Interlude I
Present day
Irric stood tall and saluted General Nessah with his free hand. Clutched tightly in the other was a manila folder containing a sheaf of papers bound together by a large clip. It was his report on the anomalous activity in the Arvis sector he’d discovered several days ago.
“At ease, soldier,” Nessah said sternly. She observed Irric with a critical gaze from behind a large wooden desk adorned with stacks of papers, a phone and an empty mug.
Irric relaxed his stance, hoping she didn’t catch the sweat forming on his brow. Her gaze flicked to his forehead, telling him she did. He cringed internally. This was not how he wanted to appear in front of his boss.
“Ma’am, I’ve brought my report on my discovery.” He stepped forward and placed the folder on her desk. “For your eyes only, as you requested.”
“I trust you didn’t have any trouble compiling the information without anyone knowing,” she said coolly as she opened the folder. Her sharp eyes scanned the documents one after another in quick succession. Before long, she placed the folder back on the desk in front of her.
“It was a bit tricky but rest assured, no one else is aware of the contents of the report.”
“Excellent.” General Nessah trained her piercing gaze onto Irric. He gulped. “Tell me your thoughts on the matter. What do you think our course of action should be?”
“Ma’am, it’s not my place to make decisions like that,” he stammered.
“It’s your report, isn’t it? Surely you have an opinion on what should be done with the information.”
Irric hesitated, nearly wilting under her patient yet demanding gaze. “I think it’s worth sending a team to investigate.”
“And why is that?”
“Because the Arvis sector is a dead zone. Nobody really goes there. There are only a handful of planets in the entire sector that support life, but the activity is coming from a portion known to be uninhabitable. It might have planets with a breathable atmosphere, but that’s about it. There’s nothing else there.”
“If there’s nothing there, why should we bother investigating? It can’t be anything too important if it’s, as you say, a dead zone. Why should we care?”
“Precisely because it’s a dead zone. Nobody should be out there. So why was a ship detected going there? I think it’s worth finding out,” Irric said.
“My thoughts exactly,” Nessah agreed. “A lesser-known fact that we’ve been keeping a secret is that the gru’ul have been reported around that area. That’s a long way away from their home system and the Arvis sector falls under our controlled space. If they’re up to something, I want to know what. Especially if it’s in our own backyard.”
Irric nodded slowly, taking in what the General said. “You believe it might be linked to the gru’ul?”
“I suspect so, yes. Which is why I’m putting you in charge of monitoring the Arvis sector. You will also be in charge of relaying any information that comes from the scout team we’ll be sending in to investigate.”
“Ma’am,” Irric balked. “You’re putting me in charge? Why?”
“Because effective immediately, your security clearance just got increased. I want this to remain under wraps until I know what we’re dealing with. Since you’re in a position to know how the mission will transpire, you’re in charge of communications until further notice. I’ll inform your superior. Congratulations on your promotion, Officer. As of now, you report directly to me. Dismissed.”
Irric gaped at the suddenness of it all. He hadn’t been expecting a change in rank when he entered the General’s office that morning. Remembering where he was, he saluted her and scurried out of the room.
Nessah watched him leave. After he was gone, she picked up the phone. “Commander Cyrix,” she said brusquely once the call was answered. “Meet me in my office. You have twenty minutes.” She hung up and rested her chin on her bridged fingers, sensing their newfound problem was going to be bigger than anyone realized. She hadn’t become General by ignoring her hunches. It was time to prepare.
Reya flipped her long, platinum hair over her shoulders so that it didn’t land in her food as she ate. Her pale purple hands picked up her fork and knife and she began eating the chow on the tray in front of her. Army food wasn’t the best, but it was filling and designed to have all the nutrients a body needed and then some.
Rann, meanwhile, shoveled hers into her mouth with gusto from across the table. Reya smiled at the sight. Leave it to Rann to actually like the food. She liked anything that she could eat. Her short, dark purple pixie-cut ensured that hair wasn’t an issue while eating. Reya often wondered if that was why she kept it so short.
Tassie, Eimir, Beor and Kell joined them at their table in the mess hall. Her squad was just missing its captain, who’d been called away before they were let off to eat. Reya felt bad that Jyn was going to miss lunch but knew he’d get the chance to eat later, even if it wasn’t with everyone.
“So,” Eimir said as he ate, “what do you think the rush was for Jyn to leave so quickly?”
“He was called away by the Commander,” Tassie replied, picking up her utensils. “Maybe he’s getting our next mission. It’s been a while since we’ve been deployed.”
“You think?” Beor said excitedly. “Gods, it would feel so great to get off base and actually do something. I signed up for action, not sitting around doing nothing.”
“Training isn’t nothing,” Reya chided as she finished her meal. “It’s important that we keep in top form in between missions. Otherwise, we risk messing up when we’re on active duty.”
“Whatever you say, princess. I’d still rather be out there shooting up some enemies.”
“Babe, we’re not at war with anybody at the moment. There’s nobody for you to shoot,” Rann said.
“Bah,” Beor spat. “Where’s the fun in that? Give me some action, I say!”
“That’s the spirit, Beor,” came a new voice from behind Reya. She turned and saw Jyn approaching the table with a tray in hand. He ran the other through his shock-white short hair.
“Jyn,” Reya said warmly with a smile. “You’re back. How’d the meeting go?”
