Cloak and Shadows 10

Darth Vader stood with his back to me, arms folded across his broad chest, staring out of the window. I stood at his side and watched with him. The battle of Derra IV raged about us and every now and then a small shockwave rocked the Avenger as a blast struck its shields. This battle was no contest, Thrawn’s strategies were flawless. I had watched unseen, from the back of the briefing room, as Lord Vader had outlined the battle plans to the men who would carry the battle out on the front line. Thrawn had also been present at the briefing, but had remained silent. While it was his idea, no one was supposed to know that, so under the Emperor’s orders Lord Vader was the one tasked with presenting it. Once the briefing had been given, the training for the mission began and after several weeks of serious drills and hard work, I guessed it had all paid off.

It had not been my original intent to remain on board the Avenger but Lord Vader had insisted. I wasn’t about to question him. I was happy to be near Thrawn, who had been asked to continue to give his expertise on the battle tactics, behind the scenes. It didn’t stop me from complaining about it though.

“Perhaps he fears you will get lost on board of the Executor and that would be embarrassing.” He had teased one evening as we sat in the quiet of his quarters playing Dejarik.

“Ha very ha.” I had said crossly as he beat me at the game for the fifth time in a row. I wasn’t much of an opponent. I think he just enjoyed playing against me for the smart ass running commentary or maybe it was that I teased him in between moves in way that made him lose his concentration. He accused me of using unfair tactics until I pointed out he was winning anyway.

Like mine and Lord Vader’s, his quarters were in the VIP and coincidentally the most secure and quiet part of the ship. Thrawn and I were the outsiders and we both knew it. He hid behind that mask of alien cool and I hid behind Lord Vader and the work I did for him. Under orders from Lord Vader, I stayed out of the way and mostly out of sight. The VIP area of the ship was complete with a comfortable lounge and dining area with small kitchen. My days were busy, filled with work and my free time was spent on my own or with Thrawn when he had time.

My work for Lord Vader, who was busy chasing down rebels and other Imperial problems that just didn’t seem to want to go away, kept me busy. He had begun to complain a lot lately about the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo’s ship. The last thing I had heard about Solo was his fairly dramatic escape from the docking back on Tatooine and some rumours that he had joined forces with the Rebellion. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, when I had known him, Solo wasn’t the most charitable guy in the galaxy. So when Lord Vader began to request information on the smuggler I was surprised to say the least, especially when I needed to read the reports of Solo’s actions with regards to the Rebellion’s attacks. I had never figured him for the good cause kind of man and I often wondered what it was that had made him change his mind.

The days on board the Avenger were mostly routine until the moment came to put Thrawn’s plan into action. The ship went into battle alert and outside all hell broke loose. The Avenger was the ISD flagged to lead the assault and there was nothing else to do but watch. For the rebels it was a slaughter and I was grateful that I could not see details, just flashes of brilliant orange light as the ships were destroyed. I had been briefing Lord Vader on some details about a planned meeting with Prince Xizor when the battle alert alarms had sounded. Lord Vader had stormed off, presumably to watch and co ordinate from the bridge and I had been left to my own devices, deciding it was better to just stay in the small, private ready room I had been using as a makeshift office. At least here I could make tea and eat the sandwiches that had been prepared for my lunch. A couple of hours after he had vanished Lord Vader had returned. I suppose he had wanted to continue where we had left off but instead he stood beside me as I stared at the carnage going on outside. We did not speak, we didn’t have to. I was both in awe and sickened at what I saw. I could feel death surround us and it wasn’t a pleasant sensation. All living things were connected in the Force, I had once read in the small journal my birth mother had left for me. I supposed that if that were the case then when a living thing’s life ended violently it left some sort of a mark, some sort of a ripple in the force. It wasn’t pleasant. In fact it felt as though someone was pinching little bits of my soul apart. I didn’t think it prudent to bring this up with Lord Vader though and worked hard to just breathe.

