!IMPORTANT AUTHOR NOTE! Apparently, I messed up the chronological order of Chapter 25, 26 and 27. For some reason, Chapter 25 was On Watch and Chapter 26 was Tech Goddess in Tears. This error has now been solved. In case you've read these chapters in the wrong order, I recommend you to read them again to avoid any confusion. I am so sorry for this mistake, I just can't work with this old site haha
Taking off the training uniform of the Academy, Eva stands nearly completely naked next to the shut sewer entrance. In one of the alleys that end up there stands Oliva, ensuring that no one gets to see her friend naked. Eva shivers as the breeze blows over her skin. She can still feel the pain from when the warehouse blew up, and after a quick glance, Eva sees her chest and her legs are covered in bruises. They ache and give her a burning sensation, and the cold breeze and the rain droplets falling from the cloudy sky somewhat relieve the pain. The cold droplets tickle on her skin, giving her a bit of comforting sensation amidst the aching. As Eva gently strokes the red and blue bruises on her naked chest, Oliva looks over her shoulder, and shocked by her injuries, she instantly turns around to her friend.
''My god, Eva,'' Oliva exclaims, her eyes widening.
Eva shifts her head up, the physical pain reflected in her eyes as she feels half of her body aching. As Eva holds her training suit in her hands, Oliva approaches her with her eyes locked on her bruises, and she gently strokes her red, naked chest.
''Does-, does it hurt?'' Oliva asks, worried.
Feeling Oliva's finger gently stroking her chest, Eva feels the bruises aching, and with a little shaky head, she nods as the breeze blows over her red skin. ''There was this-, male Twi'lek, and-.''
''Ew, a Twi'lek,'' says Oliva with disgust.
She too is indoctrinated sufficiently to have hammered the Empire's xenophobia into her.
''Those are so ugly,'' despises Oliva.
A little smile forms on Eva's face, but it quickly subsides as she thinks back to what he attempted to do with her.
''-and he tried to blow me up in a warehouse,'' says Eva, her voice trembling a little, still feeling the heat and the blow of the blast. ''The explosion blew me out of the building and I survived. He tried to escape but I stopped him, and then I killed him.''
Oliva nods. ''Yeah, those aliens deserve that.''
Eva chuckles a little.
Oliva reaches out for the school jacket lying on a shut dumpster and hands it to Eva.
''Here, take my old school uniform,'' says Oliva, a little smile forming on her face, suppressing the anxiety that still resides within her. ''Let's cover those nasty bruises.''
''Yeah,'' Eva replies, and she takes Oliva's old school uniform.
Holding it in her hands, Eva pulls on the old school uniform of Oliva as she gazes at her. She doesn't mind letting her see her nakedness. If it was a boy, she would've forced him to look away. After switching clothes, Eva puts her training suit in her metal backpack. She glances over her new looks, and Eva sees it's the same school uniform Eva wore when she still attended school: a grey, white-striped jacket with a black zipper going from the neck all the way down with the white insignia of the Empire shimmering on its chest. She wears a waving, grey skirt and a coat over her uniform to protect it from the natural elements. She keeps her military boots and her socks. Eva puts her training suit in her military backpack and stuffs her helmet in it with much force. The backpack nearly bursts open since the helmet is a little bit too big. She zips it shut and shifts to her friend.
''Oliva?'' Eva asks.
She turns around to her.
''How do I look?'' Eva asks, and she spins a bit around.
Oliva smiles a little. ''You look good in that. Funny to see you in my old school uniform,'' she chuckles. ''A little bit too small, but it will do fine.''
Eva nods with a smile, happy that the school uniform still fits her as a militant. Wearing it again, Eva feels nostalgic, feeling her heart warming up with fond memories of her childhood. Even when she somewhat disliked school like any other teenager, she felt good each time she wore the uniform, and even when she's a militant now, Eva still feels proud to wear it. Sadly, the pride she feels is minimal. The school uniform she borrows from her friend is to not make her recognisable anymore. The Civil Watch Alert displays Eva's face and her full name everywhere across Vaulent Capital. The school uniform makes her blend in, hopefully enough so no civilian recognises her and reports her to the ISB or the Military Police.
Suddenly, Eva feels the rain increase, and the clouds start pouring down the water as they burst.
