They turned a right down their hallway and approached the hanger bay. Looking around, Carmari saw they were running towards a piece of garbage freighter that was parked in the center of the hanger. The boarding ramp was already lowered, and standing beside it, was a man dressed in the Eternal Empire's armor.

"Hongeir!" Sophy'a shouted.

The man took off his Helmet to reveal an aging face. "Sir!" he said, Nodding in salute.

"I followed your instructions exactly as described." Hongeir said, then looked at him. He raised his blaster. 'Who is he?" Sophy'a looked over. Carmari began to turn pink and waved his hand, "I'm Carmari, Captain of the-"

The ship shook again, "Warning, reactor failure. suggest immediate evacuation."

"Captain of the ship that's currently blowing up around us." Carmari finished.

"We'll talk about it later." Sophy'a said. "Everyone get in!"

Carmari was the first to walk into the ramp.

Wherever this is going...I hope it's worth it...he took his first steps on the ramp, then, suddenly, a pain shot up in his back, electrifying his nerves. Then his vision faded away to black as his face slammed into the bulkhead.

Thump.


Sophy'a hoisted the sidearm back into her hoister.

"If you wanted to stun him, you could've just told me to." said Hongeir.

"He wasn't in the plan before." Sophy'a said, staring at his limp body drooling on the landing ramp.

Sorry about that friend

"Tie him up in the back." Sophy'a ordered to Hongeir who grabbed Carmari's arm and pulled him up onboard the ship. Sophy'a closed the docking ramp then ran to the Cockpit. She flicked a few switches and began ship startup procedure. An explosion erupted from the entrance of the Hanger.

Sophy'a turned the ship around and flew it out of the Hanger.

Just in the nick of time as the stern of her ship was scorched as the Hanger exploded behind her. As she left, she noticed that the Eternal Empire already had sent out Dreadnaughts and support crew as the ship burst into flames.

"Hongeir, did you already preprogram the coordinance?" Sophy'a yelled to him, trying to pilot her way away from the incoming Dreadnaughts. She heard a faint yes from the den, impressing Sophy'a

Perfect, I had utmost confidence in him anyway. She said, smiling to herself. She plugged in the Datapad she stole from the Command center. Hooking it up to her own console, she used Carmari's code to bypass the Eternal Empire ship control mechanism and, as quick as she could, slave rigged the signal to follow her commands. The Dreadnoughts began closing in on Sophy'a as she finishing her calculations.

"Unidentified-"

Here we go

Sophy'a pulled the lever and entered into Hyperspace.


Carmari groaned as he awoke. He stirred, and looked around. Immediately he began to panic as he looked at the unfamiliar surroundings. His vision was still blurry as he looked around...

He was chained up...?

"He-He help!" Carmari yelled, trying to pull at his Bracers.
"Oh for goodness. Quiet down runt!" Said a voice. Carmari tried to find the source, and he found it in the old looking guard who stood outside the Ship he was just at moments ago before…

Before they stunned me!

"Hey, you stunned me!" Carmari said, struggling against his braces, which were tied securely onto a rack.

"That's rather harsh." Said another voice, female this time, he looked, and it was that Imperial Chiss, Sophy'a.

"Hey, Haven't I proved myself to you? What more can I do?" Carmari said, his vision getting better.

At least he could make out people instead of shapes

Sophy'a sat down on a crate and sighed. "Hongeir," She said, "go to the cockpit, let me know when we get out of hyperspace."

"Sir" he nodded, then disappeared into the hallway.

The two sat in awkwardness as they both tried to avoid eye contact.

Finally, Carmari broke the silence. "Why?"

Sophy'a scoffed, "I just picked you up from an Eternal Empire dreadnaught. Your lucky you weren't shot in that Interrogation room."

"So what then?" Carmari said, "have the tables turned on the Interrogation?"
Sophy'a was quiet for a bit. "No…" she almost whispered, "but I am curious."

Carmari raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"Your Motive" she said, eyeing him.

"My motives for what? Carmari said, adjusting himself.