At some point nearing the end of battle, Thrawn joined us and along with Lord Vader and me, waited for confirmation of what we already knew the outcome to be.

I wondered if Jyrki was among the rebels in this battle. I could not sense his life force but it would have been like him to join in something deemed impossible. A part of me hoped he was not amongst the casualties. Despite all he had done to me over the past few years I didn’t want him to die.

When a comm signal eventually came through to inform Lord Vader that the battle had been successful the sense of relief in the room was palpable but there was no discernable celebration, I supposed that would be left up to the fighters who had put their lives on the line. I didn’t think there was much to celebrate though, but I didn’t voice this opinion out loud.

“Your plan was well conceived, Admiral.” Lord Vader said to Thrawn after a lengthy silence. “This was a great victory for the Empire and it has put a severe dent in the Rebellion’s numbers and weapons. Thank you for your work on this matter.” It was probably the only thanks Thrawn would receive.

Thrawn gave lord Vader a curt nod. “It is my duty to serve the Empire in every way I can.” He said.

Lord Vader inclined his head slightly. Both men knew that Thrawn would never be given credit for the plan he had come up with but that did not seem to bother him too much. He had told me while we were still en route to the Avenger that sometimes the acknowledgment of achievement was not in his best interest. Considering the great lengths someone was going to to have him eliminated I wasn’t about to argue with him. Still, a part of me felt it wasn’t quite fair that he do all the work and receive none of the recognition.

“I expect we shall be recalled to Coruscant. The Emperor will wish to personally congratulate the men who have fought here today.” Lord Vader said absently. “Admiral, I am sure you will wish to observe the debriefing when it occurs?” Vader said to Thrawn who nodded. Lord Vader continued. “I must communicate with my Master about how events here have transpired.” He told Thrawn and then turned to me. “You may do as you please with your time until I have our orders.” And then he left.

“So what did you think?” Thrawn asked me once we were alone in the small ready room.

“It was like watching some bizarre ballet done with space ships.” I told him. “A lot of people died out there. It was difficult to watch and even harder to experience.”

Thrawn looked at me, his eyebrow cocked in question.

I shrugged without looking at him. “I can’t explain it, I expect it has something to do with the force but every time someone was killed it was as if I could feel it, like ripples through time and space, as if the universe were a lesser place. It was just painful. I have never been so close to anything quite like this before.”

He nodded. “Battle should always be painful.” He said coolly. “The moment we can watch a slaughter such as was done here today without feeling something, sorrow, remorse, or even some sort of regret for the loss of life then we become our own worst enemy.”

“Your plan worked well though.” I said looking up at him. His expression was hard and he remained distant from me, closed off and shrouded in the calculating air of ‘otherness’ he often wore.

He nodded. “The rebels are quite intelligent but they are not the military machine that is the Empire. Their pilots are often more lucky than they are skilled or well trained. A lot of people lost their lives due to inexperience.” He said and then added. “However, they will most likely not make the same mistakes again.”

“Doesn’t it bother you that no one will know it was you who came up with this plan?” I asked.

For the first time since he had entered the room the hardness of his expression broke and he smiled at me. “Sj’iu tekari, you of all people should know me well enough to know by now glory and reward are not high on my list of priorities. I was asked to do a job, it is done. I see that the fruits of my labours are successful and I learned much about how these rebels fight by watching the battle at hand. What do I care if the Emperor tells the galaxy it was me who formulated the plans and decides to give me a medal for it? What use does a worthless piece of metal pinned to my chest have? It would change nothing.” He stared out of the window and sighed. The salvage crews were already out in the debris field collecting what ever they felt was of use to the Empire. “I did find it interesting to note that during the briefing one of the pilots realised it was I who came up with the plan for the battle and not Lord Vader. About a quarter of the way through Vader’s speech he stared at me as though some brilliant idea had suddenly gone off in his head. You could watch him put two and two together. I’d like you to find out more about him. I believe his name is Fel.” He continued.

