Chapter 3
White Eagle grunted as the guards none too gently tossed her into the cell. She got to her feet immediately and made to rushed them but they slammed the door on her. The bounty hunter hit the door, which aggravated her wounds. The brunette slowly peeled herself off the floor and looked around at her new (hopefully, temporary) living quarters.
The room was empty of furniture except for a filthy cot. There were strands of hay scattered on the filthy floor, and a window near the ceiling filtered the sun light through, lighting the room very lightly. From the looks of the door that she could only see with her good eye the door was reinforced and had four guards posted outside if what she was feeling through the Force was correct. This was a solitary cell, reserved only for prisoners of high suspicion or those that cause trouble for the commander in charge.
Very primitive indeed, she thought as she plopped down on the cot. Her face ached, throbbing with pain every so often. Her chest hurt slightly but not as much as her face. The ride with General Body Fat wasn't a very smooth one. He would be asking questions that she answered with silence. There was an unlawful amount of anger hidden behind the rolls on his stomach and face. Forget about the barracks guard, this guy could totally rival Jabba the Hutt.
White Eagle shot up on the cot when the door opened. She glared at the door as General Body Fat himself walked through followed by two more guards.
"Hello fraülein," he greeted. The bounty hunter winced as the slimy tone of his voice wrapped itself around her like a snake. She hated snakes. There were snakes that took control of her government and destroyed her family. The man gestured to the guards beside him. "These men are here to take you an interrogation room. Corporate and we will be gentle. Do not…. well we don't want a repeat of the ride here. Now do we?"
White Eagle didn't say anything as the men picked her up and basically dragged her to the interrogation room. On the way there, they had to go through the camp. Many men started and gawked at the injured woman being dragged by agents to the interrogation room. Once they were there, the guards threw her into a chair while General Body Fat walked around her like a buzzard circling its prey.
"I grow tired of your silence fraülein," General Body Fat informed her. "I know that you are working for the Allies. There have been several attempts to track down and destroy any espionage campaigns in all of the prison camps in Germany. So far, every attempt to root out anything in this camp has been terminated. You know something about this camp. This is where you came from. Now tell me: who are your accomplices?"
The Bounty hunter found the table very interesting, which seemed to cause General Body Fat to become angrier. He slammed his chubby fist on the table, not even receiving a flinch from the mysterious brunette.
"Let's play a game," The man suddenly said. He reached into his coat and pulled out a primitive pistol. The fat general opened the barrel up and emptied it of bullets. With his fat, chubby, sausage fingers General Rolls picked up one lone bullet and placed it in the barrel. He spun the barrel and stopped it.
"The Russians have an…interesting game of chance." The man started. "A group of five men place a single round in a revolver. One person spins the revolver and if it lands on him, he holds it up to his head and pulls the trigger. There will only be one winner in a game of chance, which the prize is their life. We'll now play it. Only we will make a slight tweak to the rules. Tell me who your informants are, or we will leave your life up to chance."
The man pressed the gun to her head and cocked it. "Everyone has their limits fraülein. Tell me." The man pulled the trigger. White Eagle inwardly sighed as she realized that was a blank. "One. Four more to go. Shall we tempt fate a little more?"
Two more blank shots later and General Body Fat was getting angrier and more frustrated. White Eagle had taken count of the empty shots and if her math was correct, she had two more chances. The bounty hunter didn't want to rat out Colonel Hogan and his men but she didn't want to die. She felt that there was something she was destined to do but…
One more blank shot. The next one was going to be the one that ended her life. She closed her eyes to keep the tears from flowing as the sound of a trigger being cocking could be heard. But before the bullet could grace her skull, the door opened suddenly. It was a minor miracle that the general didn't pull the trigger when the door flew open. Two people walked in: the chubby barracks guard and a pencil thin old dude with a monocle. In the pencil thin guy's hand, there was a piece of paper (this is a very primitive world, White Eagle thought) that looked very official.
"General Burkhalter you will cease this at once," the old guy ordered.
