Escape From Imperials Part 2: The General's Summons

Joint Post between Nim, Lily, and Halvtand.
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The trip back to base ended up being quite awkward to say the least. The prisoners were quiet for the most part, but the groans of the wounded soldiers and the terse comments doctors could be heard coming from the med bay over the sounds of the tank rolling through the forest. Ria could see that the girl was understandably frightened, but she could not read any emotions from the alien. A sadistic part of her wanted to give him a kick just to get some kind of reaction out of him, but she refrained.

Eventually, Ria had worked up the courage to ask the girl if she could patch up her wound. Surprisingly, the girl relented. However, the girl proved to be more difficult to work on then some of the cases Ria had dealt with on Coruscant as she applied the disinfecting/burn healing ointment over wound. "Yes it's cold, but stay still!" Ria growled.

After getting a bandage over the wound and repacking her kit, the awkward wait continued, although not for much longer. Soon, the vehicle began to slow, and then it shuddered to a halt.

"W-what happens now?” the girl said looking at Ria, who shrugged. She wouldn't have thought the general would have asked her to treat the girl's wound if she was planning on executing her anytime soon, but then again, these people did kill and wound a bunch of her comrades.

"Do you still think the force is not going to let us die?" Ria overheard the girl murmur to her companion.

"The Force is not sentient, child. It has no will, no thoughts, no plan. It is like the wind, it goes where it is needed. Yet it also picks up seeds and carries them to fertile soil far away," he replied. As the trooper had given them some room he leaned in and whispered "We were at the soldiers’ mercy back there. Had they wanted to kill us we would not be in this thing, nor would they bother patching up your wound. I suspect they have other plans for us than death. Such a plan, once we know it, can be exploited for our benefit. Stay brave, we’ll see the light of day again."

"They killed my master, I don’t think they will spare us,” she whispered back...

Ria let the doctors wheel out the wounded and the dead before she made any attempt to unchain her charges. She didn't want to hinder the doctors from getting the injured troopers to the emergency room where they could better be stabilized at, and the vengeful part of her wanted her prisoners to see the carnage they had wrought.

Once the wounded had been wheeled out and the bodies of the dead carried out, Ria got to work undoing the chains to the girls cuffs, and after about a minute of struggling with them, finally got them free and sent them clanking to the floor. Just as she was about to get started with the alien's chains, an unfamiliar male voice called out, "CT-9433?"

The girl started at the sound of the voice. Still trembling, she muttered, "You know you attacked me first."

"After you trespassed on our base then refused to surrender for questioning!" Ria shot back.

“ I didn’t know it was there,” she said.

"CT-9433?!"

"What?!" Ria whirled around and saw herself face-to-face with a man in an officer's uniform. His badge marked him as a lieutenant. Oh tits… "Sorry, er, what can I do for you lieutenant?"

The man grimaced. "General Odet has requested that you escort these prisoners to her office."

Ria frowned behind her helmet. "Um, where exactly is the General's Office?

"It is room 722 on the seventh floor of the Administration Building. I trust you know which building that is?" the officer replied curtly.

"Yes… sir," Ria stammered. She had visited HR on the second floor of the Administrative Building on a few unhappy occasions, and the way this was going, it looked like she'd be visiting them again pretty soon...

"Good, get to it." The officer turned on his heels and marched out as Ria resumed trying to undo the alien's chains, making no effort to be gentle. Despite this, he held his chained hands up to give her space to work. He wisely appeared to be trying to be as accommodating and non-threatening as possible to give her no excuse to shoot him or the girl.

"Alright prisoners, follow me, and for the love of the Emperor, don't try anything," Ria hissed after she freed the alien (they were both still cuffed though). The strange pair followed quietly without any further response as if resigned to their fate.

A decent bit of a hike later, Ria and her charges walked through the front doors of the Administrative Building. She proceeded to escort them toward the elevator at the end of the hallway when the receptionist at the front office called out, "Stormtrooper, where do you think you are taking those people?!"

"General Odet is expecting us." Ria growled.

"I need to verify that," the receptionist explained as he hit a few buttons on his panel. "General Odet, are you-"

"Yes, please send them up."

Ria began moving before the receptionist even acknowledged the general's order.

The elevator ride up was almost as awkward as the tank journey had been. Although the elevator was spacious by elevator standards, it was still tight enough that Ria barely had enough space to lift up her rifle and fire it if the prisoners chose to try to overpower her here. For a second the alien had raised his head and looked her straight in the eye likely fully aware of her predicament. Thankfully nothing happened, and once the door opened for the 7th floor, Ria hastily exited the elevator and beckoned the prisoners to follow. They did so calmly like cattle, first the girl, then the alien.

The 7th floor was quite something compared to the rest of the base (that Ria had seen at least). Numerous offices were split by glass walls, through which Ria could see maps of the galaxy, maps of the planet, maps of the base, and other charts she didn't understand. Numerous men and women in gray uniforms were poring over these things, having conversations that she could not hear. Ria and her prisoners received the occasional suspicious glance, but for the most part they were ignored.

As they rounded a corner, Ria saw two scout troopers guarding a door. Compared to all the pristine uniforms seen throughout the rest of the building, these guys were filthy. Were these the same troopers she had seen riding alongside the General earlier?

As Ria approached, one of the troopers nodded and pressed a button beside the door, promptly which slid open. After ushering her prisoners into the room, Ria entered just in time to see the girl trip over her own feet and fall to the floor, barely catching herself with her bound hands. "Well, that was embarrassing” the girl muttered as Ria pulled her up. She heard one of the guards snicker as the doors slid shut behind them.

"Welcome Jedi, welcome Miss Kalowyn, take a seat, all of you." General Odet had been standing with her back to them looking out through the large window on the opposite wall, but during the commotion of the girl falling over, she had turned and was now standing behind her desk.

“No thank you.” the girl said, a hard edge to her voice as she glared defiantly at General Odet. Ria sighed, placed her hands on the girl, and was about to shove her into one of the three chairs in front of the General's desk when Odet interjected, "That won't be necessary, Miss Kalowyn."

Ria was surprised to hear General Odet referring to her by her name. With the occasion of her immediate supervisor, all of the officers Ria had met referred to her by her operator number. Obeying the General's instructions, Ria stepped back from the girl.

The alien took a step forward, no longer cowed, head held high for the first time since that moment in the elevator. "Don’t be rude to our host," he said kindly to the girl before he stepped in front of one of the chairs and with a look seeking confirmation. Upon getting it, he sat down and attempted to adjust his robes, which appeared to be somewhat difficult due to his hands being cuffed together.

There was an awkward pause (which seemed to have become the norm for this mission), before General Odet spoke up. "I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Shevan Odet, Garrison Commander here at Lanos. I have long looked forward to meeting you, Serenity. I wish this meeting could have occurred under different circumstances, but due to our respective stations, I could see no other way to make this happen except through forceful coercion. Thankfully, you seem to be largely in one piece."