The Phoenix stood in front of me in a jungle clearing. She was a Fury-class interceptor. I marched toward her, sheathing my vibro cutlass. A ramp opened from the back of the Phoenix. Five humanoids, clad in armor, sauntered down the ramp. Four of them had carbines, and the fifth, the captain, had a thin rectangular metal object attached to her belt.
I walked toward them. I wanted a job: I could arrange this with my skills. The armed privateers brought their carbines to a low-ready position. I heard the clicks of the safeties of their carbines disengaging. I could practically smell their distrust.
"Halt!" the captain boomed.
I stopped walking. The privateers lowered their carbines.
"I've seen you around these parts. What is your business here, Ilta?" the captain asked me.
"Seeking employ."
"What can you offer me?"
I opened a metal box on my belt. Within were several marksmanship medals and a master ship mechanic certificate. "These skills." I handed them to the captain.
After looking them over, she handed me a data pad. "This contains our articles. Read them and sign them."
I was roughly three-quarters of the way through the articles when the captain pointed at my right forearm. She must have seen the insignia engraved into it.
"Are you part of the Sith Military?" the captain asked me.
The insignia in the metal casing of my forearm was the hexagonal emblem of the Sith Empire."I am not." This was not entirely a lie. I used to be a Sith Soldier but I abandoned my post after a predicament.
"Is that…?" I gestured at the object attached to the captain's belt.
"It is my lightsaber," she confirmed.
After I signed the articles, the captain shook my hand. "I'm Dorsum. Welcome to the Phoenix."
Many years have passed since I joined the crew of the Phoenix. Much has changed. Captain Dorsum left shortly after I joined, giving me her lightsaber. We recruited HK-51 series droids, including my friend Lorelei. Chaluai, a Trandoshan, joined us a few years after we elected captain Anders. We had become pirates shortly after Captain Dorsum left. I haven't figured out how to activate the lightsaber. Its green blade is shaped like the blade of a double-edged metal sword and has a slim black core.
The Phoenix jerked underfoot. I lurched, catching myself. I walked into the main hold. I clutched my chest, feeling like I needed to vomit. Something was wrong. The Phoenix moved sideways through space. Captain Anders rushed into the main hold, his long, frizzy, bright-red mane swishing as he holstered a pistol at his side.
"Bad hair day, captain?" I asked him.
"This is not the time, Ilta. A Harrower is pulling us in."
My ears flattened against my head. This was not good. An ion cannon's projectile hit the Phoenix. The lights went out. It lurched sideways, moving faster toward the front of Blade of Ziost, the Harrower-class dreadnought which had captured our ship in its tractor beams.
The Phoenix landed in a hanger in Blade of Ziost with a thud. We fanned out of our ship. Sith Troopers poured into the hanger, forming a semi-circle around us. I began picking off Sith Troopers with my blaster rifle. This was all my fault. We wouldn't be in this mess if I had no affiliation to the Sith Empire.
I ducked behind a starfighter's wing. My comlink beeped. I activated it. "This is Ilta."
The voice of Captain Anders answered, "Phoenix, this is Anders. Put down your weapons and surrender." He sighed and continued, "We can appeal to the Sith Emperor when we reach Kaas City. This is the only way. "
I turned off my comlink with a sigh, my ears pricking forward and my hackles rising. Anders was right, but I wasn't sure I trusted him at the moment. I activated my comlink. "This is Ilta. Say again."
"It's our only hope of survival. You need to trust me!"
I dropped my rifle and flung my vibro cutlass out of its scabbard, but I hid my lightsaber in the folds of my cloak. My ears flattened and I hung my head. There wasn't anything I could do. I raised my arms, marching to the remaining Sith Troopers. My crewmates were already there.
Soon the Sith Troopers escorted us to the bridge. There, the sight of a Sith Warrior greeted us. "QX-9903, welcome home." he addressed me, removing his lightsaber from his belt. "I am glad you did not remove your tracing chip."
"Ilta is one of ours, sir," Anders interjected.
The sith warrior turned to Anders. "Captain Anders 'Red Mane' Nightjar. You've caused Emperor Vitiate much trouble." He ignited his lightsaber.
My ears pricked forward and I snarled, my hackles rising. Something tugged at my lightsaber. I pinned it against my leg with my hand. Lorelei's face appeared. I let go of it.
She pulled on it and then separated it into two pieces lengthwise. I growled, firing slugs out of my right arm at Lorelei. She shrugged them off, and she rotated one side of the lightsaber one hundred eighty degrees, pushing the haves together. I nodded. She disappeared.
I fired the slug thrower in my arm at the sith warrior. I needed to distract him so that Lorelei could do what she was designed for: eliminating Force Wielders. Molten metal hit his face and body as his crimson blade intercepted every slug I fired. Click. My slug thrower was out of ammunition. His blade severed my right arm at the elbow. He swung for my head. I caught his wrist mid-swing. He nearly overpowered me, but a flat, green lightsaber blade pierced his chest, grazing my ear. The blade retracted.
"Statement: objective complete," said Lorelei, who was now uncloaked. All of the other HK-51 droids in our crew appeared in various places around the bridge.
We swept through the ship like a blastwave. Captain Anders allowed all of the crew to leave in the escape pods, although many chose to stay and join our cause. We kept casualties to a minimum. Soon, Blade of Ziost was ours.
While searching the ship for stragglers, I spied the dark-furred, canine face of QX-9799, who I call Kolya. Almost nobody calls him Nikolai. He sat on a bunk in a barracks room.
"Ilta?" Kolya asked me.
"Kolya?" I rushed to Kolya, wrapping him in a crushing hug.
Anders, who was also searching, bared his teeth and growled, "Ilta, you know this soldier?"
"He's my brother." I let go of Kolya.
"So, you were a soldier of the Sith Empire?"
I nodded.
"As I understand it, you were in a rough situation when you joined us," Captain Anders said with a sigh, "But that does not change the fact that you lied to us. Chaulai or a droid will watch you until further notice."
"Understood, sir. I'm sorry." My ears flattened as I knelt down and placed my lightsaber at Captain Anders' feet. He took it and I activated my comlink. I called Lorelei, and I explained the situation to her.
I lifted my head in spite of the shame of my deceit, but tears dripped onto my white fur. Regaining captain Anders' trust was a long path, but it was a road I could walk.
Author's Note:
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