Vas overlooked the masses in the streets in front of him. More than forty thousand protestors according to the scans and more coming by the minute. Only the fence and two thin lines of Army Troopers in riot gear separated the boiling crowd from the Imperial Garrison. A few squads of Stormtroopers held their position on the roof but he desperately hoped he wouldn't need to use them. But the rear of the procession was still pushing onto the square, squeezing the front against the fence. Emotions boiled higher as the animal part of these citizens took over. The first rows panicked as they were pushed against the fence with the pressure mounting.
Vas stood atop an Imperial troop transport to get a better view. He had to break up this unauthorised gathering –not just because it was unauthorised but because the first rows would be squeezed to death if things escalated just a bit more.
People all over the crowd proudly wore the blue fist stitched onto their clothes or waved big banners, chanting their demand to stop the lockdown and the imperial occupation.
The anonymity of the crowd provided a false sense of security. Everyone attending the riot had been scanned and could theoretically be taken in for participating in an unauthorised gathering. Useful if they needed to contain some troublemakers later.
The pressure against the first rows increased even more and they shouted for anyone behind them to back off but the crowd had awakened and pushed even more.
Vas somehow had to relieve pressure and if he didn't want to push the crowd away with a vehicle and cause a mass panic, he would have to create an opening. The only way to do that from his current position inside the garrison was to open the main gate and let the protestors stream in. A very bad decision. They would fill up the small courtyard in no time and the only exit was a small door on the backside. Nonetheless, it was better than doing nothing.
"Captain," he yelled to the Army officer in command of the reserves. "Form a two-man wide corridor from the main gate to the door on the backside. Funnel them through as quickly as possible but don't let anyone break the line. I don't want any civilians in my base."
"Understood, Sir," he saluted eagerly and yelled at his men. The troop transport he was standing on was moved right in front of the entrance to the garrison building to deter anyone from doing something stupid. They would never use the mounted laser turrets on the masses but it was impressive enough to stop all but the most determined protestors. For those who got past, waited Sergeant Alphabet and his heavy weapons squad armed with electro staffs as a last line of defense.
While the corridor was taking its time to be formed, using the side of the troop transport as an anchor to divert the crowd to the small door, Vas watched the increasingly agitated crowd. One Rodian in the front already didn't move anymore. Pressed against the fence, his eyes were closed. A mother pushed her child up above her head, pleading with her to climb the fence and leaving her behind. Who brought a child to a riot? As sensible as the suggestion was, he couldn't allow it. In their crazed state, they couldn't think clearly but now that a new way out had been shown to them, dozens of them began climbing as well and would overwhelm the thin line of army troopers in no time.
Hesitantly, he retrieved his comlink. "Base, activate the top half of the fence, low power."
Blue sparks ran through the top half of the fence and the fastest climbers yelled out in agony as they tumbled back into the crowd. The crowd went berserk.
"Captain, open the gates now, we need to get them out of there."
The man looked up at him with a worried expression but gave the order. Ten troopers braced against the opening gates to contain the flowing mass in the formed corridor. The first to enter was a young man. But without the deadly pressure of the fence holding him upright, he stumbled and before anyone could react had vanished beneath the mob. People ran for their lives through the small corridor and left through the rear gate. But within a minute the corridor was full again. People still rushed out but there were at least ten times the number pressing into the corridor at the same time. The Army troopers strained to contain the pushing crowds but were gradually pushed out by the brute force of the angry mob.
"Captain, get all remaining troopers from the garrison and those guarding the fences to reinforce the corridor, now."
Vas just turned back to the crowd when he saw a human male raise a blaster in the pressing mass of the corridor, pointing it at the nearest Army Trooper only a few feet away from Vas. Hemmed in by the crowd on one side and his comrades on the other, the trooper couldn't move as the red flash of light pierced his chest.
For a moment the crowd went silent and everyone stopped. Then they pushed with all the force they had and easily broke through the cordon in several places. Vas kept his eyes on the rebel assassin who stepped over the dead trooper into the newly formed breach only a few feet away from the troop transport. More people were pushing there and the Army Troopers nearby were also trying to get away from the weapon.
