What the Eye Doesn’t See…2

A’mia Tekari,

Here we are, once again, engaging in the delightful art of written correspondence and I ask myself, how shall I begin this letter? With elegant prose proclaiming how much your presence fails or maybe with witty banter to cheer you up? Perhaps, because I can picture you rolling your eyes and telling me to get to the point, I should just imagine you sitting curled up next to me, wine glass in hand, the scent of what ever bubble-bath you soaked in permeating the air and write as though there were no light years of space lying between us, as though you were here listening as you always do.

Just like you, I departed from Coruscant at 0900 hrs CST and rendezvoused with ISD Admonitor in orbit above the planet. I can assure you my welcome was anything but warm. As you so correctly surmised only Voss Parck was actually aware of the real reason behind my so called exile so consequently the men under my new command believe me to blame for their downfall.

Captain Dagon Niriz was cordial but did not hide his disdain of the fact that I am not human very well and I had been briefed by Voss that it would take some doing to win this man over. I told Voss that it wasn’t my job to win anyone over it was their jobs to learn to trust not only their new commander but also themselves. I wished you could have seen Voss’s face; he reminded me very much of you at that moment and it required a lot of my self control not to smile.

Niriz is an old school Imperial Naval Officer who comes from four generations of Imperial service. He was a bit stiff and at first, very angry with the situation he and his fellow officers and men had been thrown into. Like everyone else they all believed they were being punished for crimes they had not committed.

We arrived at the edge of the Unknown Regions after a long series of hyperspace jumps, mostly designed for me to see just what this ship is capable of. The Admonitor is a bit of an old beast of burden but there have been some modifications done and I wanted to make certain she was running at peak performance. By the time we arrived where I wanted us to be, let me say that nerves were a little frayed, exactly how I wished the situation on board to be. It is always very interesting to see how the men under my command will perform when they are already running on high tension. Needless to say our first encounter with an alien species was cause for some alarm, primarily caused by how I dealt with the situation at hand. Of course you know how I tend to teach and having seen and felt your reactions to my methods on more than one occasion, I was prepared for the disbelief and disdain that permeated the bridge.

Captain Niriz was infuriated by the fact that I continually countermanded his orders. I find it almost laughable at how quickly such intelligent men fall back on pre prescribed methods of warfare and first contact without stopping to consider all the possibilities. It was fascinating to watch him struggle with himself. He wanted to trust me but all his training and his own set pattern of beliefs made that very difficult. He along with several others truly believed that I would betray them and considered mutiny. For a few moments it was certainly interesting on the bridge. I am always amused by the fact that so many smart men do not see beyond their own noses. There is a great presumption that neither the Emperor nor I actually know what we are doing. It would be laughable if it did not get in the way of the work.

The aliens we encountered call themselves the Ebruchi and we are well on the way to discovering more about them. I shall not bore you with all the details but thanks to the work of Voss and several very good men under my command we were able to secure the information we needed without a single casualty, unless one would call pride a casualty. I imagine it will take a little while before Niriz and some of his men come to terms with the fact that I am not quite as stupid as they thought in the first place and that our so called exile might actually be a blessing in disguise. At least now I am fully aware of the loyalties on board and where they lie.

Niriz tendered his resignation and was convinced that I would have him court-martialled for conspiring to mutiny. I almost wished I could have seen his face when Voss explained the situation to him and told him I would not accept his resignation and would not be shipping him back to Coruscant with General Haverel. Trust, as I have said before, my dear, is a delicate matter.

So now as it stands we are underway searching for the leaders of the Ebruchi who had charged Creysis, the alien “commander” we encountered, to hold the planet we discovered. Between the upgrades made to the ship and the ship wide drills we have been running I am confident we are in top form. Niriz does a very good job at training the pilots and I am pleased with his skill in this area. In the months to come, we will be sent reinforcements in the form of more ISDs, with both fighter pilot and ground crews. As you already know I have established a base on the planet Nirauan and it is my hope that we will expand the Imperial presence greatly by the end of the year.

I have included two books I thought you might enjoy as well as a data chip which I would like you to deliver to Lord Vader. I hope that you do not mind playing messenger for me in this manner but at the moment when it comes to getting information to Lord Vader you and Jarack are the safest routes. Please see he gets it and should he wish to answer I have asked him to utilise the fact that we correspond. Jarack is on call for just this reason. The small communications pad is yours and contains all the codes you will need, everything is in Cheunh, as a small security precaution, but do try to keep it safe. Due to the distance between us, holonet transmissions will be virtually impossible so believe it or not, courier is the fastest way of delivering information also the least noticed. On the comm-pad there are protocols in place for getting in touch with me in an emergency but only if it is truly a dire situation should they be used.