"Klink what are you doing?" General Burkhalter demanded. He looked like he was about to explode. White Eagle couldn't help but let a giggle out as she remembered something from her past. Burkhalter grabbed her hair and slammed her down into the table. Pain erupted from her face as her nose started to bleed. She quickly pressed her hand against her nose to stem the bleeding.
"General!" Klink shouted his face turning beet red. The bounty hunter would've laughed harder had her nose not been bleeding and she was in immense pain. "I said that is enough! You will release this woman into my care or else I will report you."
General Burkhalter scowled but reluctantly left. Klink turned to the chubby guard, ordering him to find Hogan and a medic. White Eagle tried to stand but her side erupted in fire. The pain was so intense that her vision danced with black spots and her head swam. She didn't notice herself swaying until her legs couldn't hold her. She collapsed and fell into darkness.
The next time White Eagle opened her eyes; she was lying on a bed with Wilson and Hogan invading her personal space bubble.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Hogan greeted when he saw she was scowling at him. "You seemed tougher than you look."
"That comes with being a bounty hunter," Eagle informed the colonel. She slowly sat up but Wilson pushed her back down.
"None of that. You have a severe concussion with a broken rib. Thankfully it didn't puncture anything, important or otherwise." He chuckled slightly. "How on earth did you piss off General Burkhalter off so bad?"
"Is that his name?" White Eagle smirked mischievously. "Silence. The more you piss someone off, the more you learn about them."
"And what did you learn about Burkhalter?" Hogan asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"His voice gets higher and his face gets redder when he gets mad," White Eagle answered. She shrugged. "That and he can get extremely violent when his questions go unanswered."
Hogan chuckled. "I could've told you that." He patted White Eagle's leg. "Klink has ordered for you to stay in the infirmary until you get better. Then he'll decide what to do with you."
"Please tell me that I'm not going to get stuck with General Body Fat again." That caused both medic and colonel to near about roll on the floor laughing at her nickname. White Eagle raised an eyebrow, waiting for the two men to collect themselves before she reiterated her plea.
"Don't worry," Hogan assured. "Commadant Klink has made sure that 'General Body Fat' will be reprimanded for severely injuring a woman but they have to keep you here under suspicion."
"Hm. Figured as much," White Eagle shrugged. She turned to the medic, who was packing up his supplies. Her grip wrapped around her weapons and the holocron, which the guards were stupid enough to not to take. Those were her only assurance during her few days of captivity. She had planned on using her lightsaber at one point but never got the chance.
"We'll be back for a visit," Hogan said as the two were leaving. "Don't move a muscle. I don't think we can spring you from any prison now."
White Eagle nodded. The bounty hunter reclined in her bed, hoping to have a peaceful night's (or whatever time it was) rest. But she couldn't close her eye. Her adrenaline was going though she didn't know why it was pumping through her veins. It must've been every wound throbbing that kept her awake and alert, ready to pounce on anything that her mind processed as a threat. The door opened and the barracks guard, Schultz if she remembered, walked in carrying a tray of food. Eagle's stomach growled angrily as the smell wafted from the tray of assorted goodies.
"Guten tag fraülein," the man greeted. He carefully set the tray on the bedside table and helped White Eagle get propped up. The bounty hunter nodded her thanks as the guard placed the tray on her lap, along with a fork and knife, though they were dull. Eagle didn't hesitate to dig into her meal in silence. She listened to the guard babble on about how she reminded him of his eldest granddaughter, how the camp cook, Lebeau, cooked her a traditional German meal, and snuck a piece of chocolate between the bread and slab of meat. White Eagle eagerly dug the chocolate out and slowly savored the sweet treat. Oh, how long had it been since she last tasted chocolate? Or felt it the smoothness of it on her tongue?
Too long, her taste buds replied. Since the Empire took over, everything rose in price, from the simplest trinkets to the finest thing you could buy. To pay for their inevitable war against insurgents, they had said. But White Eagle knew that the extreme taxes were to pay for the Emperor's and his puppets extravagant living.
