A few weeks later
———
I was sitting in my office trying to finish a report when my office door slid open. I looked up, expecting it to be Darro or Dante, but stood up immediately when I saw who it was. Tarkin led Vader in, and I bowed my head deeply. I knew Vader would feel my fear, but I tried to feel excited too, hoping to cover up my deception. Obviously, meeting him was an honor. Or so I tried to believe.
"My lord," I said, then finally lifted my head. "Sir," I said to Tarkin, nodding.
He sat down in one of chairs, though Vader and I remained standing. I pulled my hands behind my back and kept my spine straight.
"Vader has a mission for you," Tarkin said, his voice a shade darker than usual. My services have never been given out to anyone before, and I got the distinct feeling he was uncomfortable with it. Curious. I shifted to look at Vader, wondering why he wasn't using his own resources.
"Name it," I said boldly and confidently to Vader. Bail may have told me to avoid the dark lord, but for one, I couldn't just say no. And for two, this is an opportunity I can't pass up. I would impress the dark lord to the best of my abilities.
"A bounty hunter has taken something important from me. Unfortunately, Tarkin and I have more critical matters to attend to. He has assured me that you are not only efficient, but discrete."
"The Grand Moff is right my lord," I said, and I let my face shift slightly, a small, determined, ready expression.
"Good. He will debrief you," he said. Then he turned and left, his cape dancing dramatically behind him.
I sat down and met Tarkin's gaze.
"Is everything alright, sir?"
"Yes, Commander." He sighed a small, quick sound. "You'll be tracking her with little information from me, unfortunately." He looked down, tapping at his datapad. "I've just sent you the report Vader received, and all known information on the bounty hunter. Expect to be gone until you find her, Commander. Vader wants it back."
I raised my eyebrows at him. This was... intriguing. I wanted to ask questions, but decided Tarkin wasn't in the mood.
When he left, I forwarded the reports to my team with instructions to prepare for a long journey. About 30 minutes later, Kandria requested to come see me.
"Hey boss lady," she said, slipping in and sitting in one of the chairs. I smiled at her. She was the only one who didn't call me Commander, though all of them have finally started calling me Lilya on occasion.
"Have you looked up the bounty hunter yet?"
I shook my head. "I had to finish some reports first. Why?"
She sighed a little. "Her name is Jayash Glastoc, and honestly, she's a ghost."
I raised my eyebrow. There was no such thing as a ghost when it came to Kandria and her datapad. "Then how do we find her?" I asked. I already knew what routes I would take, but I wanted to hear hers.
"Well, I suppose we'd start with the guilds. We have to find someone who knows her."
I nodded, thinking. "And if we don't find anyone?" I finally asked. If she was a ghost, then the guild may not lead us anywhere.
She let out a big sigh this time, and I was surprised by it. I've never seen her not have answers. "I don't know, boss." I nodded slowly, then I commed the rest of the team.
When they entered, Kellchri sat in the other chair and Darro and Finon stood.
"Tell me your thoughts," I said, the statement I almost always started with. I wanted to know where their own thoughts lie before I influenced them. Not to mention, their opinions and ideas were invaluable to me.
Finon spoke up. "I have a contact, he's a retired bounty hunter. I think I should reach out."
I nodded. "Good. What else?"
"The Executor was in the colonies when she escaped." Kellchri scrunched his face together, thinking. "There are a few guilds out there. But, here's the issue. I don't think she works for the guild."
"No, I concur," I said with a nod, my eyes glued to the datapad. I'd been reviewing the information Tarkin sent, as well as the stuff Kandria has dug up. She doesn't even have a ident code.
"Didn't Vader give you any clues?" Darro asked.
I thought back to our conversation, then shook my head. "No, nothing." I sat up tall, something occurring to me.
"This says she was captured five days ago," I said, looking at Kandria.
"Yes, and she escaped the Executor with the item this morning."
"How?"
She shrugged. I looked at Darro, who shrugged too. I sat back in my chair, thinking.
"Okay. We need to rendezvous with the Executor. We'll leave in an hour. Finish packing, and keep searching. I want all footage of her from her time on the Executor. And I want to know who helped her escape." They looked surprised, but they all shuffled out dutifully.
Fuck. If somebody helped her escape, were they Rebels? I packed my bag and pulled on my favorite black utility pants and slipped my knife into the right leg pocket, against my thigh. Next I clipped on my shoulder holster over my long sleeved, skin tight black shirt. I slid my arms into my favorite black field jacket and slipped on my tall boots.
On the ship, my team went over what they've learned, and what they currently suspect. I listened, but added little information. Something felt wrong here, and I needed to tread carefully.
A group of stormtroopers and an officer met us onboard the Executor.
"I'd like to see where she was being held," I began after I introduced myself and my squad. He led us to the cells at the bottom of the ship, and I walked in. It was a closed room, no way to see in or out when the door was shut. I turned to look at the officer.
"I think you guys were set up."
He scrunched his face together. "Excuse me?" Ew, he was the defensive type.
