''Silence falls. The fingers are cracked, and the eyes narrow. It's their turn. The Rebels make their decision and move the Kintan Strider 2 spaces forward.''
A Rebel soldier leans with his hands on the holochess table after he hits the button, moving a set piece 2 spaces forward in a match of Dejarik. He's facing a female, Imperial officer, her eyes narrowing, while a male person narrates with a calm voice.
''The Rebel exceeds the board's centerline. They've entered our territory. They've made their turn and now it's ours. In no situation are we at a disadvantage. The glorious Galactic Empire is ready to win the game, and we have all the set pieces to reach victory. All we need now are the players to move them.''
The Kintan Strider pushes up. Convinced he will win, the Rebel looks up from the table and makes eye contact with the Imperial officer, a smile forming on his face. Then, it vanishes as a group of Stormtroopers join the game, standing next to the female officer.
''And the player, are you. Outnumbered, the Rebel soldier feels pressured. No day is passing when no set pieces are moving. A game is to be played to the end, and the war is no different. Only together with you can we move the set pieces forward and push the frontline towards them.''
The officer hits the button and so do the Stormtroopers as all the set pieces of the Empire move forward. The Rebel's breathing becomes erratic with terror in his eyes as all of his set pieces are defeated by those of the Empire.
''Without you, the Empire wouldn't be as superior as it is today, and in a matter of seconds, the setpieces of the Rebel forces are defeated. Never have terrorists blocked our path of galactic expansion, security, and prosperity. With ease, his setpieces are crushed and his fate is slowly but surely set. We never lose.''
The officer's eyes reflect the holographic game, and a smile forms on her face, her eyes narrowing. ''Checkmate,'' she says, ''Rebel scum.''
In an instant, the woman pulls out a blaster pistol from her holster and shoots the Rebel in his face, crippling onto the floor with a loud thud.
''Your opponents are the Rebels. Your ally is the Empire, and you are the player. You are the one in control of ending the war. Join the Imperial military, and together, we shall win this game and defeat rebellion forever.''
The call for conscription ends with the logo of the Empire, fading in behind the female officer and the white Stormtroopers.
''Come and fight now!''
The hologram of the propaganda advertisement for the military lights up the center of Steel Crane Plaza as Eva walks over the pavement. The plaza is dark and she feels the cold breeze blowing through the streets that end at Steel Crane Plaza. The old crane is looming over her as she walks past the hologram, making her way to the only friend she still has outside the Academy.
Entering a street, Eva starts thinking of how to approach the hunt. A Rebel spy is not easy to find. He'd do anything to mask his existence, so it's going to require a lot of her capabilities of which she doesn't have many. She knows how to fire a blaster and make her way through a Rebel hide-out, but infiltration and trace investigation is outside her capabilities. Nonetheless, Eva starts planning out the first section of her search for the Rebel Spy. She knows she'll have to find clues first, but she immediately bumps into a problem. She has no idea where to search for a clue or a trace, so she'll need some help planning the search.
A swoopbike wooshes past her as its headlights light up the street it drives through. Eva remembered the last time she walked through these streets, remembering the debris, the dust, and the wreckages of speeders the Rebel airstrike had left behind. Walking through the same streets again, Eva feels a light wave of joy wash over her, feeling happy that the Capital has recovered. She didn't expect anything else from Vaulent 6, but she's happy that it happened nonetheless. She can't imagine how the streets would've looked if Vaulent 6 was some backwater world, forgotten by everyone and having no sustainable economy. It would've been awful. Thanks to the moon's strong economy and the capabilities of the Galactic Empire, the Capital recovered. Even if it was a siege and the city was completely laid in ashes, the Capital would've recovered in mere months. Eva can't think of any other world she would like to live in. Vaulent 6 is her home and she's determined to protect it. But first, Eva has to solve her errors as those hold her back from becoming a soldier of the Empire.
Finally, Eva makes her way to her friend. Standing on the doorstep of an apartment in a dark street, only lit up by a couple of streetlights, she presses the doorbell and Eva hears a buzz inside the building. She taps on the ear section of her helmet and opens her visor. Within a few seconds, the door opens and slides into the wall, and for the first time in months, she sees the face of Oliva again. The girl raises her eyebrows and her pupils grow, surprised by Eva's appearance.
''Hi Oliva,'' Eva greets, smiling.
''Eva, you're-, here,'' says Oliva, perplexed.
Oliva steps forward and entangles her arms around Eva, hugging her. She feels Oliva's head bumping into her training helmet. Eva feels relieved to see the girl's curly hair again after so long.
''I knew you'd come back,'' Oliva whispers in her ear.
''Well,'' chuckles Eva. ''I promised I'd stay alive.''