Jyn took a seat at the table and began scarfing down his food unusually fast. “We’ve been given a mission,” he said between bites. He grabbed his glass and took a large swig of water as he began choking from eating too fast. “We’re to report to the Commander in the next fifteen minutes.”
“Alright!” Beor whooped. “That’s what I’m talking about. Finally, some action,” he said with a toothy grin.
Rann face palmed. “Why am I dating this idiot?” she muttered.
“Because you love him,” Tassie teased.
“We all heard how much you loved him last night,” Eimir deadpanned. Rann flushed a glorious shade of purple and the whole table cracked up.
Reya wiped a tear from her eye before a thought struck her. “Wait,” she said. “Doesn’t it take almost fifteen minutes to get to the Commander’s office from here?”
Rann’s eyes went wide. “Oh, shit. We need to get going!” she proclaimed as she shot up and rushed to put away her tray. The others followed suit and soon Reya and Jyn were the only ones left at the table.
“You coming?” Reya asked as she got up.
“Yep,” Jyn replied with his mouth full as he rushed to finish what was left on his plate. Together, they ran to catch up to the rest of the squad that had already left the mess hall.
Unable to procure a transport vehicle, they were all forced to run to the Commander’s office in order to make it in time for their debrief.
“Why is the Commander’s office so far away,” Tassie huffed, with both hands on her knees as they arrived outside the squat grey building.
Rann raised an eyebrow. “You know, if you actually joined us on all of our morning runs, you wouldn’t be this out of breath,” she pointed out, hardly winded.
“Hush, I’m tech support, not infantry like you guys. I’m not supposed to run anywhere. Cut me some slack,” Tassie panted.
The team filed into the building and wound through the corridors until they arrived outside the Commander’s office door. Jyn knocked and announced their presence. They waited until they were called in before entering.
The office was sparse and utilitarian. Very little furniture adorned the room beyond the bare minimum required. The Commander clearly didn’t spend much time there. Irric was present in the room, discussing the details of the mission with him as they entered, garnering confusion, as nobody had met Irric before.
The Commander glanced at the clock above the door. “Right on time, I see,” he said in an amused tone, noting Tassie’s flushed face and winded breathing. “Alright then, let’s get to it. Officer Elydis,” Cyrix said, motioning to Irric, “has discovered signs of activity in the Arvis sector.”
A small hologram lit up above his desk, displaying a star cluster that zoomed in to the top right of the image. “Now, normally this part of the sector is a dead zone. There’s no reason for there to be any activity there. And yet, there is. Your job will be to investigate his findings and report back to us.”
The screen zoomed in further on a specific solar system. “The source of activity is believed to come from system AVS-1.011.314. That’s where you’ll be focusing most of your efforts. If you find nothing, scout the surrounding systems. If you find any source of activity, you are to report it immediately. Officer Elydis will be in charge of your communications with the base. Any and all reports will go through him before reaching me. Your task is to scout only. You are not to engage should you come across any hostiles. Retreat and regroup back here. Any questions?”
Tassie looked over towards Irric before speaking up. “Why are our communications going through officer Elydis and not through our regular channels?”
“Good question, Corporal,” Cyrix said, turning towards her. “That’s because this mission is classified. You’re to tell no one other than Officer Elydis, myself or the General about your findings in the Arvis sector or that you even went to the Arvis sector.”
Tassie’s eyes widened. “Why us then?”
“Is there a better team you’d like to suggest?” Cyrix asked. Tassie remained silent, knowing full-well that they were one of the top teams.
The rest of the team asked their own questions, clarifying the details of their orders and what was expected of them. They began formulating a mission plan, until the Commander got fed up and shooed them out of his office. “Go do that on your ship,” he said as he dismissed them with a wave of his hand. Soon, only Irric and the Commander were left in the room. “First impressions?” Cyrix asked with a raised eyebrow.
“They certainly get along well,” Irric noted. “Tassie especially seems to have a good head on her shoulders. Her questions and reasoning were very impressive.”
“Oh? Tassie, eh? You’ve got a good eye, she’s cute,” Cyrix teased.
Irric’s face flushed slightly. “That’s not what I meant, Commander! Her cuteness was not a factor in my assessment of her.”
Cyrix’s grin grew wider as Irric further dug himself into a hole. “Her cuteness,” he quoted, as Irric’s flush deepened, “comes second to her competence. She absolutely earned her spot on one of our top teams, as you’ve come to notice. I look forward to the two of you working together on this assignment.”
Irric made a strangled noise before deciding to change the subject. “Reya and Eimir as well made a good first impression. The excited one, Bore? Beor? Not so much. He seemed a bit trigger happy. I’m worried about whether or not he’ll be able to refrain from engaging any enemies they might come to face.”
“Ah, Beor. Indeed, he’s quite excitable. They’ve been on base for a while now, so it’s understandable that he’s a tad eager. Don’t worry, when push comes to shove, he falls in line and listens to commands. Usually.”
Irric breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good to hear.”
“What about the rest of them?”
“They didn’t really make much of an impression.”
“I think,” Cyrix said slowly with a soft smile, “that you were too focused on Tassie to notice the rest of them.” He could almost see the steam coming out of Irric’s ears as he made one last dig at the poor lad.
“If that’s all, Commander,” Irric said tightly, “I’ll take my leave to go and prepare for the mission.”
“Very well. Dismissed.” Cyrix watched Irric leave with a bemused expression. Nessah was right, he’s fun to tease, he thought, chuckling to himself. He then pulled up Irric’s report and reread it.