So, sj’iu tekari, I am afraid I must end this missive and return to the bridge. I hope that you are well and taking care of yourself. Know that you are on my mind in quiet moments and I miss your presence at my side. So stay alive and out of trouble, I am quite sure we shall some very interesting stories to swap the next time we meet up.

Ilath’mera’talashti’Ia,
Mitth’raw’nuruodo

I sat and looked at the two books, the data chip and the small comm-pad. The books were both in Cheunh and, like so many books that came from Csilla, had been written by hand. I wondered how he could ever part with such wonderful things but was grateful that he did. I folded his letter to me carefully and held it to my nose, catching the scent of what ever soap or cologne he had been wearing when he had written it. My entire body ached for him so suddenly that I had to consciously catch my breath. If someone had told me three years ago that he would come to mean so much to me I would have laughed at them and told them right where to go.

I slipped the letter into the box I kept all of his letters in, tucked away in my satchel, and put the books on my bedside table to read later. I centered and touched the force just a little to find Lord Vader’s presence, awake and on the bridge. He became aware of me searching for him and acknowledged it. I made sure I was dressed appropriately, meaning that I was wearing shoes, and made my way to meet him.

It was late according to standard time and we were well into the midnight watch. I liked this time, the quiet shifts, even though in reality it should not make a hill of ants bit of difference when the watches fell.

The bridge was peaceful. Admiral Ozzel was no where to be seen and despite the fact that Lord Vader stood gazing out into space from his usual spot on the walk way the atmosphere was relatively calm. Captain Piett, who was on duty nodded at me with a slight worried grin as I passed him. I just smiled back. What I had in my hand did not concern him at all.

Lord Vader did not turn to look at me as I approached him; he had sensed me the moment I stepped onto the bridge and was merely waiting for me to come and stand by his side. I followed his gaze and wondered what he was looking at.

He glanced at me for a second and then said. “We came out of hyperspace two minutes ago. We are now in the Arkanis Sector.”

“Outer Rim.” I said. “Isn’t this under Moff Julsten’s jurisdiction?”

He nodded.

“How far away are we from Tatooine then?”

He pointed to two tiny spots of light in the upper left quadrant of the viewing window. “That’s Tatoo one and two there. About seventeen light years. A short enough jump.” He said.

“And Talay?”

“Another two hours in normal space, too short for a hyper jump. The Executor isn’t well equipped to make micro jumps.” He said. “You have something for me?”

I handed him the data chip.

“I take it he is enjoying his new playground?” Lord Vader said after a few moments of studying the chip in his hand.

“I think so.” I said.

“No trouble onboard then?”

I glanced up at him. “No more than was expected.” I told him.

He nodded. “He has given you instruction for return messages?”

“Yes, my lord.”

He was silent for a moment and I allowed myself to enjoy the view. It was rare to see space from the bridge of a super star destroyer and even I didn’t get so many opportunities that I would take it for granted.

“How was your lightsaber practice today?” he asked suddenly.

“Erm…non existent.” I told him truthfully.

“Then we shall have to rectify that.” He told me tartly. I groaned inwardly I had wanted to go to bed.

Lord Vader turned around and motioned for me to accompany him. He stopped by Captain Piett who paled a little.

“Alert me the moment we reach our rendezvous point, captain.” Lord Vader said.

“Yes, my lord.” Piett replied. I shot him a small grin as Vader turned away.

“Keep up girl!” snapped Vader as I tarried slightly. I ran to keep up with him as he strode out of the bridge and through the halls to the turbo lift. “Get ready and meet me in the training room. I assure you, you will think twice before you forget to practice again.” He told me as we stood side by side in the too small turbo lift.

I sighed. “Yes, my lord.”

He glanced at me. “It would not be prudent for you to push your luck with being insolent this evening. I teach you this skill so that the next time your friend drops by to harass you, you are better able to defend yourself.”

“I keep telling you he is not my friend.” I told him crossly.

Vader made a noise that sounded a lot like a snort. “Not any more he isn’t.”

The sudden wave of sadness that swept through me at his words was both unexpected and puzzling. He had felt it.

“You must let go of your attachments to the past, girl, they will be your undoing.” He admonished as the lift came to a stop.

I nodded. As ironic as that statement was coming from him, he was right. I walked away from him towards my quarters to get ready for what I was pretty sure would be a gruelling and painful lesson. Lord Vader didn’t tolerate slacking off for any reason, especially not from me.