Oliva lets go of Eva. ''I'm happy you followed through. It must be tough there at the Academy.''
''Yeah, it's quite tough, but I'm in a problem I'm trying to resolve and I don't really know how to approach it.''
''You want to discuss it with me?''
Eva wants to answer but then she sees a person walking up towards the door and sees it's Lu standing behind Oliva.
''Hey Eva,'' she greets. ''Nice to see you again.''
''Yeah, hi Lu,'' greets Eva.
Even if she's against the military's conscription program, Eva still feels happy to see Lu again.
''Would you like to come inside?'' asks Lu.
''Yeah, that'd be appreciated, thanks for letting me in,'' says Eva, and she steps inside.
As Oliva stays at the door to close it, Eva walks past her and moves closer to her friend's ear.
''I'll tell you later what the problem is,'' she says, and Eva enters Oliva's apartment.
After having eaten and talked with Lu about her time at the Academy and what happened in the city while she was gone, Eva follows Oliva to her bedroom. Entering it, she sees the bed Lu temporarily set up hours after she became an orphan is still there. Like months ago, it's standing across Oliva's bed.
''Yeah, I kept it in case you'd come by and wanted to sleep over,'' says Oliva, smiling.
Eva takes off her helmet and puts it and her backpack on the grey sheet of her bed. Seeing the wrinkles in the bedsheet her backpack creates, they make her think back to the blue bedsheet of her own bed. It makes her feel sad that she doesn't have it anymore, but Eva smiles, knowing she'll fight for the bedsheets of another kid of her age. She hears the door sliding out of the wall.
''So, what's the thing you want to talk about?'' Oliva asks, walking away from the door panel.
Eva sits down on the bed. ''I ran into problems during my training with a Rebel guy,'' and she starts telling Oliva about the raid on the hide-out, her problems with Roslin and Peyton, the attack on the Academy, the 600 stolen military files, and the spy himself.
''Why-,'' and Oliva lets out a sigh, trying to process everything she's told. ''Why don't you let the military do this? Tell them what has happened and I'm sure they'll go after him.''
Eva shakes her head. ''It's more of a personal thing,'' she replies, gazing through the only window in the bedroom. ''I don't see myself in the squad anymore, even if I let the ISB or MI do the hunting. I want to prove myself that I fit in the squad, so that's why I want to do it myself.''
Oliva nods. ''It's dangerous but I understand. You got a plan?''
Eva shakes her head. ''No, I'm still working on one, but I have some leads.''
''Tell me, and maybe we could come up with a start.''
Eva smiles, feeling happy that her friend is willing to help her out. ''So, I've seen this Rebel guy twice before the raid. First, I saw him on a broadcast of the Kuat train bombing and then at the BlasTech facility.''
Oliva nods. ''I think we should start with doing some research on the train bombing first. We can go to the police department tomorrow. They have a database where all the investigation files are stored of all Imperial worlds.''
''Can we access them?''
Oliva sighs. ''No, not as a citizen. Only civil servants can access it with a chaincode.''
''How about Lu's chaincode? Can't we borrow hers to access it?''
''If she allows it, but I don't think she'll allow it when we say we're investigating the whereabouts of a Rebel soldier. I'll come up with something.''
Eva nods. Telling Lu you're doing research for a school subject? Maybe you could say that to her, but before she could tell her, Oliva interrupts her.
''But-, does the Academy actually allow this?'' Oliva asks.
Eva shakes her head. ''No.''
''Wouldn't it be suspicious if they notice you're not there anymore tomorrow?''
Eva shifts her eyes down and she realises something she hasn't thought of beforehand. Blast it, she's right. Tomorrow is probably another day at The Well or the SimArena. If they notice my absence, they'd dispatch every man of the Military Police to search for me. Why haven't I thought of this before?
''You're right, blast it, I forgot about that,'' says Eva, and she reaches out for her wrist link and taps the button. As a green light lights up, she moves it towards her mouth. ''Acy, you copy?''
''Who's Acy?'' ask Oliva.
Eva shifts her eyes to Oliva. ''My contact at the Academy''
Oliva nods.
Then her wrist link makes a static noise and Eva hears the robotic, female voice of ACY. ''Eva, you're clear.''
''Acy, when will the Academy notice I'm absent?'' Eva asks.
''At the start of the next training,'' ACY responds.
''Won't that be a problem when Academy Command finds out I'm gone tomorrow?'' she asks.
''Affirmative, but not tomorrow,'' responds ACY. ''Tomorrow, there is no training planned. There won't be registration of the squads until the day after tomorrow. When they'll notice your absence, you'll be reported to the Capital Police Department and the Army's Military Police. Billboards and holograms all over the city will show your face, name, and age. Everyone will be able to report your position to the authorities and you'll be expelled for being absent without official leave.''