“Can’t you just look up his records in the database?” I asked.

He smiled. “Of course I can and I will but you have a way of finding out things about people that are not in any official database so I am asking you to discover a bit about what sort of a man he is, not just what his service record says about him.”

“So you want me to spy.” I said a little crossly, folding my arms across my chest. This spying thing was becoming a bad habit the men in my life kept asking me to do.

He chuckled. “Not at all, I want you to help me understand why it was he who recognised that the plan was not Vader’s and whether or not I should take a personal interest in this man. There are very few Imperials who think outside of their own little world, or past their own personal glory, I am now quite curious about this Fel. I know that your methods of extracting information are far more subtle and kinder than anything the Empire could come up with so will you do as I ask?”

I made a face.

“If I say ‘please’?”

I could not help the smile but added an eye roll for emphasis to tell him I wasn’t happy about doing this for him. “Okay. I will see what I can learn, but I am not making any promises.”

He reached out and caressed the side of my face with the backs of his fingers. “Thank you.”

I nodded and we both returned to watching the salvage crew until my comm beeped and broke the silence.

“Lord Vader.” I said.

He nodded absently. “Best not keep him waiting, my dear.”

I left the small ready room and made my way through the halls to meet with Lord Vader as per his request. I eventually found him in his personal chambers pacing a hole in the floor. The Emperor had recalled the Avenger along with himself and Admiral Thrawn to return to the Core. There would be a ceremony to honour the heroes of the day, to show the might of the Empire and how it rewards those who serve it. It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him how Thrawn would be rewarded for his work but I bit the comment back. Interfering where I wasn’t wanted would not do anyone any good, least of all me or the Admiral.

“Are we to stay on board or return to the Executor?” I asked.

“We will remain with the Avenger for the time being and return to Executor after the ceremony. Why? Do you not wish to return to the Core world and see our heroes rewarded for their hard work?” there was a hint of threat in his voice.

“Yes, my lord I do, it’s just that I am running out of clothes to wear.” I told him also a little crossly.

He laughed. I shuddered. “The Avenger is equipped with laundry facilities. You have permission to make use of them.” He said smugly. “You can replenish your wardrobe on Coruscant.” He added sarcastically.

I sighed. I knew all about the ship’s laundry facilities and used them but was getting tired of some of my clothes being mangled and ruined as well as going missing, particularly some of my favourite pieces of lingerie. I never liked the idea of complete strangers handling my clothes, especially my underwear. I wasn’t sure what happened to my missing clothes but with a crew of several thousand people, mostly male, I wasn’t about to ask. I had taken to washing my undies in the sink in my quarters instead. I was also running out of dress clothes as well. Dining with the Captain was a practice that had become more common than I would have liked. I refused citing headaches, work and other ailments as often as I could respectfully get away with but that only worked so many times.

“You will be joining the Captain’s table for dinner tonight, by the way. A few of the pilots have been invited to dine with the Captain and Admiral Thrawn felt you would be a welcome addition.” Lord Vader broke into my thoughts.

I smiled grimly and thought ‘I’m going to have to hurt him’ because I could guess who was among the pilots I’d be eating with and why Thrawn had made this suggestion. What I actually said was, “Yes, my lord, as you wish.”

Lord Vader nodded, satisfied I was being obedient and non argumentative. There was a lengthy pause as I waited to see if there was anything else. He broke it by barking at me. “Don’t you have work to do, girl?” he asked. This was Vader speak for you can stop annoying me and go away now.

“Yes, my lord I do.” And with a brusque wave of his hand, I was dismissed.

As I had suspected the dinner was a fairly stiff affair and although the food was very good, I picked at it. While I had been conveniently seated next to Sootir Fel it was my other seat mate who tried to monopolise my attention. Eventually, I had given him a hefty force suggestion that I was dull and he would rather speak to the person seated across from him more than me. It was relief that the force persuasion had worked because I was getting tired of him staring at my cleavage the entire time he spoke to me. Sometimes being the only female at these functions was a real pain. I then turned my attention to the pilot who had peaked Thrawn’s interest. He was a handsome, tall, broad shouldered man who radiated confidence and I was struck by his deep and quiet intelligence. Here was a man who was like swallow-sand, unfathomable and probably quite dangerous if stirred up enough.