''Come on,'' says Oliva, gesturing to go and reaching out to the capuchon of her own school uniform. ''Let's go home.''
Eva nods and reaches out to the capuchon of her school uniform, but all she feels is air and the top of her backpack, and she realises Oliva's old school jacket doesn't have a capuchon. She lets out a sigh, not wanting to let her hair get wet, but Eva accepts it. Well, it's just rain anyway.
Following Oliva, Eva walks out of the alley onto the street in a hurry. She feels the water pouring down on her, feeling her hair becoming wet and the water dripping down her blond strands. Walking over the pavement, Eva sees people rushing past her, and she feels a wave of anxiety washing over her. Each person she passes has a pair of eyes that spy for the ISB, and she fears being recognised, but rushing past people, none of them seem to look out for her. Most people pull down the capuchon of their jackets and keeping their heads down to stay dry as much as possible, too busy finding a shelter. They walk quickly past her as the water pours down from the dark clouds. The sun doesn't dare showing itself as Eva rushes through the street next to Oliva, and she realises the sudden rain is a gift. Thanks to the water pouring down, everyone is too busy staying dry and none of them are on the lookout. Traversing the city unrecognised will be much easier now everyone hurries to a shelter, too distracted as they pass a criminal searched by the Imperial Security Bureau.
''What did you find?'' says Oliva over the splashing rain, noticing everyone is distracted by the water pouring down.
''The Spy's a Rebel Captain-,'' says Eva, entering a corner.
They pass some people, and Eva and Oliva remain quiet, pretending to be hastily rushing home without letting them notice that one of the two girls is Eva. The trees sway as the wind blows through the road. The brown and red leaves swirl down and are blown away by the wind as speeders driving over the tarmac traverse through the rain, leaving behind sprays of water.
''-and the Twi'lek told me I followed a passage the Empire allowed me to read,'' says Eva as the people they passed run away. ''I have no idea what he meant though.''
Oliva nods. ''A passage the Empire allowed you to read,'' she repeats. ''Is there a secret version of the passage?''
''From Dead Hyperspace? I don't know,'' Eva replies. ''But why wouldn't they allow it to be read? It's just a novel.''
And honestly, one that hooked me up.
''Depends on who the author is,'' Oliva responds. ''Lu once told me that novels with harmful content or written by controversial authors are banned from being sold, possessed and spread by the ISB.''
''They censor stuff?'' Eva asks.
''Yeah. It's common practice,'' Oliva replies.
Eva nods. If the other version of the passage is censored, it will be hard to find it, maybe even impossible. Then what could it contain? If the Empire censors harmful content, I'm fine with it. It's good that they protect us this way, but it makes my search harder. I'm wondering what it could contain.
''Soooo, I suppose I can't find it in the libraries?'' Eva asks.
Oliva shifts her head to her. ''I guess not. At least not on Imperial worlds.''
Eva nods. ''Blast it. Where could I find that version? I have no Credits at all to get off-world and search for it on other worlds outside the Imperial territory. They'd recognise me at the spaceport too.''
Oliva nods. ''Yeah. If that Rebel Twi'lek told you you were following the wrong passage, I guess only Rebels possess that version of Dead Hyperspace.''
Eva lets out a faint sigh. ''So I have to think like them, think like a Rebel scumbag.''
Oliva chuckles. ''Yeah.''
''Then where the hell would I hide that version?'' Eva wonders. ''If it's forbidden, I'd have to hide it.''
Rushing through the road, they pass someone holding his metal suitcase over his head as he rushes past the two girls.
''And you wouldn't have it with you in public,'' says Oliva, the person rushing away. ''If the police officers find out you have it, you'd be identified as a potential Rebel by the ISB.''
''Yeah, I'd hide it in a place. A place where I can store tons of the novel so enough Rebels possess it and find the trail to follow it.''
''So each Rebel has one?'' Oliva asks. ''That's pretty risky, don't you think? The more you have the harder it is to hide them all.''
''Yeah, you're right,'' Eva acknowledges. ''Hiding a few forbidden books is easier. So if there are fewer, I'd hide them where a lot of Rebels come together, like some sort of nexus or assembly point, at least some sort of strategic location.''
