Star Wars: Rebellion and Betrayal

Chapter 24

Leneh frowned as she watched the communicator on her desk flash. When rising through the ranks of the Imperial Navy, she had never expected to have to do so much talking to people. Despite this annoyance, the status the position brought made it all worth it.

Leneh reluctantly pressed the button and let the message through.

A small holographic image of McCart appeared above the device. He was still in the same black Imperial officer's outfit. "Greetings, Grand Admiral. I hoped to speak with you about these new mining quotas."

Leneh's frown hardened. "Proceed, Minister Henning."

McCart tried to act confident, but Leneh could see right through him. He was uncertain and nervous while he fumbled for a datapad. "Ramping up production of sacanium ore will be difficult without locating a new vein."

"I was under the impression that the current vein would last longer."

McCart tried to avoid looking at the woman who continued to stare at him. "It's not that. The vein has plenty of ore. The issue is with the extraction."

"Get to the point, Minister," Leneh growled.

A shudder was sent through McCart's spine. "Right, right, my point. The tunnels are getting close to the Carannia river. If we get too close to the riverbed, we risk the flooding of the tunnels and destruction of the mine."

Leneh maintained her typical stoic demeanor as she considered her next words. "Your excuses do not interest me. If the quotas are not met, I'm sure I can find someone else to do your job."

"Ye... yes, Grand Admiral. I will find a way," McCart muttered, stumbling over his words.

"Remember, Minister," Leneh continued. "I put a great deal of effort into getting you this position. It would be prudent of you not to fail me."

"Yes, Grand Admiral," McCart said with a bow. The communicator clicked off and the hologram quickly faded.

Leneh sat in silence, staring at the communicator. She half expected it to start flashing again with another matter she would need to deal with, but the device lay dormant.

Leneh sighed as she rose from her desk and left her office. She traversed the familiar halls of the Star Destroyer, Kaali, the flagship she had commanded for almost two years now.

She eventually reached a blank door in a seemingly unimportant hallway. She removed one of the code cylinders she kept tucked in her shoulder pocket. After inserting it into the control panel, the door slid open.

Leneh walked in and surveyed the room as the door shut behind her.

In the corner at a computer console was Scrim, the short Talpini that served as the Kaali's doctor. The creature was strange and tended to make the rest of the crew uncomfortable, but he did his job well, so Leneh never minded. Along with his medical skills, Scrim was especially skilled in the art of torture. "Shall I wake the subject?" he rumbled.

Leneh responded with a nod as she walked around to the front of the interrogation chair. Lena lay upright on the long piece of metal, flanked on either side by cylindrical rods.

Scrim waddled over and injected her with some cocktail of drugs. The doctor and his admiral watched as Lena slowly began to wake up.

She went through the typical process of getting her vision and muscle function back. Once fully conscious, Scrim took it as his cue to leave the room.

Meanwhile, Lena wore a scowl but even that expression seemed to take a great deal of effort.

Every time she woke up, it was followed by a few backhanded words from Leneh and then pain... so much pain. Lena had lost count of how many times this pattern had occurred. She also didn't know how long she had been there. Time ceased to have meaning when under constant sedation and in a room with no windows. Lena was doing the best she could, but every torture session left her weaker and weaker. One thing that failed to fade, was her attitude.