I learned that he had come from an agro-combine on Corellia and had spent most of his life flying. It was the one thing that lit up his eyes when he spoke of it and when he found out that I was also a pilot and mechanic we had our common ground. We spent the rest of the dinner quietly speaking of the passion of flying and the roots which had brought us into the Empire’s service. I also learned that he was married to the famous Wynssa Starflare, a very well known Holo Drama actress. This was the second thing that lit up his eyes when he spoke of it. I asked him if he found it difficult to be apart from her, to balance work with a relationship. He had shrugged and replied that she was what helped him to keep going. She inspired him and reminded him of all that was good and bright in the galaxy. When I had smiled at those words he had thought that I was making fun of him. He seemed surprised when I told him ‘quite the contrary’. That I had smiled because someone had once described me in much the same way. I knew he had been slightly curious and had we known each other better he might have asked for more details but as it was he let the topic slide back to more neutral ground, flying and ships.

As I listened to him talk about he battle he had most recently been engaged in I realised that this was a man who was fiercely loyal but something behind his words hinted that he was beginning to question how certain things were done in the Empire. It wasn’t anything I could put my finger on and no one else in the room would have picked up on it, but I was using all my senses to read him and something underneath what he was saying rippled. Behind his veneer of the perfect pilot he was not altogether happy. I wondered if even he knew this, because it was very faint. As I watched him and listened to him I became aware that he was incredibly sensitive to subtlety. He watched people and understood the finer points of how they worked. It was an interesting talent to observe.

I had been incredibly grateful when the dinner ended and I could politely make my excuses and leave. There had been enough testosterone in that one room to run an entire ISD for months and I had felt very out-numbered. Thrawn, who had been seated at the far end of the table from me, had made a point of ignoring me all evening. Lord Vader, as was to be expected, had not been present. The facts that he could not eat without removing his mask and that his presence in general tended to put a huge damper on any social gathering were strong reasons for keeping him away. While he never said it out loud I was certain that he loathed these functions almost as much as I did and was glad of the excuse to concentrate on his own work rather than be bored to death sitting at a table full of pompous men who loved to talk about how wonderful they all were, or argue about politics, and discuss women, among other things.

The Avenger was well on her way to the Core and in less than a day we would be back on Coruscant for a short while. I should have gone straight to bed when I returned to my quarters but I was neither tired nor calm. Instead I was surprisingly cross but I couldn’t put my finger on why. I changed into work out clothes and found one of the smaller exercise rooms. I should not have been surprised when Rukh slipped in behind me and made me jump with fright.

“Are you still following me everywhere I go?” I asked him as I closed the door.

He gave me that scary Noghri smile which gave me goose bumps but not in any good way and replied. “Admiral Thrawn felt you might wish to relieve some aggression.”

“He did, did he?” I hissed through gritted teeth. That man’s uncanny ability to read my mind was beginning to annoy me, but he had been right.

“We can continue to practice the Noghri ways; this would be a good opportunity, would it not?” Rukh asked.

I nodded. What could I say? He was right. “So…where do we start this time? I asked and before I could even think about saying anything else I found myself flat on my back on the floor with a nasty looking knife blade at my throat. He had moved so fast I had not even sensed it, never mind seen it.

I looked up at him and grinned. “Okay, that’s where we start. Teach me how to at least see you coming.” And my lessons in how a Noghri could best a human at every turn began. It was going to be a long, probably painful night and I couldn’t wait because anything was better than sitting alone waiting to get back to Coruscant, the Emperor and all that dreadful palace intrigue. Learning to spar with a Noghri wasn’t any less painful but it was a whole lot more fun.