"So, what is your name fraülein?" The guard asked bringing the bounty hunter out of her thoughts.
Smiling sincerely, the bounty hunter answered, "Solstice Winters. At your service."
"Oh, what a lovely name!" the man complemented. White Eagle smiled though the name felt foreign on her tongue. It's been years since she used her real name, the name her parents gave her at her birth…. right before the Jedi came and took her away. Schultz seemed to sense that she was in a down casted mood, as he slowly removed her tray and left, ordering her to get some rest. White Eagle moved a little in order to get comfortable. She laid her head on the pillow, her full belly weighing her down and ordering her to close her eyes for some rest. She complied with her body's order, her breathing leveling out. Soon White Eagle aka Solstice Winters fell into a deep sleep.
-Line break-
Kincheloe shut off the radio when he was sure the girl had fallen asleep. He had been listening in on the conversation just in case Burkhalter decided to go in for bedside interrogation. But instead it was Schultz. The bumbling barracks guard had gotten the young girl to eat the food Lebaeu had made, even eat the chocolate that the French man used to bribe the guards. Schultz had the girl reveal her name.
Solstice Winters. Kincheloe smiled slightly to himself as he made his way up to the barracks. Like Schultz said, what a lovely name. It rolled off the tongue easily and it had a lovely ring to it. A lovely name to fit a lovely woman. That thought begged the question that was nagging everyone else: what was a woman like her doing in the middle of Germany during the Second World War? And why was she flying a strange plane?
Her 'plane' was currently down where they kept all the other snagged planes and other heavy artillery. None of the mechanics wanted to touch it for fear of something planted in it or going off. So, they would have to wait and see if Klink would assign the girl a barracks before the espionage team could ask her. The radioman knocked three times on the bottom of the false bunk. The false bunk opened up, Carter reaching down to help the dark-skinned man up.
"Thanks," the older gentleman said to the younger one. The boy smiled before stalking off somewhere. Newkirk, Lebeau, and Hogan were all there with Carter being the lookout for guards.
"Well I got the girl's name," Kincheloe announced. All eyes turned to him. "Her name is Solstice Winters. Ran her name by the Underground but nothing came up."
"So is she a solo?" Hogan asked. They rarely came by people who had taken to spying on the Krauts into their own hands. If this girl was a solo spy then there was a chance that was one in one million.
"Probably's a test pilot," Newkirk theorized. "But lost her way. Though why anyone would use a woman for a test pilot, that's a guess for you gov'."
Hogan was silent as he contemplated the theories. Kinch could almost see the wheels turning in the coffee-eyed colonel. Before he could say anything, Carter shouted, "Schultz is coming!"
Everyone scattered and began to do any tasks they could pick up. Newkirk started to shuffle a deck of playing cards, Lebeau pulled out some spices and threw them on a stove, Carter started to whittle some wood with a dull knife, and Kinch laid down on the bunk like he was taking a nap. There was a knock on the door before the large guard barged in causing everyone to jump. The bushy mustache guard scowled as he scanned the room, his beady eyes falling on Colonel Hogan.
"Colonel Hogan, the Kommadant needs to see you," Schultz informed. Kincheloe narrowed his eyes at the tone of voice their barracks guard used. Gone were the hilarious pleadings for Hogan and his men to stop their insistent begging and bombarding Schultz for bribes. He was serious which was very unlike Schultz.
"Somethin' up Schultz?" Hogan asked who had also picked up Schultz tone of voice.
"I don't want to repeat myself Colonel," Schultz practically begged. "Pulease!"
With that he turned on his heels and left, slamming the door harshly. The men were left in stunned silence before Hogan hesitantly followed. Once the door was closed, Kincheloe bolted to Hogan's office, shutting the door once everyone was in. He walked over to the coffee pot and switched it on, the room completely silent as they listened.
"I want to assign the girl a barrack," Klink announced as soon as Hogan entered his office. The German officer was staring at nothing blankly, his lips pursed in deep concentration and his eyes held sadness.