AWOL, she thinks and Eva lets out a sigh. ''So we have to come up with something.''
''Affirmative.''
Eva tries to think of a solution. They have to come up with something or else her absence will be noticed and every person in the Capital will recognize her face the second the authorities search for her. It would greatly hinder her search for the Spy, and the Spy himself would know Eva is searching for him. However, she struggles to come up with a solution, so she looks up at Oliva.
''I maybe have an idea,'' says Oliva. ''Maybe you could make a fake sickness report.''
Eva nods. Yeah, that could work.
''How's that idea?'' asks Eva, her wrist link still below her mouth.
''Possible, but risky,'' replies ACY, the droid's voice crackling through the wrist link. ''The report should be directly uploaded to the Academy's servers, something I am unable to do. Defrauding data is against my programming.''
Great, so we have to find a solution for that as well before we can even put the other solution to use.
''Somebody else with knowledge of technology should do it,'' replies ACY.
Although the droid doesn't tell who this somebody is, Eva knows instantly who ACY is talking about, and she doesn't like it.
Eva sighs. ''Peyton.''
Not only does the girl not trust her anymore, Peyton most likely won't even help her out, especially after everything that happened. The incident at the Rebel hide-out, the malicious spyware on her datapad, and the 600 stolen military files. However, Eva has no other choice. If ACY can't do it, then Peyton is the only person she knows who has access to the Academy's databank. Peyton is the solution, one Eva doesn't like reaching out to. But it's also a solution that's not easy to get working. She's most likely still angry at me for my errors, and can I blame her? I really did mess up, so it's going to be hard to convince her to help me out.
Eva sighs again. ''I'll talk to Peyton next morning and maybe I'll be able to convince her.''
''Understood,'' says ACY. ''Peyton's link channel is 5555.''
''Copy, over,'' responds Eva, and the communication stops and she moves her wrist link away.
Oliva lets out a sigh, summarising the plan for tomorrow. ''So, tomorrow we'll start with the Capital Police Department.
Eva nods. ''And from there we'll figure out the rest.''
Oliva nods too. ''Alright.''
''Tell Lu tomorrow that you'll need her chaincode for a school assignment.''
''Good idea, will do.''
Eva smiles. Her heart swells with happiness. She still has a friend outside the Academy who's willing to help her out with a problem she caused herself. Eva feels thankful for Oliva.
Later that night, as the lights are off and the only source of light is the streetlight outside, Eva lies in the bed Oliva kept after she left. It feels comfortable and soft, and the thick bed sheet isolates her from the cold night. As she pulls the bed sheet closer towards her, Eva tries to think of how to convince Peyton to help her out. When the Academy notices she's gone AWOL, she'll be searched for. The only way to cover up her absence is a fake sickness report, and only Peyton can defraud such a report and upload it to the Academy's databank. Peyton has to be convinced, but Eva struggles to think of a way to do it. What should I say to her? I can't even apologise yet, I haven't caught the Spy. I'll get a cup of water, maybe that'll help.
So, Eva throws away the bed sheet towards her feet and quietly stands up, making sure the floor doesn't squeak under her socks. She wears the pyjamas Oliva leans out to her, and Eva can feel the cold going through it as she slowly makes her way to the bathroom nearby. She quietly turns on the light and fills a glass with tap water. Taking a sip, her eyes land on a red poster on a building adjacent to Oliva's apartment building. It's stuck to the wall and lit by a single light as Eva notices the white symbol of the Empire imprinted on it. She remembers when she saw it for the first time. She stood there in the exact same position, taking a sip of cold water as she couldn't sleep. It was the night of the day the Rebel airstrike happened. It was the poster that made her take the step to apply for the military before she was even eligible to be conscripted. Almost a hundred kriffin' days ago.
It was the same day she lost her parents and became an orphan together with Eline. It was an awful day, and thinking back, Eva can still feel her eyes burning when she cried so hard in the hospital bed of her little sister. Eva remembers what Eline said to her in the tree house before it all happened. She recalls Eline sitting next to her, leaning against her, her head tilting up, looking at her older sister with her blue, innocent eyes, and telling Eva to follow her heart. She did, and what did it cost? It cost her innocence and her childhood. Making errors was accepted. It was human, but now, Eva can't afford to make them anymore as they could have great consequences, and she knows how it feels to endure them.
The last time Eva stood here, she was a regular civilian, following the New Order and having to wait for the conscription. She played around, attended school, met friends, and helped them out. Now, she's on the path of becoming a soldier, fighting for Eline and her parents, and the Empire. She made her actions accordingly, but now, her actions are fueled less with heart and more with rage, vengeance and fury. It's an obstacle on the way, one she has to clear before she can walk further, and Eva feels determined to do so.