Suddenly, saying she'd hide it in a place where a lot of Rebels come together, a lightbulb flashes brightly in her mind, an idea suddenly arising. Eva remembers the Rebel hide-out in the middle of downtown Capital she raided with her squad. She can nearly count the dead Rebels she saw as she recalls the memories, sparkingly fresh in her mind. It was a hide-out that was far larger than she anticipated, and Eva realises it's almost the perfect place to hide a forbidden version of Dead Hyperspace. The Rebel hide-out must've been an active station in its heyday where dozens of Rebel insurgents spied on the Imperial forces in the city, and if Eva was their commanding officer, she would've hidden the forbidden version of Dead Hyperspace there. It's almost the perfect place to hide such an item that could land one in the labour camps of Wobani. It would've been perfect if it wasn't discovered. However, Eva recognises the Rebel hide-out's size could be a problem as well. Although its size would've made it more likely to house the forbidden clue, a bigger area means a bigger search area and more time it will take to find it. And how is this forbidden version of Dead Hyperspace stored anyway? On a datapad or on a datacard? Eva realises it will be hard to find it, but at least she has a direction, and she feels grateful to have it. In a hard time like now, and in a near future that will be much harder, it's a shimmer of hope that dares to show itself among the dark clouds, and Eva is grateful to see it through the rain.
Even when the ISB is looking for her and every civilian she comes across can report her to the authorities, Eva at least knows what to do and where to find the next clue. The path to success isn't fully blocked yet by the unknown and the Imperial Security Bureau. Speaking of the ISB, the Rebel hide-out might be put under surveillance in case remaining Rebels return to the site, unaware that it was raided or trying to restart the Rebel activity there. Despite the fact that the ISB could be watching the site, Eva wants to check it out, and rather today, but she recognises it's better for her to keep it easy for the remainder of the day. The bruises have to rest before she can go on, and aside from that, she feels exhausted, and she plans to scout the former Rebel hide-out tomorrow. It's better to be patient than rush it.
Eva and Oliva arrive at home without being recognised by civilians. Oliva steps towards the door and grabs her keycard to open it, and they enter the home. Hearing the door close behind her, Eva lets out a sigh of relief. No one seemed to have recognised her. The disguise worked, and the rain that poured down definitely helped.
Eva hangs her coat on the racket on the wall as it drips water on the floor, and her hair feels freezingly cold even when the heaters are on. The water pours down her hair and she feels the blond strands sticking to each other, forming chunks of hair glued together.
''Good to be back home,'' says Oliva, hanging her coat on the wall.
Eva can hear a bit of nervousness in her voice, probably because of the ISB that stormed in to interrogate her. She imagines the ISB's Deathtrooper and officers that stood here, inspecting every corner of the home. She follows Oliva through the hallway into the living room, and there, Eva sees Lu sitting heavily at the dining table. She holds her hands on her head, leaning on the metal table as she suddenly looks up, hearing the two girls coming in.
Oliva stops in her tracks and gazes at her mother. ''Mom, something wrong?'' she asks with a bit of worry in her voice.
Eva imagines it must've been anxious for Lu too, having the Imperial Security Bureau suddenly on the doorstep to interrogate her daughter. She can see the worry in Lu's brown eyes as they land on Eva.
''Oliva, go to your bedroom,'' says Lu, urgently.
Oliva gazes at her mother with worry, and without question, she nods and walks away.
''Eva, I want to talk with you for a minute,'' says Lu.
A bit of nervousness builds up within her, and seeing how easy Oliva followed through, Eva realises she saw it coming. Lu is probably done with her, and as the bedroom door of Oliva closes, she stands up from the dining table. The silence of the living room amplifies Eva's nervousness and her heart starts pounding in her chest.
Lu lets out a sigh. ''Eva,'' she starts. ''What lies did you tell me?''
Eva shifts her eyes to the floor, her nerves starting to burn. Lu's confrontation makes her anxious and Eva fears she's going to lose her bed in Oliva's room.
Lu sighs again, and she grabs a sheet of glass from the kitchen counter. It reflects the sunlight entering through the windows, and Lu reaches out to Eva with the sheet of glass.
''Eva, do you rest your hand on the Imperial code of the New Order?'' Lu asks, holding the sheet of glass in her hand.