Hogan picked all this up immediately when he entered the room. "Klink? Is something wrong?"
"I have been speaking with your medic," the German colonel informed as he gestured to the seat in front of him. Hogan swiftly took it, watching and listening as the man continued. "He had informed me that the girl would heal perfectly and completely in a few days. As soon as the girl is healed I want her assigned to a barrack."
"Really? Why's that?"
"We-I cannot let that girl back into the hands of the Gestapo. Those…. monsters hurt an innocent woman." He sighed heavily. "While we cannot let her go home, we can at least make her stay here at Stalag 13 a little comfortable."
"Well that's going to be a little hard in a camp full of men," Hogan commented. He was genuinely surprised at Klink's sympathy and kindness. The German colonel often spoke harshly of the German Secret Police but never this harshly.
Klink's eyes seemed to light up with a thought. "Hogan, could you and your men possibly build a private barrack?"
"For the woman?"
"No for my dog," Klink answered sarcastically before yelling, "Of course for the woman!" He sighed before stating a little more calmly, "Hogan, I am an officer of the Third Reich. You are an officer of the Allied soldiers. I would never beg you for anything. However, this woman was mistreated poorly and I feel that I have to make it up to her. Please, do this for me. I will give you anything within your boundaries as a prisoner of war."
Hogan seemed to weigh his options, carefully making sure he wasn't falling into a trap. He searched Klink's face for any sign of trickery. But, surprisingly, he didn't find anything. Finally, he sighed heavily, his own plan forming in mind.
"Okay," he relented. Klink's eyes lit up in joy and he started to clap his hands.
"Oh, thank you Hogan! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he repeated.
Hogan held up his hand to cease the thanking. It made him feel uncomfortable. "What do you need me to do?"
"Gather all the volunteers you can," Klink ordered as he moved quickly. "I'll get the necessary equipment and tools. If anyone asks, it's for a new project which was commissioned by the Führer."
He ushered Hogan out of the office quickly. Before anything else could be said the German colonel shoved the American Colonel out the door and slammed it in his face. Helga stood up and batted her eyelashes, running her hands up and down the zipper of his bomber jacket.
"You weren't naughty were you Hogan?" she asked.
"No," He replied, pushing the saucy secretary away. He couldn't afford to get distracted. Hogan briskly walked back towards Barracks 2, ignoring the calls from the other prisoners. He opened the door and was immediately bombarded with questions.
Why does Klink want us to build Solstice a private barracks?
Does he have another motive?
Is he doing this for Burkhalter?
What will happen to Solstice?
Will we officially introduce her to our operation?
Hogan had to yell to get the others to shut it. "I don't know why Klink suddenly went all saint on the girl but I do know that we have to comply."
"WHAT?" They all simultaneously yelled.
"If we do this, then we can get more information from her." Hogan explained. The other soldiers nodded in agreement. They gathered around their Senior POW Officer as he laid down a large piece of paper on the table. Hogan started to draw a rough diagram of a barracks on the paper.
"Alright here's the plan," He announced. "I want a secret passageway that connects from Solstice's barrack to ours. Don't announce the location of the entrance to her; I want to see her try and find it herself. Understood?"
The others nodded in agreement as they tossed out suggestions of their own. They hid the plans for the secret tunnel and drew up another one before Schultz arrived to bring them to the plot of land for the young woman's barrack. The entire POW group of Stalag 13 had gathered in the courtyard, eagerly waiting instructions. After Klink had given a short speech, the group of prisoners got to work. They got halfway done when it suddenly started to pour. The prisoners had to halt their work as they scrambled back to their barracks.
In Barracks 2, Carter sat twiddling his thumbs as he listened to the rain fall on the tin roof. The prisoners' progress on Solstice's barrack was astonishing, considering that they literally just started on that day. Of course, the unexpected shower had halted the progress for a while, but they would get finished probably within the next two days if that. The young man had briefly wondered who Solstice was truly. Sure, they had assumed she was a pilot, but Hogan said that Solstice she hinted that she was a bounty hunter. How could a young woman like her be a bounty hunter?