There's a cold breeze blowing through the alley as the blue sky is completely masked by white and grey clouds. Vaulent 6 has gone into a usual cold autumn as temperatures drop lower.
Eva leans with her back against the wall of the apartment building, the breeze blowing through the alley. The wedding necklaces of her parents twinkle in the light and her school bag with her E-10 rifle attached to it with a pair of metal tie wraps sits on her back. Eva lets out a heavy sigh, knowing the next few minutes will be tough. Feeling her heart starting to pound in her chest, she moves the wrist link towards her mouth and taps several buttons to dial channel 5555. A green light flickers on as the connection establishes. Now, she has to convince Peyton to help her out, and it's not going to be easy.
''Peyton, are you there?'' Eva asks.
The line remains dead as Eva hears the breeze whistling and a swoop bike driving through the street outside the alley, its engine rumbling as it disappears as quickly as it appeared. Then, Peyton's voice crackles through the wristlink.
''Loud and clear,'' replies the girl. Peyton's breathing seems erratic as she's breathing heavily. She's probably doing some physical exercises. She also doesn't seem to know it's Eva on the other side of the line. ''To who am I speaking?''
''Hey Peyton,'' she greets, her voice shivering a bit. ''It's me, Eva.''
She hears Peyton sigh on the other side of the line. ''Eva? If you're going to apologise, don't.''
Eva feels the heavy weight of her mistakes pushing her down again, feeling the guilt and regret built up inside her chest.
''I know, and I won't, for now at least,'' replies Eva.
''What are you talking about?'' asks Peyton. ''Where are you even?''
Eva notices Peyton didn't notice her absence, and the sadness builds up. Her bed is in the same barrack as that of Peyton. Before it happened, they both woke up in the same room, at the same time, at the same rhythm. Now, it seems like Peyton distanced herself so much from Eva that she didn't notice her bed was empty last night.
Eva sighs, tilting her head up, her eyes landing on the white clouds in the sky, not knowing how to continue. She couldn't come up with an approach last night, even when she thought about it all night long.
''Peyton,'' she continues, shifting her head down to her wristlink. ''I've left the Academy to correct all of my mistakes. I'm trying to fix all of this.''
''Eva,'' sighs Peyton, her voice crackling through the wristlink. ''The errors you've made in the last two days really knocked me off track. Seriously, I'm still clearing my datapad from the debris that spyware left behind.''
Eva lets out a sigh. She knew it wouldn't be easy.
''Each time I wake up I still feel my shoulder burning as anything, even when I take in my meds to ease the pain,'' says Peyton, a hint of anger audible in her crackling voice. ''I still have bandages wrapped around it, and I can still feel my cheek aching from the punch that Rebel gave me. You really messed up, so why are you trying to fix it? Why?''
''Because I know who that Rebel is,'' says Eva. ''He's the person who compromised your datapad and stole the files from the Academy's databanks. I can find him, but I need your help.''
''Eva, just tell me who this Rebel is. You got a name?''
''I-, I have no name, but I have some leads and clues.''
''Some leads and clues?''
She hears Peyton sigh on the other side of the line, and it stays quiet for a while. Eva hears the girl hesitating to help her out.
''And you want me to help you out? Helping out someone who's gone AWOL?''
Eva remains silent.
''What do you need my help for?''
''I need you to upload a fake sickness report to the Academy's servers to cover up my absence,'' Eva explains. ''Tomorrow there will be a training and they'll register all the cadets. If they notice I'm gone, they'll hunt me.''
Peyton sighs. ''Alright, fine. I'll help you out, BUT that's not because you're my friend, it's because you know who compromised my most favourite toy, understood?''
Eva feels a gush of inward relief as a little smile on her face forms, happy that Peyton is willing to help her out.
''Yes, understood,'' replies Eva.
''Alright, I'll get to work immediately. I'll contact you on the same channel when the job's done.''
''Got it,'' Eva replies. ''Thanks for helping out.''
''Out,'' replies Peyton and immediately signs off.
During the entire conversation, Eva could hear the distrust that is still between them, but she's determined to resolve all of it. So, the sickness report is in the works.
Suddenly, in the corner of her eye, Eva sees something move. She tilts her head and her heart sinks. It's a black silhouette, contrasting the sunlight that manages to pierce through the clouds, lighting up the streets. It's the Spy, the black silhouette, and Eva's heart pounds in her chest. Before she thought of reaching out to her E-10, she notices her mind is tricking her. It's not him, it's not the Spy, and looking better, Eva sees it's Oliva, entering the alley.