"Betraying the Eternal Empire. You seemed to be in a high rank" She paused, revealing his badge. She flipped it between her fingers. "All the More reason to keep you locked here."

Carmari thought for a bit. "I didn't want that life. I wanted something more." his tone grew more serious, "I was in the Eternal Empire for nearly twenty years. My father was one of the higher ups, and he gave a job in ZSID."

"I always wanted to explore, see the Galaxy." he finished, thinking back to his father.

Sophy'a nodded. "You could have done that in the Eternal Empire."

The resentment in Carmari grew, "Not under my fathers thumb I couldn't."

"He'll be coming for me yaknow." Carmari added. "My Father hasn't been the same since my Mother's disappearance. If he knows i'm gone, he'll find me, and that means." he paused. "He'll be after you and our Empire."

Sophy'a looked up, "Our Empire?"

Carmari raised his head. "The Eternal Empire is behind me, there's no going back. Especially if they learn what I did."

There was another long pause. Then Sophy'a walked over and removed his bracers. Carmari felt the pressure from his wrists go away, and rubbed his wrists.

"We'll give you a second chance, Carmari." Sophy'a said. "But remember...if I so much as think you will betray me…" She patted the blaster in her hip pocket. "This Blaster will be the least painful thing you'll experience."

Carmari gulped, then nodded.


"Sir, We are exiting hyperspace!" Hongeir called from the cockpit, and the two rushed to see the view.

Sophy'a opened the Comm channel, "Fleet, Open fire. Follow procedure three five o' nine."

The viewport lit up as a few dozen Eternal Empire supply ships were stressed down by the Imperial fleet that stood menacingly in standard trapping formation. The ship began to turn back, attempting to escape the Imperial's grasp.

Sophy'a opened the comm channel again, "Destroyers, Permission granted to launch Ion torpedos, target the engines." Immediately the Ships obeyed and fire the prepared missles out, completely stalling the supply fleet. Sophy'a smiled and sat back and slowly the Imperial ships closed in, pinching in on the ships.

"Excellent job." Sophy'a said. "Activate tractor beam, prepare boarding parties."

Carmari squeezed between Hongeir and Sophy'a, looking out into the battle going on in space.

"Those are Navy supply ships" Carmari said, pointing at the viewport.

Oh, Smart one he is.

"Indeed. Carrying a variety of equipment, Including several dozen grade A Starship Hyperdrives each." she said, not bothering to look his way and focused on the Battle.

"Those were supposed to go to my station on Mordon'Morar." Carmari said, crossing his arms.

Sigh…

"Indeed again, except, now," She swiveled around to see Carmari, "They have been generously supplied to the Sith Empire."

Carmari shook his head, "Why do you need so many hyperdrives?"
Sophy'a shot him a look, "getting nosy now aren't you."
Carmari raised his hands, "Hey, i'm innocent here."
She gave a sarcastic smirk, "I'm sure you are."

"I was actually curious too, Sir," Hongeir said, clearing his throat. Sophy'a turned and looked at Carmari, whose face was laid with enthusiasm, then at Hongeir.

"All I can say now is, these Hyperdrives are essential to my plan to get Icarus to where she wanted to go."

And essential to Break Veranlea out. Sophy'a said, thinking back to her friend.

Her thoughts drifted to Carmari, who still stood and watched the Battle rage on.

Does he really know where Vern is? She thought. It was a random officer that helped capture the closest being in the galaxy she considered a friend.

No, Not random, she corrected, the Son of someone in power...she thought more, And someone who was there when she was taken, he might know something, but if not…

She let the sentence trail off in her head then thought of her other options.

Icarus is too busy bidding for her own power to tell me much of use in that regard. She thought, thinking back to what happened with the Moffs and her new "Empress" status. As far as she read from Carmari, he was Naive

Almost like a farmboy maintaining moisture vaporators.. She chuckled to herself at the thought as she stole a glance at Carmari, who was forming the smallest glimpse of a smile.

"And now," Sophy'a said as relaxed in her seat, watched the Bigger ships pull in the helpless supply ships.

"We are finally one step closer," she paused.

"To Victory."


End of Chapter 5