Eva lets out a sigh. She knows there's no way she can talk herself out of this confrontation without lying to Lu. She has to speak the truth. Eva might lose her place to sleep, but lying would result in the same. With a sigh, Eva reaches out and rests her hand on the sheet of glass, pledging the truth. She feels the inscriptions of the New Order in the glass, shifting her eyes up to Lu, making direct eye contact with her.
''I rest my hand on the Imperial code of the New Order,'' says Eva with reluctance. ''I pledge the truth.''
Lu nods, and she puts the sheet of glass back on the kitchen counter. Her eyes reflect hints of anxiety, anger and urgency as she turns back to Eva. She can feel the surrounding atmosphere starting to enclave her, its claws threatening to suffocate her in its grip.
''Eva, what have you done you didn't tell me?'' Lu asks.
Eva lets out a shivering sigh.
''Every crime you've done,'' says Lu, cutting her off before Eva could say more.
Eva nods, her head trembling a little from the nervousness. She has no idea how Lu will react to the crimes she has done, but she knows she has to tell her. She just pledged the truth.
''I didn't leave because of a break from the Academy,'' Eva confesses, her heart pounding in her chest. ''I-, I left, I went AWOL to find a specific enemy. I wanted to find him so much that I left the Academy without permission.''
''You went rogue?'' Lu asks.
Eva shakily nods.
''And what have you done while you were gone?'' Lu asks. ''And I mean the crimes.''
Eva lets out a nervous sigh, and her lungs start hyperventilating, remembering every second of everything she has done. ''I held a boy younger than me hostage.''
Lu's pupils instantly grow.
''I-, I held my blaster on his head and threatened to kill him if his Rebel father wouldn't tell me everything he knew. He got killed, not by me but by the Rebel I was searching for, and I forced his son to see him shot through his chest. I followed the clues I found to Steergard and stumbled upon a Rebel Twi'lek in an abandoned warehouse. He tried to blow me up but I survived, and killed him.''
After her confession, silence falls and Eva feels shock, disgust, and disbelief brewing within Lu. She can't believe a 13-year-old committed these awful crimes, and though she understands it's for a greater good, Lu is still shocked to hear that Eva did all of that. Eva knows that. It makes her fear more of what's to come, and Eva feels losing her bond with Oliva. She might not allow her to ever see Oliva again if Eva has gone this much off track.
''And in all of this,'' says Lu, stammering a little with shock, ''how much was Oliva involved?''
''In none of them,'' Eva stammers, her nerves burning. ''All she did was help out with the research, just the intelligence part. She wasn't involved in the crimes I did.''
Lu lets out a shivering sigh of relief. ''Thank goodness she wasn't!''
Eva nods shiveringly. ''I know the ISB came and-,''
''and nearly ended our lives,'' says Lu, nearly screaming at her with anger. ''Eva, I had a heart attack when they came! They interrogated Oliva for nearly an hour before they left. My girl was crying all the time and I heard it through her door. Do you even know what the ISB comes for?''
Eva sighs, her nerves glowing red. ''Rebellion, espionage, sabotage, assassination, high treason, Sith or Jedi affiliation, Force sensitivity-,''
''And my daughter was indirectly involved in some of those,'' says Lu. ''Because of you, we got the ISB here with Deathtroopers and tanks.''
''Yeah, I heard that-,''
''Eva, You had our lives nearly ruined! If you involved Oliva more in your crimes, she and I would've landed in prison without having a chance to prove we're innocent! Don't you understand how close we dodged this?''
Her heart pounds in her chest as Eva remains silent. She lost her words to express her remorse, unable to speak.
''Eva, it hurts me to do it, but you have to go,'' says Lu.
That sentence lands wrong, and Eva instantly finds the words to speak.
''But-, but where do I have to sleep then?'' Eva asks, the anger starting to boil. ''If you want me out, why not report me to the ISB?''
''Because Oliva wouldn't look at me the same as she does now,'' Lu replies. ''She'd move in with her father who I despise, and I don't care where you're going to sleep tonight. I just want you out of my home. I don't want your problems to be our doom.''
Eva lets out a shivering sigh. ''I know, but I'm so close to finding the Rebel, and when I find and catch him, they'll forgive me for everything I've done.''
''How are you so sure about that?'' Lu asks. ''You've murdered, taken a child hostage, and got involved in two bombings. You're running away from the ones you serve.''