''Got Lu's chaincode,'' says Oliva, walking towards her.
She's wearing a desert-yellow jacket with the Imperial insignia shimmering on her chest, and grey jeans with black shoes. Her brown hair is curly as always.
Eva nods, her heart calming down. ''Good.''
''And? Are you getting help to fake the sickness report?'' Oliva asks.
''Yeah, it's being worked on,'' Eva replies.
''Alright. Well, let's get going,'' says Oliva, a smile forming on her face. ''I guess we don't have much time to waste.''
Eva nods, and she follows Oliva out of the shaded alley into the street of the Capital. The breeze picks up and the clouds drift quickly over her. Eva is still wearing her training suit. Her helmet stays at Oliva's home as she doesn't need it for now. Only when the job gets tough, she'll need it. Her training suit is not all that isolating, so she shivers each time the breeze picks up. Vaulent 6 has entered autumn, and the temperature drops quicker and further than before. Eva scrambles all of her long, blond hair together and ties it up in a bun, making sure it won't fly up in her face when the wind picks up.
''So, the public databanks at the Vaulent Police Department,'' repeats Oliva. ''That's the place where they store investigation files.''
''Yeah,'' responds Eva. ''You know how it works?''
''I do,'' Oliva nods. ''I did the same thing a couple of months ago when I had to do something for sociology. Had to search a crime case and explain how the justice system handled it.''
''Right,'' replies Eva, and they both turn around the corner of a building as they exit the street, walking over the sidewalk next to a busy avenue.
It's bustling with people as the airspeeders drive past her on the road. Eva smells the combustion gases, a smell she missed at the Academy, and she feels happy to smell it, almost tasting on her tongue. Trees split the pedestrian sidewalk and the busy road, their once green leaves now brown and red. Their trunks are surrounded by heaps of fallen leaves. Eva hears them shattering below her training boots as she walks through the crowd of people in the morning rush. Some talk with each other, in person or remotely. Others hold cups of freshly-made caf in their hands, fueling their work day as they walk past Eva towards their work. She gets a feeling of unity as she walks among the morning commuters as if she's part of it, part of the Imperial system. The morning commuters all have a mission to complete, whether it be boosting the galactic economy, ensuring the wellbeing of the hospitalised, or in her case, bringing the Rebel Spy to justice and getting everything on track again.
''Nothing changed while I was gone it seems,'' says Eva, walking through the people.
''Yeah,'' replies Oliva, shifting her head to her. ''Rebel infiltration or not, the system keeps running.''
''And we're about to make sure the system won't be disrupted,'' says Eva, a smile forming on her face.
Oliva smiles too. ''Glory to the Empire.''
Eva's smile grows bigger as she feels the encouragement starting to flow, her heart pumping determination through her veins.
''Glory to the Empire,'' says Eva, smiling.
Then, a person bumps into her and Eva feels pushed back as her eyes land on the person. He's wearing a thick, black jacket with his hood over his head. She makes eye contact with the person, and suddenly, Eva feels a wave of fear washing over her as she recognizes the man. The man's eyebrows rise as Eva recognizes his eyes in which she previously saw fear.
''Excuse me,'' says the man, and less than a second after he bumped into her, the person continues and walks away.
Eva turns her head around and looks at the man as he walks away and disappears into the crowd of people.
''Something going on?'' Oliva asks, shifting her head to her.
Eva keeps gazing at the crowd for a while, trying to find the same person, but she has already lost him. ''Nothing,'' she says, turning around and she continues to walk with Oliva.
Walking through the morning commuters, Eva tries to recollect the appearance of the man. I swear, I kriffin' swear I saw that guy earlier. She tries to remember where she saw him previously, and then it hits her. She remembers the colleague of the Rebel officer she executed when she lost herself to the rage. He had a colleague, another officer she didn't kill. She remembered the fear he had in his eyes when Eva stepped towards him with her blaster raised before the Spy shot her and Peyton. She remembers the Spy throwing his vibroknife to the officer to free himself. In the last few seconds, she saw the man, he was cutting off his metal tie wraps, and now, Eva has seen him again. This time, he didn't wear the Rebel insignia on his chest. Now, she saw him in a crowd of morning commuters, making his way like everyone else, as if nothing happened. He blended in as if he wanted to make sure he did. Suddenly, Eva thinks about something. Could this guy work as a Rebel in the night and as a regular, Imperial civilian for the rest of the day? Aside from an officer doing-, officer things, could he just have a regular job to cover up his Rebel activity?
It remains in her mind as she continues to walk.
