Star Wars: Heir to the Sith (Part 1) (#Wattys2018 shortlist)

Chapter 33: "A show of strength in a time of chaos."

Captain Pina stood aboard the bridge of the Reaver and stared at his command console. Even as he took in the information from Farsalt, with the TIE now on its way back to his ship, the medical droid on his left busied itself in tending to his injuries. His vision was returning now, albeit slowly. And his arm had been set too. His face had been treated and already the burn from the blaster bolt was fading.

But to the captain, such wounds were superficial. He felt an exhaustion inside of him that was beyond anything he had yet experienced. Always his thoughts were on Farsalt, and his role in what had happened. And when they did linger there, they always turned to the Lady Jish. He had to force himself not to contact King Garrand to ask for an update on her condition.

"Janus has just returned to the Reaver," Bauhaus said. "She has managed to recover the Scythe's log which should tell us what happened."

"Survivors?" Pina mumbled through numb lips.

"There were none, sir. Just the dead. A number of stormtroopers and a few of the ship's crew who hadn't been able to get clear. Janus will prepare a full report within the hour."

"And her men? Are they all safely returned?"

Bauhaus allowed a slight smile. "She did make a point of telling me so, sir. But Captain, what are our orders? The HoloNet is still sending out mixed messages at irregular intervals. The last update we received said that there were riots breaking out across the core worlds: even on Coruscant a statue of Emperor Palpatine was pulled down by a mob. Do we make to join Admiral Sloane's fleet?"

"That would be a sensible course of action, but she is in another quarter of the galaxy. To do so would be to abandon this sector to the rebellion, and to leave it unguarded from any other faction that might emerge." Pina shook his head. "No. We can't do that. There are vital interests in this sector of strategic importance: hyperspace lanes and shipyards, plus populated worlds that need our governance and protection. If we look like we are fleeing it will simply invite chaos. But . . . we must leave the Farsalt system the very moment our guest returns."

Pina brought up a holographic map of the sector and pointed to a yellow star close to its centre.

"There," he said. "In the absence of any official orders, we will go to the sector's seat of government. That is the natural thing for us to do at this time. A show of strength in a time of chaos. Plot a course to the Syreal system."

His deputy passed the command on to navigation control, and as the jump calculations were made, he returned to Pina's side.

"There is one more thing, commander," Pina said softly, so no one else could hear. "You and I are the only senior officers who know we have an Assayer aboard, and that the Reaver is under her command. I think it is sensible that we keep it that way, for now. Agreed?"

"Yes sir," Bauhaus said seriously.

Pina stared out at the galaxy, a deep feeling of unease inside of him.

"There is so much we don't know," he muttered. "Things are happening so quickly now. There is danger everywhere, and not just from the rebellion."

"Do you really think the Empire will break up?" Bauhaus asked. "Do you think that we'll have fighting between Imperial ships?"

Pina didn't dare inform him of what Assayer Neerada had told him when they were alone in the life buoy's docking bay, of how Commodore Sarn had attacked her without provocation.

"I don't know," he lied. "But I do know that the days and weeks ahead will be difficult. We need to run a tight ship, for repairs and re-supply can no longer be taken for granted. When we get to Syreal, we will restock on all our supplies and repair what we can in the ship yards. But to make the best of that, I want a complete and absolutely thorough inspection of the Reaver and our inventory. Every problem, every malfunction, no matter how small, is to be documented so we can address them. Issue the command throughout the ship. Accuracy over speed, commander. In that order please."

"Very good sir. I'll get Commander Teleon's engineering staff to give a full technical breakdown. We'll start immediately."

When he was alone at his console, Pina brought up the sensor readings of the Assayer's visit to Farsalt. He knew at once there had been deaths. He knew also that she had abducted the young woman named Ella, a ward of the king. It pained him after he had given his word.

He scanned the area of the battle once more, and a movement caught his eye on the display. Someone was still alive down there.

Neerada would dock with two minutes. Once she was aboard they would make the jump to light speed as soon as the computations were finalised. That gave him just enough time to demonstrate to King Garrand that he was an honourable man caught up in circumstances beyond his control.

He turned to the communications officer, Lieutenant Ord.

"Get me King Garrand," he commanded. "On a private link up."

His gaze returned to the struggling figure on his sensor display and the lifeforms that were stirring in the Farsalt night, all around the solitary signal. He just hoped there was still time to save the unknown individual.

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This chapter is a world building one - and it shows the uncertainty the characters face with imperfect knowledge about what is going on. Captain Pina is forced to make a decision that will show his loyalty to the Empire, and obey his remit as best he can. Moving to the sector's main system is a logical step for him to take in view of these circumstances. The chapter also hints at the problems of keeping such a complex machine as a Star Destroyer in working order, and the logistics of war is something I want very much to show in this novel.  And whilst logistics in war certainly decides victory, they also decide politics. In real life, the pursuit of the two German ships Goeben and Breslau by the British Mediterranean Fleet in the First World War is a good example of logistics defining policy and having massive consequences on the war. The Germans evaded their pursuers, and the two ships were handed over to the Ottoman Empire which was still neutral at the time. They used the ships to raid the Russian Black Sea ports, thus bringing the Ottoman Empire into the First World War. By some accounts, this addition to the Central Powers allowed Germany to fight on for two years more than otherwise. And it was all down to the chase that depended on filling both British and German ships with coal - turning it all into a game of cat and mouse and access to friendly ports. So the logistics forms the back bone of any novel about war.