''I know what I've done. I killed, took a hostage at gunpoint, and experienced two bombings, I know, but the Rebel I'm searching for is the most wanted Rebel the Empire is looking for, and the ISB will lock him up instead of me when I bring them this Rebel scum. Just please, Lu, all I need is a bed for the night, and you're my only hope.''
In her eyes, Eva notices the anger that Lu is trying to suppress, and she understands it. She recognises that she got Oliva involved in her actions, and even when the girl wanted to be involved, Lu didn't, and the deeds Eva has done to find the clues did no good to them. She might have gone closer to the Spy, but Lu and Oliva have gone closer to doom. Eva feels guilt building up, brewing within her as she recognises it wasn't a good decision she made. She could've better let Oliva out of her search and just come to her to sleep during the nights, but she had to get involved in her search, and now, the ISB has both of them on their list of possible Rebels. Despite the guilt, Eva doesn't want to leave. She's so close to the truth, so close to the Spy, but having to sleep outside in the night is something she wants to avoid at all cost. All she needs is one night more.
''Lu, please,'' Eva begs, stepping towards Lu with her hands trembling a little. ''Oliva wouldn't look at you the same if you kicked me out right now,'' she says, her voice shivering, and now she shows her vulnerability even when she's a militant in training. ''I don't want to go to the orphanage, they've been overcrowded ever since the airstrike of the Rebel Alliance, and I don't want to sleep on the streets tonight. I don't want a creepy man to stumble upon me when I sleep and-, and rape me!''
The tears start forming in her eyes, not daring to imagine what would happen if a man with ill-intentions sees her sleeping.
''My mother always told me to be home before it gets night,'' says Eva with watery eyes. ''I'm 13, the perfect age for those dirty-minded people. I have a blaster with me and can use it properly, but I won't when I sleep, and when I wake up, I'm already naked with the hands of creep around my crotch. Please, Lu, I-, I don't want to be alone on the streets tonight, and you know how dangerous that is!''
Even the most cold-blooded Rebel killer is afraid of the night, and having to sleep on the street tonight, alone without any friends to look after her or 4 walls and a locked door surrounding her sends a shiver down Eva's spine, and she fears her physical fighting skills will be useless when a creep holds her blaster. Rape is a girl's most common fear that even sends shivers down the strongest spines. Even the spine that survived the blast of an explosion fears it. No world in the galaxy grants eradication of those kinds of people, and Eva knows that the world she's born on and fights for has that people too. They only show themselves in the dark of the night, and when they see Eva, sleeping alone, the consequences for her will be massive, and she doesn't dare thinking of them, and Lu doesn't either. Her heart pounds with fear as Eva sees in Lu's eyes the remorse and regret that she could ever say to a 13-year-old girl to sleep on the street in the night.
Lu lets out a shivering sigh and looks away, unable to form sentences in her mind.
''Eva, I-,'' but she's unable to continue with complete sentences. The regret builds up within her as Lu feels pain that she's forcing a girl to be exposed to the dangers of the night, and she takes a deep breath to answer.
''Okay, Eva, you're right,'' says Lu, ''I don't want you to be raped too, but please, understand that I wanted to do it for the lives of me and Oliva. I just-, don't want the secret service on my doorstep again.''
Eva shiveringly nods. ''I understand.''
She wipes the tears off of her eyes, and Eva breathes heavily, trying to comfort her pounding heart. Lu sees the discomfort and she puts her hand on the girl's shoulder, feeling bad that she almost made her face any girl's worst nightmare.
''Sorry, Eva,'' says Lu, ''but-, just one night, okay?''
Eva nods, her tears drying up. ''That's all I need. Thank you so much, Lu.''
Lu nods, but the pain still remains in her eyes, and Eva sees she's ashamed that she wanted to force her to sleep outside. A girl should never be allowed to do that, and Eva feels thankful that Lu was reminded of that. Lu might have forgotten that because she avoids dark streets as if it's in her genes, doing it unconsciously. Eva still has to think about it.
Eva opens the door and enters the silent bedroom of Oliva. The silence is deep as Eva sees her friend sitting on her bed, shifting her head and making eye contact with her, and Eva suspects that Oliva put her ear on the door and listened to what she and Lu told each other. Hearing them talk about having to sleep outside and the risk of a 13-year-old getting raped must've left something behind. Maybe not a shock, but just reminiscent enough to echo through her mind, and Eva sees it in her eyes.