"You capture her with no problems? She's never been caught in the five years the Empire has been looking for her. Then, she escapes Vader's dreadnought?" I almost asked if he really didn't see the problem, but decided I didn't want to irritate the man. He seemed to shrink a little.
"Are all of your crew members accounted for?" I asked.
"Uh, no, ma'am." I raised an eyebrow, but let him continue. He should have started with that. "Actually, there are two troopers who haven't reported in in since this morning."
"And you've tried to find them, I assume?"
"Yes, of course. They're not on board." I eyed him. He was scared. Not of me, of course. Of Vader. I softened my expression.
"Look, my career and life are also on the line now. Vader wants me to find it, and I will. But I need every bit of information, even if you don't think it is relevant. I want the troopers' entire records, from birth to their last check in." He nodded, and I left the cell.
"I'd like to interview their squad leaders," I said when he finally emerged as well.
"Of course, follow me." He led us back up through the ship until we reached a hanger bay. He led us to two men messing around with a shuttle, apparently trying to fix something.
The officer leading me went to speak, but I held up a hand. I walked silently behind them and watched what they were doing. I scrunched my face in disgust. They weren't fixing anything, they were cleaning blood off the ship.
"What the hell happened here, Lieutenants?" I asked. The men stumbled to their feet, eying me suspiciously, and nervously, I noted.
"Uh, ma'am," one nodded. "We uhm, we don't really know. It was retrieved, abandoned on Corellia."
"Did your troopers take it?" I asked. They looked surprised, and glanced at the officer next to me. I narrowed my eyes. They were uneasy, too jumpy. And I still didn't understand how blood got all over the outside of the ship. Did it hit someone?
"Uh, we're, not sure," said the one who hadn't spoken yet. I turned my back to the men and entered the ship. I went to the computer and started tapping it. Kandria entered and looked over my shoulder, and I peeked up at her, quickly deciding she would have better luck. I got out of the chair and motioned for her to get to work. Now, as I watched over her shoulder, I knew I made the right choice. Everything had been deleted from the ship, but she slowly yanked the memory back out.
The ship was not only the one that brought the bounty hunter in five days ago, but it also left the Executor this morning. And they brought it back six hours ago. I straightened and looked out the viewport at the two men talking to the officer. While the exact records of the ship may have been deleted, the ship ID was obvious, and it wouldn't have taken a genius to figure out it was the same ship that had left earlier today, unauthorized, with a prisoner. The simple fact that it was back on this ship indicated they knew that. The way the men were acting made me thing they didn't know what their men had gotten themselves into, but knew they wanted to protect them.
"I guess we're going to Corellia," I mumbled before pulling out my datapad.
Early the next morning, 5 hours after arriving on the Executor, we walked out of the space port and into the already bustling, smoky city. Kandria, Kellchri, and I split from Darro and Finon. It took us hours of going through the cantinas and questioning civilians and troopers alike. But finally, around 0700, we found where they'd gone. Two men and a woman had taken refuge with an elderly man, claiming they'd lost their home in a fire. They'd just left this morning.
Eying the old man, I commed Darro. "They probably left the planet today," I said.
"Then we'll go to the space port, and pull today's records."
"Good. I'll send you what they were wearing." I clicked off and sent the report I'd typed up when the man described them.
When we finally began walking toward the space port, Kellchri spoke, sounding suspicious. "We're missing something," he mumbled.
"I agree," I said.
Then I stopped walking. The old man, he'd had a coughing fit when we first entered his kitchen. Was he trying to cover up a noise?
I turned back to the man's house. There, jumping from the second story onto another roof, was the bounty hunter. I heard Kellchri report it to Darro. I ran hard toward the closest building, gripping the awning and flinging myself onto the single story roof. I leaped onto another roof in fast pursuit.
She turned back and shot at me, and I shifted to the left. I launched over another huge gap and saw Kellchri running hard parallel to me, two stories down. She jumped and gripped a wall, climbing up a level. Fuck.
I jumped as hard as I could and slowly made my way up the bricks. Damnit, why was I never wearing gloves when I needed them. I pulled myself up and continued to run after her.
Then, I saw the bag hanging in front of her. She was protecting it by holding it to her stomach tightly. That's it. I removed my blaster and fired. The first shot went wide. The second shot did not. It tore through her thigh, and I watched in horror as she began to fall off the roof. I ran harder, trying to reach her, but she had already passed my reach, and was falling three stories.
Suddenly, her body yanked in midair. She flew to the left, rather than down, and I watched, unsure of what was happening. Then I saw Darro holding his hand out, and grinned. The item slipped from her hand and into Darro's a split second before she crashed into him. Her impact had been slowed greatly by Darro's interference and his body.
"Kellchri, Finon, get back there and search the house with Kandria!" I yelled, then dropped to the roof under me, then the next, then my boots hit the permacrete. Darro had the woman in cuffs already, and I saw him slip her bag into his own pack. I knelt down in front of her.