The avenue Eva and Oliva walk along then splits up in two as they approach a plaza. The two roads go around this plaza as Eva sees through the crowd of morning commuters a large, circular, golden symbol in the middle of the plaza with behind that a large building. As Eva and Oliva walk over the crosswalk and step upon the plaza, she sees it's the headquarters of the Capital Police Department, and the golden symbol in the middle of the plaza is its insignia. It's a golden silhouette of the Aetherwing, a predatory eagle residing here on Vaulent 6. Around it is a golden ring that shares similarities with the symbol of the Empire, clarifying the cooperation between the Capital Police Department and the Army's Military Police.
''That's Capital Police Department,'' says Oliva. ''You can put your blaster in the safe, I'd do that if I were you.''
Eva nods, understanding that the Capital Police Department doesn't want people to take blasters inside. Its headquarters stands directly behind the plaza as they approach the entrance. It's guarded by shiny Stormtroopers, holding their E-11 blasters tightly in their hands, as Eva and Oliva enter the building through the entrance as the door slides open. The floor is white and the walls are light grey, and there are a lot of fluorescent lights on the ceiling. It's quite a fancy building for a police station, and understandably so if it's the headquarters.
The first room they enter is the safes. Several police officers walk by, wearing the Aetherwing insignia on their chests as Eva walks past them to a safe. She opens one and puts her blaster in it, and after Eva closes it, a little datacard comes out of it, serving as a key to open it. Grabbing it and putting it in the chest pocket of her training suit, Eva follows Oliva to the next room. It's gigantic, with officers walking around and some civilians. Along the walls are benches, helpdesks, charging points for droids, and other objects that could be found in a police station. In the middle are several, circular terminals, big computers that store public information.
As Eva follows her, Oliva approaches one of the terminals and grabs her mother's chaincode out of her pocket. Walking towards the terminal's screen and control panel, Oliva inserts the chaincode in a port, and the screen flickers on. Eva stands next to her as Oliva taps some buttons.
''Eva, it's your turn,'' says Oliva, turning to Eva. ''I think you can search up everything you need: investigation files, crime reports, verdicts from the court, statistics… Anything I guess.''
''What will you do?'' Eva asks.
''Asking for a datapad to borrow,'' responds Oliva. ''Doubling our efforts.''
Eva nods, and she walks towards the terminal's keyboard as Oliva walks away to a helpdesk to borrow a datapad. Now, the investigation starts. Tapping relentlessly on the keyboard, Eva searches the databank of the Capital Police Department, searching for information about the Kuat train bombing. Since it's the first time Eva saw the Spy, it's a logical starting point for their investigation. As Oliva returns with a borrowed datapad, they search on, trying to search for clues on who the Spy is. He must've left some trails we can follow.
However, the search for files about the Kuat train bombing stagnates as Eva can't find anything about it. No investigation file, no statistics, no reports, and no verdicts from the court. Nothing, but she tries going on, searching for different keywords. Eva keeps getting more frustrated, and each time she bumps into a dead end, she feels more tired as she looks at lines of text of reports and topics that have nothing in common with the Kuat train bombing.
Eva yawns as she bumps into another dead end, finding nothing. Endlessly searching without finding something makes her feel tired, even when she woke up just hours ago.
Oliva sees her yawning and smiles. ''You just came out of your bed,'' she chuckles.
Eva smiles and shifts her head to Oliva. ''I know. I just can't find anything about the train bombing.''
Oliva's smile disappears. ''Yeah, I can't find anything either. Weird.''
Eva nods, feeling the frustration rise in her chest. The little search has halted, not leading to anything as Eva leans with her hands on the table on which the keyboard stands, trying to think about an alternate approach.
''I can find a file of every crime that took place on Corellia, Coruscant, Koensayr, Neimoidia, Ord Mantell,'' Eva sums up. ''Kuat too, but no mention of a train bombing anywhere.
''That's weird,'' replies Oliva. ''You'd think there would be at least one mention of it. Have you tried 'Kuat train crash' already?''
Eva shakes her head. ''Couldn't find anything,'' and she lets out a sigh.
Then, Eva remembers the man she crashed into in the crowd of morning commuters as they made their way to the Capital Police Department. She remembers his brown eyes, black hair, sharp nose, stubble beard, and pale skin as she bumped into him, his hood covering his head as he continued his way after a brief period of keeping eye contact. Eva remembers the fear his eyes reflected at the Rebel hide-out, and she decides that this person could lead her to the information she seeks.
Eva turns around to Oliva. ''Do you have something I can draw on?''
Oliva nods and shifts her eyes to the datapad. Holding it in her hands, she taps on some buttons as a white screen appears on the datapad. She takes out a metal pen attached to the side of the device and gives both objects to Eva. As she takes them from her hands, Eva puts them on the table and holds the pen in her hand, and she starts drawing the face of the person.