''And?'' Oliva asks, raising her eyebrows, her pupils growing.
Eva decides not to ask her if she listened.
''I have one night,'' Eva replies. ''After that, I guess I'll be gone then.''
Oliva nods, and Eva can see the sorrow in her eyes, sad that tonight is her last here, but she seems to accept Lu's decision, or at least understand it. It must've been a shock too for Oliva to experience the operations of the ISB, and Eva understands that it's better to spare her the trouble she could land in if she stays here. Oliva is just a teenage girl trying to live her life amidst the Galactic Civil War. She's just a citizen, and Eva wants her to live that life. She doesn't want Oliva to be caught in her own trouble, sent to the youth rehabilitation facilities or the labour camps because of crimes she didn't commit.
''I'm going to school in a few minutes,'' says Oliva. ''Thanks to the ISB, I skipped math class,'' she chuckles. ''After that, I have to go to my dad in the farmfields.''
Oh, right. Your mom and dad lived apart from each other after their break up, yeah, that's right, forgot about that.
''Got any plans?'' Oliva asks with a smile.
Eva walks to Oliva's bed and drops on the sheets next to her friend, feeling the mattress rebounding. She pulls the collar over her shoulder a little and her eyes land on the red bruises and she feels them aching, and Eva lets out a sigh.
''Got nothing planned today,'' Eva sighs. ''I'll take it easy today, just lying in my bed or something. I want these bruises to rest a little.''
Oliva nods. ''Don't you want them to be checked?''
Eva shakes her head. ''No, they'd recognise me from the Civil Watch Alert. The ISB would find me almost immediately. Tomorrow I'll continue, and I'm sure it will be the last day of my search. I'm so, so close. I can almost smell it. If there's really a censored version of the passage of Dead Hyperspace, then I know where I have to look. I just have to find it and follow this passage to its end, and I'm sure I'll be able to trace it back to the Rebels.''
''All in one day?'' Oliva asks.
Eva nods, and so does Oliva. Through the shut door of the bedroom, they both hear the voice of Lu.
''Oliva, we have to go,'' shouts Lu through the house.
Oliva shifts her head to the door. ''I'm coming, mom!'' she shouts, and she shifts her head to Eva and a smile forms on her face.
As Oliva shifts her head back to her, a smile forms on her face, and she bends herself towards Eva and entangles her arms around her, hugging her best friend tightly. Eva's heart warms up a little after the sorrowing and nervous confrontation with Lu, and she too, entangles her arms around her friend. She can feel Oliva's curly hair pricking on her cheek.
Oliva moves her head closer to Eva's ear. ''Good luck, Eva,'' she whispers.
A smile on Eva's face forms. ''Thanks, sister,'' she whispers.
Oliva chuckles a little, finding it funny that Eva calls her a sister when she isn't. Oliva feels like her sister because of the help and the support she has given to Eva, and it has massively comforted her in a nervous and demanding search. The moments they had warmed Eva's stone cold heart, just like Eline, feeling like she now has two sisters.
Oliva lets go of Eva and grabs her school bag and leaves for school. She remains at the house, and while she's alone, Eva takes off all of her clothes and decides to take a shower. The warm water pouring over her bruised skin stuns the aching a little. It feels like absolute peace, as if the Rebel airstrike that changed her entire life, the kills and the bombings never happened. For a moment, Eva forgets the trouble she's in and clears her mind, preparing to fill it with the next clues and problems she has to overcome tomorrow. After the shower, she remains in bed for the rest of the day, letting her bruises and her mind rest and recharge herself for tommorow.
While Eva's at home, firefighters struggle to fight the flames that sparkle at the disaster site where the warehouses once stood, now in ruins. The collapsed roof remained largely intact when the blast happened, leaving no space for the water to pour down through the roof. While they struggle to fight the fire, the Military Police have set off the roads while a column of ISB transporters stand on the tarmac, investigating the crash of a speeder they discovered to have been controlled by a Rebel.
Lyman walks around the wreckage of the speeder. The breeze blows over the grass fields onto the road and through the fences of the Steergard Naval Yard as it continues to operate. He inspects the speeder as forensic experts lift the body of a dead Twi'lek out of its seat. Watching as they operate, Lyman sees black burn marks on the engine cap and the metal frame that was supposed to keep the glass windshield in position. They tell Lyman that he was under fire, and knowing the Army's Military Police made a sighting of the rogue cadet Eva Young near the crashed speeder, he suspects her to be the one who fired on him.