What was her backstory? Carter asked himself as he started to doze. The rain had picked up as well as the wind. It was howling like a wolf. The young American hoped that White Eag-Solstice was fine. Earlier that day, when Klink had summoned Olson and Hogan, Carter saw the American Colonel carefully carrying the young girl to the infirmary.
The Colonel had assured Carter that the girl was fine and that all she had was some minor injuries, courtesy of General Albert Burkhalter. Oh, Carter was just simmering in anger though he didn't know why. Sure, the girl wasn't bad looking-hell she was stunning with brown hair that seemed to be softer than a kitten's butt, blue eyes that seemed to be chipped straight from the sky, and skin that seemed to resemble toast that had been toasted just right.
Carter's eyes were just about to close when there was a knocking on the false bunk. Stiffly he rose and opened the bunk, smiling at Kinchloe as he rose up from the underground communications room. The African American smiled slightly in thanks at the young officer before stepping into the room. Carter closed the false bunk before joining his dark-skinned friend as he headed towards Colonel Hogan's office.
"He's not there," Newkirk answered.
"Where is he?" Carter asked.
The British pilot shrugged. "Probably the medical bay. He's most likely questioning our little bird."
"Let's go over this again shall we?" Hogan asked frustrated. He and Lebeau were in the medbay, trying to get answers from Solstice. She seemed pretty shocked that they knew her real name but she quickly covered it up. She confirmed her name was Solstice Winters but that was as far as they got with the answers. No matter how many times he had asked, nicely or otherwise, Solstice had remained silent and tight lipped.
"I told you Colonel," Solstice repeated. "I cannot tell you anything. My secrets are dangerous to anyone here."
"Are you a test pilot of some sort mademoiselle?" Louis asked.
"No," She answered sharply. "And if you damage my ship, I'll have your heads."
"And…. uh what about these?" Hogan asked making to grab the sword hilts.
"Those? They're nothing, just some relics from fifteen years ago."
Both POWs huffed in frustration when the medical bay returned to silence. Solstice's gaze, her silent dare to them to continue the question, pierced Hogan's very soul. Before Hogan could ask another question, Commandant Klink walked in, his eyes twinkling with sympathy. Hogan and Lebeau stood and silently left the German Colonel and the mysterious woman alone. Solstice gave a hard glare at the Colonel, though she noticed his gaze was soft.
"How are you doing Fraülein?" The Colonel asked.
"Fine," Solstice answered sharply. If she wanted to get questioned repeatedly she would've gone back in time and got captured by the Separatists. Though she was happy that General Body Fat wasn't here to give her another game of chance again.
"Listen my dear, I know that you might feel uncomfortable here-"
"No duh Sherlock Holmes," Solstice interrupted irately. She was getting fed up with being treated as a victim. She didn't get that luxury during the end of the Republic and she sure as hell wasn't going to take it now.
"Listen, I know you are trying to be nice and I appreciate that. Not many people have showed me this kind of kindness in fifteen years but it's very unnecessary. I've learned how to take care of myself and I don't need anyone sticking their noses where they are not wanted."
Klink blinked several times in shock when the young girl took a deep breath to simmer the last bit of her rant. He had never heard a woman speak her mind so adamantly in his entire life. She seemed passionate about not getting help, which raised more questions about her, but Klink quickly shushed them as he straightened his spine. Regardless if this woman wanted help or not, Klink was going to give it to her.
"I have commissioned the prisoners of this camp and built you a private barrack. It should be done in a day or so, so you'll have to sleep in the medical facilities here until it is done."
"Will I be able to go home?" White Eagle asked. The bounty hunter noticed how the man hesitated, like he was trying to placate her but was afraid to anger her.
"I'm sorry my dear, but I cannot allow you to leave." He finally said slowly. White Eagle blinked the tears away as her heart plummeted to her feet. The flame of hope that had sparked when Hogan had assured her she was getting out was suddenly snuffed out. Now there was a possibility that she would have to find her ship and then sneak out by herself. How the hell was she supposed to do that quietly? That was the point of sneaking out…. for it to be quiet.