Oliva comes closer to her and looks at her datapad as Eva sketches the face. She tries to recollect every little detail of the man, but she stops as all she could remember were the basics of his face, but the sketch is a lead nonetheless.
''Who's this?'' asks Oliva, intrigued.
''The first time I saw this person was at the Rebel hide-out I raided,'' explains Eva, shifting her head to Oliva. ''I captured him, but he later escaped, and today this same guy bumped into me.''
Oliva nods, starting to understand it. ''The man with the black jacket and hood?''
Eva nods. ''Yeah, I saw him as a Rebel officer.''
''Maybe you can find him at the civilian registration,'' says Oliva, and she bends over the datapad and taps on the keyboard. Datalogs appear on the screen of the terminal as Oliva enters the civilian registration. Each log contains the full name and home address.
''We got no name, right?'' Oliva asks.
''Negative,'' Eva responds.
''What else do we have, commander?'' asks Oliva with a smile.
Eva smiles too. ''The basic features of his face. Brown eyes; black, short hair; sharp nose; pale skin; and a stubble beard.
Oliva chuckles. ''Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?'' she asks with a smile on her face. ''Brown eyes is the only thing we could sort the list by.''
''How about the sketch?'' Eva asks, gesturing to the datapad. ''Can't we upload that to the terminal and let it search for similar faces?''
''I can try,'' Oliva responds.
She grabs the datapad and taps several times as Eva looks at the screen, not knowing what Oliva is exactly tapping on.
''It seems like it's possible,'' says Oliva, and she puts down the datapad and looks at the screen, tapping on the keyboard as Eva's sketch gets displayed. ''Here it is.''
Oliva taps a button and stands back as datalogs disappear, vanishing at the top of the screen. Eva gazes at the screen as the terminal starts filtering out all possible suspects as the datalogs disappear from the screen as quickly as lightning. It goes so fast that Eva can't even read the names of the datalogs. Eva's heart starts pounding with excitement and nervousness, hoping they'll find the suspect who could lead her to the Spy. Her hands start trembling as she gazes at the screen.
Then, the datalogs stop disappearing like a ship suddenly anchoring itself, coming to a stop in mere seconds. Eva's heart pounds as she bends herself towards the screen. Of the millions and millions of civilians registered on Vaulent 6, the terminal shows only 7 datalogs.
''7 possible suspects,'' says Eva, gazing at the screen, her heart pounding.
''Only one is the suspect,'' says Oliva, shifting her head to Eva. ''Let's filter them out by hand, one by one.''
''Yeah,'' replies Eva, and she taps on the keyboard.
Opening the first datalog, Eva sees a chaincode photo of the person. It shares some resemblance to the sketch she had drawn, but it's not a match. Looking better, the person misses the beard and the pale skin. The first one is not a suspect.
One by one, Eva carefully filters out the possible suspects. Each one shares a resemblance to the sketch, but not quite. Some miss some crucial details, and others have more details than Eva could remember the real suspect had.
Then, as she opens the 5th datalog, Eva's heart skips a beat, gazing at the chaincode photo. She remembers the sketch she had drawn, and the person looks exactly like it.
''Found him?'' asks Oliva, shifting her head to her.
Eva keeps staring at the photo and nods. ''It's him.''
Oliva bends a bit towards her as she gazes at the screen as well. Eva feels Oliva's curly hair prick in her cheek.
''Arvy Vass,'' reads Oliva out loud. ''Home of residence, Myron Street 688. Moved in 5 years ago.''
Eva nods. ''1 year after the start of the civil war.''
Oliva shifts her head to her. ''That specific thing could very well be a coincidence. Lu and I moved in 5 years ago as well, and do I look or act like a Rebel spy?''
Eva chuckles. ''You're right, that specific thing doesn't make him a Rebel yet, but I'll find out whether it is.''
''You're going to pay him a visit?'' Oliva asks.
Eva shifts her head to her. ''Yeah. He's the best lead we have so far.''
Oliva nods. ''I'll download the datalog on a card,'' she says and grabs a datacard from her pocket. Inserting it in a card port just below the keyboard, it starts copying the datalog of the suspect from the terminal. A loading bar appears on the screen, and it's filled up in no time. Oliva pulls the datacard out of the terminal. ''Now we don't need to memorise it.''
Eva smiles, happy that Oliva is helping her out. After giving back the datapad Oliva borrowed from the helpdesk, she and Eva make their way out of the Capital Police Department. She picks up her blaster from the safe and walks out, walking past Stormtroopers on watch. Eva feels the breeze again as it makes her shiver a bit from the cold temperature. The brown leaves of the trees sway a little, and the clouds still race by in the sky, giving the sun no chance to show itself.