Even when it's murder, Lyman hesitates whether she should be taken responsible for this. The body is that of a Twi'lek, an alien, and those are of a lower rank. They don't matter in the modern days of the Empire.
As the forensic team lifts the dead driver from his seat, something shiny, a small tube rolls out of the pocket of his jeans and rolls over the seat. Intrigued Lyman steps on the speeder and bends over the speeder door and grabs it. Instantly, he recognises it as a remote detonator, and seeing the massive smoke cloud rising from the ruins of a deserted warehouse, Lyman figures the Twi'lek bombed it. He knows from the databanks of Vaulent's authority that the warehouse was on the list of being demolished, but not today and especially not with explosives. If the demolition team didn't destroy it, the Twi'lek must've done it, which instantly makes him a Rebel suspect. That makes Eva's murder less of a crime than an act of service.
Suddenly, his secretary walks around the speeder towards him with something in his hand.
''Sir, the forensic team found something,'' he says.
Intrigued, Lyman approaches him and notices his secretary has a datacard on his black glove covering his hand. He grabs it from his hand and inspects it further.
''A datacard,'' says Lyman curiously.
Holding it in his bare hand, he sees the lower half is made from black metal and the upper half made from a transparent plastic. He turns around to the direction of the sun that managed to break through the dark clouds that pour its rain over Vaulent Capital a bit further away. He holds the datacard in front of the sun and it shines through the dark green, transparent plastic the upper half of it is composed of. He notices lines inscribed in the plastic that end with dots halfway across the transparent, upper part of the datacard.
''Where did they find this?'' Lyman asks.
His secretary stammers a little, seemingly hesitating to answer, but he knows he can't keep secrets from his superior. ''The-, uh, the forensic team found it between his ass cheeks.''
Instantly, Lyman turns around to his secretary, his mind blank, unable to process what he just heard.
''They-, what?'' he stammers.
Lyman gazes at the datacard he's holding in his bare hand. The Rebel hid it in his ass, and I am holding it in my bare hands.
''Should I get some gloves for you, sir?'' his secretary asks him.
Lyman nods, and his secretary speeds away to an ITT. While he's gone grabbing the gloves, Lyman keeps gazing at the datacard he's holding in his bare hand. He can't believe the Rebel had the steel balls to hide it in his ass. It must've been painful. He was desperate or he knew it was necessary. Perhaps he thought they'd never find it in his ass, and if that's true, the datacard might be holding very valuable information, something so valuable that he painfully hid it in his ass, the last place anyone would look, and thinking that, Lyman wonders how the forensic team found it in the first place. Did someone decide to just stick his hand in his ass and accidentally stumbled upon it? Well, I rather not think of it.
His secretary rushes towards him with a pair of gloves and a disinfectant spray, and he and Lyman exchange their objects they hold. Lyman disinfects his hands and puts on the black gloves, still filled with disbelief. A datacard in someone's ass. Okay.
Pulling the black gloves over his hands, his secretary holds the datacard in his hand.
''If he hid it in his ass, then I'm curious why he hid it there,'' says Lyman. ''Let's see what it contains.''
They both walk towards an ITT, converted from a troop transporter to a mobile data-analyser. With his secretary behind him, Lyman steps aboard the vehicle from the back and enters its dark cabin. The right wall is covered in computer monitors, and a long desk stands below all of them with control panels and three operators, ready to analyse every bit of data at a tremendous speed. The screens on the wall are the only source of light as Lyman hands the datacard to one of the operators. The operator plugs the datacard into the computer with bare hands.
''I'd disinfect the controls and your hands after you're done,'' says Lyman, standing behind the operator as he sits at the desk at the controls.
''Excuse me, sir?'' the operator asks confused, looking over his shoulder to him.
''Just do it,'' says Lyman. ''The elaboration would make you resign from your job.''
The operator struggles to understand, but he shoves it aside and turns back to the computer screens. He starts analysing it, and within no time, it's done. The screens on the wall flash with white lines of information, and Lyman's eyes widen as he reads the lines.