"Who else helped you?" I asked. She snarled at me.
"Okay, different question. Who do you work for?" She snarled again, then spat on the ground. I smiled.
"That's fine. I don't really need anything from you. It is Vader whom you will be speaking to."
"I already escaped his ship once," she finally said, her voice musky.
"Oh, you aren't going to Executor, my friend." I stood up and nodded toward the space port. I followed them, waiting to hear back from the team. When we boarded our shuttle, I stunned her, unwilling to let her escape.
"Don't take your eyes off her," I said, then left the ship once again. I commandeered a speeder and sped to the man's house. I was almost there when Kandria reported in.
"We found one, boss. The other isn't here."
"It's fine. Our job is done. I'm almost there."
I slammed to a halt in front of the house. Stormtroopers had arrived, and were ransacking the house. I found the squad leader.
"Why exactly are they doing this?" I asked, gesturing at the troopers in the house.
"He's a known Rebel sympathizer, Commander." I looked at him, and suddenly wanted to snap his neck. Because he is a Rebel sympathizer, he apparently deserves to have his entire house destroyed in front of him. I grinned coldly.
"Understood. Do you have your orders on finding the other deserter?"
"Yes ma'am," he said.
"Good. Report to the Executor or Fortitude when you find anything. I'm taking the deserter to Lord Vader," I said.
The trooper, who was cuffed and already in the back of my speeder, cried out.
"Anyone but Vader," he pleaded. I turned and stunned him. I couldn't hear him beg, I might actually let him go. I turned back to the squad leader.
"Do you need anything further from me?" He shook his head, eying the stunned trooper. I nodded, turned on my heels, and got in the driver's seat. He destroys an elderly man's home, but judges me for stunning a deserter? Fuck this guy. I waited until my team was in, and sped back to the space port.
Once we were in space, I taped the two prisoner's mouth shut before they could wake up.
"Is that really necessary?" asked Finon.
I looked at him. "I don't like to hear people beg for their lives." I looked at the trooper. "It might make me question my orders." It was true. But it wasn't the full answer. He nodded, and I saw he truly understood.
Five hours later, we were pulled into the Fortitude. Tarkin and Vader were both in the hanger, but I saw no one else. It was almost four in the morning, and the night crew must be busy somewhere else.
I dragged the woman by her arm, and shoved her down in front of Vader. Then I bowed.
"Lord Vader," I said. I handed him the wrapped bundle as Darro came behind me and pushed the trooper down.
"I believe she set up the whole thing, including getting captured. This is one of the two troopers who assisted her, but I have suspicions about their squad leaders. Someone had to help her retrieve the item, and I doubt it was this guy." As I said that, the trooper shot around to look at me, making noise under his taped mouth. I ignored him completely. "I thought it best to bring them directly to you, rather than back to the Executor. The ground forces on Corellia are looking for his deserter friend, though I think he might be dead" I said, waving at the man.
When I was done, Vader finally looked down at the two people. My eyes shot to Tarkin, and to my satisfaction, he looked more than pleased. His asset had proved useful to the dark lord. I tried not to think about who the old man had been, or what the object in the wrapping was.
After a moment, Vader looked back to me. "You have done well, Commander. I will remember this." I nodded, and then to my utter shock, Vader snapped both of their necks without even looking at them. I kept my face completely neutral, not even letting myself look to the fallen bodies. I would have at least questioned them, if it had been my ship that was infiltrated. Tarkin raised his eyebrow, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.
Vader turned then, and I noticed his shuttle in the distance. He was leaving. I raised my eyebrows at Tarkin, who shook his head and turned to watch him board his ship. We watched him take off, and I turned back to Tarkin.
"Sir, was your mission successful?" I asked. In other words, what the hell just happened?
He looked back at me, a small smile dancing on the corners of his lips.
"It was, Commander. He was about to leave when we got your message."
Ah, I see. He simply didn't want to deal with them. I looked down at the bodies.
"You're not going to make me clean this up, are you?" I asked, trying to joke.
He cocked his head at me when I returned my gaze to him. "Normally, yes. But you've done me a great service by recovering Vader's stolen artifact. So no, you may all retire. Please send your full reports within the hour." I nodded, and heard my team nod behind me. I went back into the ship to grab my bag, surprisingly grateful to be back on the Fortitude.
That night, I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. I repeated Vader's cold blooded murders over and over in my mind, and the trooper's fear when I'd mentioned his name. I pictured the old man, and the destruction of his home. I knew the man would probably be tortured, and killed. The other trooper—who's blood I believe was on the stolen shuttle—would be executed if found alive. The troop leaders would be questioned.
Had the bounty hunter been working for the Rebels? I didn't think so, there was no evidence for it. But she had taken refuge in a man's home who was apparently a Rebel sympathizer. Though, that term was thrown around a lot when power hungry Imperials wanted someone gone. The squad leader may have been counting on the fact that I wouldn't question his claim.
My mind spun and spun, until the chrono said 0600. Time to rise.