''It's weird that they don't have files on that train bombing,'' says Oliva, walking next to her over the plaza. ''They always have everything. Maybe not the littlest crimes, but definitely a train bombing, you'd think.''
Eva shrugs. To improve the investigation of Rebel activity and anything else against the New Order, an Empire-wide system has been put into place to communicate better with police forces more efficiently. Quicker and easier than ever before have law enforces from the planet itself and the Army's military police the ability to access information about suspects and everything else about them. It's weird that a file on a train bombing isn't accessible.
''They must've classified it,'' says Oliva.
''Why would they?'' asks Eva, shifting her head. ''The news was all over the place.''
''Maybe it was carrying classified cargo,'' says Oliva, looking at her.
''I don't think so,'' Eva replies. ''Else they would've covered it up the second after it happened. They wouldn't even broadcast it in the first place, yet they did.''
''What did that train carry?'' Oliva asks.
''Can't remember,'' Eva replies, ''but nothing too special.''
''Maybe special enough for the police to wipe it off the terminals after the news broke out,'' says Oliva.
''Who's able to do that anyway?'' Eva asks. ''Wiping information off the databank aside from the cops themselves?''
''I'm not sure, but since civil servants have access to the terminals, maybe they're able to manage it and delete information,'' says Oliva. ''You think the Rebels also infiltrated the Capital Police Department?''
''Could be. He was able to infiltrate the BlasTech facility and the Academy,'' Eva responds. ''I wouldn't be surprised if he also infiltrated the cops.''
Oliva nods. ''At least we have a lead and hopefully, we're able to find out who this spy is and what he infiltrated.''
Eva nods. ''Yeah, hopefully, he's the person we're looking for. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.''
A smile forms on Oliva's face. ''Yeah, no problem. I'm glad to help you.''
Eva smiles too, feeling happy about the help her friend has given her. Without Oliva, Eva wouldn't have gone anywhere with the search. She would've never been able to start or sleep anywhere in the first place.
Then, Eva startles as a thunderous blast shakes the pavement of the plaza. A shockwave almost pushes her off her feet as Eva stabilises herself. Her heart starts pounding with anxiety as she hears glass shattering, concrete crumbling, and people screaming. Slowly, Eva turns around to the Capital Police Department, and her heart sinks in her chest as she sees it has erupted in flames. Fire is spewing out of the cracks in the walls and the shattered windows. A Police cruiser standing in front of the building is crushed by concrete debris as Eva hears the department's fire alarm blaring. A large cloud of black smoke rises from the building as a wall collapses and crushes a parked swoop bike. Commuters of the morning run away from the blast while others make their way towards the fiery police department. As people help the Stormtroopers get away from the fire, Eva gazes at the Capital Police Department, now in flames. She's nailed to the ground, shocked as the massive flames crackle. She can feel the heat radiating through her training suit and onto her skin, and Eva gasps for air, trying to catch up with her racing lungs.
''How-, what?'' Oliva stammers, shocked.
Eva doesn't react as she gazes at the bright flames, spewing out of the gaps of the building. It's in flames, blasted open. What just happened? How?
Then, Eva sees something in the corner of her eye. She shifts her eyes and they land on the rooftop of a 10-storey high office building, adjacent to the fiery police department. Only a road between the two prevents the flames from spreading to the building. She sees something vague on the rooftop of the office building. Eva squints her eyes and her heart skips a beat. It's a black silhouette of a person, and instantly, she knows it's him, the Spy, the person she's been looking for. Eva wants to tell Oliva about it, but as she blinks her eyes, it's gone. The rooftop is completely empty. First, he was there and the second she blinked her eyes, he was gone. The Spy disappeared, and Eva starts to think he was never there. She starts thinking her mind is messing her up due to her obsession with the Spy and her mission to find him, but she shakes it off. It must've been him.
Instantly, Eva starts realising what just happened. She realises what caused the Capital Police Department to be blasted open and erupt in flames. It's a bomb, and it's the Spy's work without a doubt.
''Eva, we should go,'' says Oliva, her voice shivering.
''Yeah,'' Eva replies, her heart pounding, and she turns around and runs away from the site.
As other people run away as well, the sighting of the Spy on the rooftop and the picture of the person's face she saw on the terminal's screen flashes before Eva's eyes. What happened if that bomb went off when we were still inside, Eva wonders. We could've been dead. Why aren't we? Why did it explode after we left the building? She has no idea why, but she does know one thing: the Spy has retaliated. The Spy attacked once again, and this time, it laid the Capital Police Department in ashes.