"No, you're not," Vas snarled as the man raised his blaster again. Not being able to think of a better solution to save the trooper, Vas hurled himself off the transport right into the thick of it. He slammed into the assassin and they both went down. At the same time, the last semblance of order vanished and the corridor was gone.
Vas had both hands clasped around the pistol, pressing it into the ground to prevent him from shooting anyone. The human snarled at him and tried to headbutt him but hurt himself instead on Vas's helmet.
Then the sun was blocked out by the crowd rushing over them. Vas was hit and kicked dozens of times and he curled into a ball, still holding the weapon tight. People stumbled over them, causing even more to fall. Within seconds Vas was underneath a pile of bodies, kicking and flailing.
A kick hit him against the head and his vision went swimming. When he got back to his senses, everything was black around him and pressure was mounting on him. Suddenly, his lungs protested and cried for air but the mass of people pressed down on him so he wasn't able to lift his chest.
Air.
Air!
AIR!
Black dots formed at the edges of his vision that spread quickly until everything was black. Black as the armour of the Deathtroopers. Black as death itself.
Imperial regulations stated that Imperial armour had to be in pristine condition at any time. This was especially enforced in the Stormtrooper corps who had the hardest time with their shining white armour. Every spec of dirt would be found by the officers and punished with harsh physical training or other punishments the commanding officer could think of.
Against contrary belief, this was not only enforced in the academy. Many recruits got a nasty awakening on the first day of their first deployment when they were treated the exact same way as before and were now responsible for physical punishment for their whole regiment. A perfect start for a career.
Thus it was always a welcome opportunity for a commanding officer to see dirt on a trooper's armour. A reason to remind them that they weren't perfect despite how overconfident they pranced around.
"There is dirt on your armour. I should reprimand you," Vas said to the blurry Stormtrooper in front of him.
"What were you thinking jumping into the crowd like that? Are you an idiot?"
"Who do you think you are, trooper? I am still your superior. I am, right?" Vas asked, suddenly not sure anymore.
"Yes, you are. The most suicidal superior I've ever seen. Why did you jump in there anyway?" the trooper asked as he slowly became less blurry. Several more troopers formed a cordon around them.
Vas wrecked his brain. There had been a perfectly valid reason and at that moment it had been his only option. He looked around for any clues and saw the weapon he was still holding. Suddenly everything fell back into place.
The assassin lay bloodied but still alive next to him. The arm Vas had held onto was broken where Vas had been pressed against it with the weight of at least a dozen people pressing on him in turn.
The blue fist was stitched prominently onto the overcoat. Cursed rebels. Now they had gone too far. He had seen at least a dozen civilians getting trampled even before the rebel escalated the situation. He would stand trial for this. A public trial to show the population who was responsible for this.
"Patch him up and throw him in a cell. He will have to survive until he stands trial for what he did.
Vas stretched out one hand and with the trooper's hand –who he now recognised as Sergeant Alphabet– got to his feet again. The world spun immediately and he supported himself on the troop transport next to him.
Suddenly the silence that had reigned so far and hadn't struck him as odd, crushed down on him. Cries of pain, names being yelled and the gut-wrenching sound of the electro staff discharging.
Vas climbed back onto the troop transport to get a better view.
"You won't jump down again, will you?" Alphabet asked.
"TK-9372, don't overstep your bounds. I appreciate you saving me but I won't tolerate you talking like this."
"Yes, Sir," the Sergeant said a bit too quickly.
The whole area of the garrison was in ruins. The protestors had even managed to destroy the fence in some spots. The gate barely hung on the hinges. And everywhere lay people. Massive bruises, broken limbs and open wounds. Most were civilians but also some troopers lay among them.
Those who could still walk took care of each other, regardless that they had been on opposite sides before now. Protestors helped troopers and the other way around.
"Call the Challenger, I need all the medics we have."
Vas jumped off the transport again and approached the first body he found. The first casualty among his troops. The one that had been killed by the assassin. The tag said IA-3475.