LET THE STARBIRD SHRIEK AND WAVE ITS WINGS. THE FLAME WILL IGNITE THE AIR WHEN THE STARBIRD SHRIEKS BELOW THE STAR AT THE LATE HORIZON. LONG LIVE THE FLAME.
Reading it, it gives off a cryptic, eerie vibe, almost as if it belongs to an old legend of a monster, a verse to call it up for someone's doomsday plans. Reading the Starbird however, indicates it's not a verse to call up an old monster of the depths. The Starbird is the symbol of the Rebel Alliance. It's a call for rebellion, and reading that the flame will ignite the air when the Starbird shrieks, Lyman figures that a Rebel attack is coming. The flame igniting the air seems to imply an explosion, just like the one that obliterated the Capital Police Department. The Starbird shrieking below the star at the late horizon seems to imply that the explosions will happen when the bird crosses the sun late, most presumably when it's evening, and Lyman realises what the meaning is of this seemingly cryptic message. The Rebel Alliance will unleash fiery explosives somewhere during the evening rush hour, when the sun hits the late horizon and the Starbird will shriek for rebellion. The flame that will ignite the air will burn down the Empire, and what shocks him more is the time. The evening rush is one of the busiest times in the Capital. People working at offices and other workplaces travel by foot, on the subway, through traffic, or the train to go home. At that time, restaurants, clubs and bars will fill as well, and at that time, when the roads are the most clogged and the subways are the most packed, the Rebel Alliance will unleash a bombing. A shiver is sent down his spine, and he wonders at what day this bombing will take place and where.
''Are there coordinates?'' he asks.
''Negative,'' the operator replies, and he taps a button after which a red light flashes. ''No. Second check confirms it.''
''So we know there will be an attack but not where,'' says Lyman, glancing at his secretary. ''Is there a date?''
The operator taps some buttons on the control panel, and the screens flash a couple of times.
''Affirmative,'' says the operator, and indeed, a date appears on-screen.
Lyman's eyes fall on some digits on the screen.
''That's the day after tomorrow, isn't it?'' Lyman asks, turning to his secretary.
''Yes sir,'' he confirms.
Lyman's heart sinks in his chest. He has found out that a Rebel bombing is planned for the day after tomorrow, but the biggest problem is that he doesn't know where. One or more bombs will explode when most civilian office workers are released from their workplaces to go home. Casualties could fall everywhere in the city. One of the four train stations, the civilian spaceport, the countless subway stations, the business parks, the financial district, or everywhere all at once. If a bomb explodes in a public area, the number of civilian casualties will be enormous, and an explosion at a military facility will strike deep into Imperial hearts too. The Academy, the Steergard Naval Yard, the Army's walker depot, Battle Command, the conscription offices. Lyman realises a nightmare is waiting around the corner. He has no idea where it will happen exactly, and that worries him. He's completely blind.
''Establish a line with all military and civilian instances in one go. Get me Dr Kirbley as well,'' orders Lyman, the urgency in his voice. ''If something blows up, it doesn't matter where, it will be disastrous for the Empire.''
''Yes sir,'' says his secretary and he walks off.
Despite the massive danger, Lyman keeps his composure. He can't allow himself to rush or act in fear or nervousness. That's not what the ISB does. What it does is prevent these attacks from happening within Imperial territory, and Lyman feels determined to do so. However, he can't let it take all of his attention. Eva Young is still on the loose, armed and dangerous, and she still has to be caught. Fortunately for him, before he arrived at the Steergard Naval Yard, he received a message from his secretary that the listening devices that were placed in the home of Oliva had picked something up. They have picked up and identified the voice of Eva Young, and they've heard her saying she's going out tomorrow and today she won't show herself. When Eva Young is on the streets tomorrow, the ISB can follow her into a place where she's the most vulnerable, and then they can catch her.
And Lyman thinks that maybe, just maybe, he has to thank Eva for killing the Rebel before he throws her in front of the Imperial justice system. If she hadn't killed him, Lyman would've never found out a Rebel bombing will soon take place at the busiest hour of the day.
But the thank you part is just a side note. What truly matters is that she faces the punishment for the crimes she had done: death by misconduct, hostage taking, and AWOL.
Lyman and the ISB are on her heels and tomorrow, they can squeeze her in a tight corner. Her time is over.