White Eagle sighed before speaking, "Okay. What is the prisoner schedule?"
"Roll call is at dawn, as well as breakfast. You must stay where the guards can see you. Lunch is at noon and supper and evening roll call is at dusk. You must be present for everything. Any disciplinary actions will result in punished according to the action."
"So, I'm guess the solitary confinement cell is one of the many punishments?" White Eagle asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Yes," Klink answered, hesitant again. "But that is only for severe disciplinary actions."
"Okay." White Eagle stood and stretched, the wound on her side stinging suddenly but she ignored it. If she was going to get her own little place in this shithole of a POW camp and escape, then she needed to at least pretend that she was in tip-top shape to do so. "So, what do I need to do?"
A few days later, Solstice moved in to her lone barrack, which had just been completed. It took longer than Commandant Klink anticipated mainly because of the rain that continued to pour over the prisoner camp every second for the past day or so, stopping only for an hour. It was only during those few hours when the rain stopped that the men could work. Solstice wanted help the men out since the barracks were for her, but Wilson the medic ordered to stay inside and get her strength back up, keeping a rather close eye on her in case she tried to sneak off.
Staying inside for the entirety of the day with only Wilson and Commandant Klink for occasional company drove White Eagle up the walls.
Even though in her own galaxy when she was on the run, White Eagle at least had some company in an astromech she kept on occasion, or Bongo, or Hera or someone to talk to. Here on this planet…she had no one. So, when she could, White Eagle levitated one of the metal cups they gave her during her meals with the Force. It had been several years since she actively used her powers that had been bestowed on her by the gods.
Despite being only a little girl no more than four, White Eagle still remembered with clarity the day the Jedi came to her. If her memory served her correctly, it was Master Plo Koon who came to her planet. He and other members of the council had a collective force vision about a force sensitive child on her planet. So, he came and instructed that all the children under the age of ten be lined up. The Kel Dor male went down the line, hovering his hand over the young one's heads until it landed on Solstice. His eyebrow ridges scrunched up before leaving the Town Hall suddenly, even though he still had at least five children left to test. That night, while Solstice was having supper with her family, Plo Koon arrived to take her away.
Solstice held out her hand and the cup landed in her palm. She had been taught that her powers were to be used for good. But she had also been taught that her powers would overtake her if she let it consume her. Like Count Dooku…. like Sidious. Without trying or thinking, Solstice's fingers wrapped around the cup, tightening ever so slightly, making a dent in the metal cup ever so slightly. Her sensitivity to the Force only got stronger over the years since she had a lot of time to herself.
Placing the cup on the nightstand beside her, Solstice stood and made her way to the window. She stared at the completed barracks with an unmoving expression. Tomorrow she would move in with what little belongings she had. And tomorrow…she would try and get a message out to Bonga. Hopefully, the Mon Calamari got to Alderaan, got to Senator Organa and got protection from the ever-growing rebellion. And hopefully, if she got a powerful enough signal, White Eagle would be able to leave this planet.
The door opened behind her. White Eagle turned her head slightly and saw that it was Andrew Carter. The young man smiled brightly when he entered, but White Eagle returned her attention to the outside. Carter reminded Eagle of the rookie clones or Padawans that would have this glorified dream of battle and a twisted vision that they would be a war hero. White Eagle knew it would be their first battle before they finally believed the horrors they heard from the older Jedi.
"What do you want?" She asked coldly.
"Your barrack is ready. You should be allowed to move in tomorrow."
She barely heard what the boy said. Something outside caught her attention. It looked like a person dressed in robes of a Jedi. She blinked and the figure vanished. Her heart dropped to her feet as she acknowledged the boy. She muttered her thanks before sighing quietly to herself. Solstice heard the door close behind her before she let her tears fall.
Hopefully, things won't get too out of hand before she could escape.