To the Family of Sham Carden
IA-3475
On behalf of the men and women of the 66th Infantry Division, I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to you and your family on the tragic loss of your husband, Ensign Sham Carden. He gave his life in patriotic service to the Empire.
How could he write something like that? Sham was killed on a backwater world, defending nothing important, doing everything to save some people in the crowd and this bastard shot him in the face to sow chaos, so that his rebels might one day have a very small chance to push their ideology and sow even more chaos. And they took four hundred and sixty innocents with them already.
You should be proud of his accomplishments. During his exceptional service, he provided security for thousands of people.
Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with you in these difficult times. Please let me know if I can be of any help to you. Your husband's service will never be forgotten.
Please contact me at any time.
Deepest sympathies,
Agent Vas Flennic
Vas threw the pen away and crumpled the sheet of paper. His father had instilled in him that he should honour those who had given their life in service of the empire. Thus he had decided to handwrite the letters of condolence as archaic as it might seem. The family deserved the truth and not these platitudes.
IA-3475, Sham, died needlessly at the hands of an extremist rebel. He might not be able to find the words right now or for the other thirteen blank pages glaring at him from the side but he would at least avenge them.
Vas reached for another piece of paper but in the moment he sat down the pen, he knew he wouldn't finish the letter this time either. He sighed, rested his head on the table and massaged his temples for a solid minute.
Afterwards, Vas got to his feet and walked aimlessly through his small office. The same durasteel and plastoid wall you could find everywhere on any Star Destroyer. The same grey desk and chair and the same dark grey strips serving as decoration. The only personal item he admitted himself was a dark rock with brown sparkles all over it –not bigger than his fist. On a small repulsor lift it hovered a few inches above his table.
Gently, he reached for it and sank against the table. He pressed the stone against his forehead and closed his eyes.
Waves hit the beach where the stone had lain for centuries before a small boy had picked it up. The small boy stashed it in a secret compartment in his room. It was one of his most prized possessions despite the mundanity of the item. It was just a stone after all and so the young boy forgot about it. Only when it was time for the small boy, who had become a man by now, to move out into the world, did he find the stone again. The one thing that reminded Vas of home.
Before he knew it, he sat in front of the holoprojector. A flat, male voice spoke out of the speakers, "You have reached the office of Moff Kurlen Flennic. Unfortunately, he is currently occupied, can I give him a message?"
He didn't recognise the voice. It seemed every time he called his father had a new secretary.
"Just tell him who's calling."
A few seconds later a blue glowing body appeared in the air above the projector and smiled down at him.
"Vas, has it been a year already? You're ahead of schedule. I didn't expect a call from you for some time. How is your assignment?"
"That's actually why I'm calling, Dad," Vas said, not able to match the casual cheeriness of his father. "Have you ever written a letter of condolence?"
"Wow, your assignment seems to be harder than you –or any of us– thought. Do you need my help? I would be happy to speak to-"
"No, I don't want your help … at least not that kind of help."
"But why not? Everyone uses their connections. How else will you rise in power?"
"I actually talked to Captain Setaro about this. She wanted me to talk to you about resupplying our task force."
Vas hesitated how to word his discomfort with the idea in general, when his father started talking, having misread the entire situation.
"No worries, I will send a convoy immediately. I can't leave my boy out there like this."
"No, I am not your boy and I can deal with this on my own. I don't want your shadow looming over me the entire time and bend the rules for me."
"Well, then I will send supplies to a task force in desperate need of supplies in the Kuuniru system. I heard from a credible source that they need it."
"I knew it was a mistake calling you. See you in a year-"
"No wait. Fine, fine. Why did you want to talk to me? I'm listening. Not as Moff Flennic but as your father."
"I lost one of my squadmates. We infiltrated a rebel base and he was shot. I thought I had saved him. He wasn't bleeding any more and was stable. He was fine. He was unconscious but fine."
"I am sure you did your best to protect him. Are you alright? Is that a bandage around your hip? What happened?"
"Calm down. I'm fine but many others are not. During my time here we lost thirty-nine troopers to the cursed rebels." Anger boiled up in him every time he just thought about them.
"They have decided to become soldiers and knew the risks. They have sacrificed their lives for the greater good."
"Those are the platitudes I filled the letters with but that's not right. They died miserably, some were trampled to death by an angry and afraid mob. How is that for the greater good? That's just miserable," Vas said, throwing up his hands in indignation. His father never understood him properly. Was he even trying or just looking down on him again?
His father sighed and took one deep breath before answering. "You're right. There are too many good people dying for the Empire. And a whole lot more decent people as well. They don't deserve it but someone has to maintain order in the galaxy. You don't remember it but when you were born the Republic was engulfed in the bloodiest war for centuries if not millennia. Millions of people died and not just soldiers-"
"Even more civilians lost their lives being dragged into a war they wanted nothing to do with. I know. You told the story often enough. But it doesn't help explain why so many people should die for the Empire."
"On the contrary," his father continued in a maddeningly calm tone. "These thirty-nine people who gave their lives during your mission will help to prevent a planet-wide rebellion or potentially even something bigger. Isn't it our duty to risk our lives to protect the citizens of the Empire from these rebels? And if some of us die in the process, it is just the price of civilization."
"I just want to kill them all," Vas said, balling his fists and releasing them ever faster. "For killing Creed, I should-"
"Careful, boy. You're drifting into pretty dark territory there. Those rebels should be brought to justice. Revenge has nothing to do with it."
"But they killed Creed."
"As well as the other thirty-eight. But I can assure you none of them wanted you to go on a killing spree to exact revenge. It will only lead to more death and suffering. A few more orphans out there in this merciless galaxy. I bet you have already done some things that will weigh heavy on your soul once you have calmed down a bit. Stop it now or you'll carry it around with you for the rest of your life."
"Like throwing a rebel out of an airlock and watching him as he dies?"
"Yes … something like that," his father said carefully. "Your job is to catch them and put them in front of a judge. Nothing else and afterwards the galaxy will be a better place."
"I don't know. Is it worth losing a soldier because I wanted to capture a rebel alive?"
"That is the choice every leader fears but you have to look at the bigger picture. If you crack down on these rebels and catch them, you will have secured an entire sector and bettered the lives of billions of people. Wouldn't it be worth sacrificing one life for that?"
"I … I don't know. I'll have to think about it."
"Do that. It took me years if not decades to accept the power I had over the people under my command. I will be here to talk to you whenever you need me."
"Thanks, Dad. Surprisingly, this might actually have been a help."
"I love you too, son. Oh, wait. There was something else I wanted to talk to you about." His face took on his usual cheeriness again. "We brought your brother home after his graduation. He is out with his friends right now, otherwise, he would have loved to talk to you as well. Anyway, the Navy wanted to assign him to a Gozanti in some remote Outer Rim world. I couldn't accept that, so I arranged for him to be promoted to Lieutenant. A proper rank to command something bigger. Maybe a light cruiser or something. What do you think? Is Captain Setaro a good commander? Could your brother learn under her?"
"You can't just skip ranks like that. Officers aren't in command of cruisers from the beginning for a reason. He won't have any experience."
A frown sneaked into his father's face. "Don't you want your brother to succeed? It wasn't easy to get him that promotion. But if you don't want to spend time with your brother, I'm sure the Navy will find somewhere else to deploy him."
"Hold on … Better he is here with me where I can keep an eye on him. But as far as I'm aware, there aren't any openings. All ships have a commander of the appropriate rank."
"Oh, don't worry about that. By the way, your brother will bring the needed supplies as well. I don't want to abandon both my boys out there. But since you're unwilling to help, I'll contact Captain Setaro directly. Have a good day, son."
"Don't you dare hang up now."
The hologram vanished, leaving Vas in the darkness of his office surrounded by dark durasteel. Alone once more. But the dark cloud had lifted from his conscience. He would still hunt down the rebels to the last man but not with the unhealthy determination of the last few days. It wouldn't help anyone if he got himself killed because he wasn't thinking. His primary objective from now on was to find the Senator and his children. Saving lives and making sure that these three children would live a good life together with their parents.
It was time to get back to work.