Quinn finally starts to unravel! In a good way! Yay! Welcome to Part 2, where stuff gets real. Though not in this chapter yet. Next chapter. Yeah. Also Merry Christmas and stuff, busiest day of the year professionally.
Quinn and Akuliina are basically Dark! Ceniro and Lyn actually. : P
Chapter 6: Born to Lead
The reactor’s whine was getting louder, the distant thud of whirring machinery getting more and more frantic. There were seconds left before it would self-destruct and explode, killing them both and the Republic soldiers also trapped here. There were seconds left before the security on the door to the one safe room in the reactor was deactivated and they would be allowed inside to safety. And somehow Akuliina had ended up doing the security breach, and he stood at her shoulder facing the corridor, shooting any Republic soldier foolish enough to poke his head out. Answering laser bolts splashed out towards them; so far he’d been lucky not to get hit or to let Akuliina get hit. She was smaller than him; he could shield her quite well with his body. And while it was difficult not to flinch when the Republic’s desperate shots came so close to his head, the thrill of danger kept him focused, his own shots deadly accurate. He’d just have to trust in the hidden body armour.
“Ten seconds,” he muttered to himself, having kept a mental countdown all this time.
“Ten,” the reactor’s automated warning system announced, confirming his guess. He shot another green and white helmet and the soldier pitched to the floor. “Nine.”
“If there’s anything you want to say before the end, now’s the time,” she said, and he couldn’t tell from her voice if she was still teasing, or sarcastic, or sincere, or what.
“Eight. Seven.” He… couldn’t say it. Even now. There wasn’t the time; he didn’t have the words. “Six.” His heart was beating fast in a way that was only partly to do with the adrenaline of the external situation they found themselves in.
“I believe you know how I feel about you, my lady,” he murmured, but he knew she heard him; her head turned, but then her gaze was drawn back to the control panel.
“Vault code sequence complete.”
“Five.”
“Vault lock disarming.”
“Four.”
“Vault door air lock releasing.”
“Three.”
“Vault open.” Finally, finally, the heavy quintuple-layered door slid open.
She grabbed his wrist and bolted. “In!” Or it might have been his name. He wasn’t quite sure, but he was with her step for step.
The door slammed shut behind them and they were confronted by a very annoyed Republic general as the reactor rocked and shook.
The planet in question was Taris, a former metropolis known as the Coruscant of the Outer Rim, before it had been razed by some Sith Lord three hundred years ago. Akuliina’s mission here was to hunt down four Republic generals and eliminate them. She had already taken care of three over the last month – the one who had set the reactor to explode was the second – and now the last one was hiding somewhere on the planet. While waiting for the last general to be located, she was running short missions for the local Imperial forces, sometimes with Vette, often with Jaesa, getting her new apprentice up to speed and learning how she thought and fought and worked. Today, however, it was with him again.
Her commlink buzzed and she grabbed for it, swallowing the last of her ration bar hurriedly; they’d been taking lunch beneath the wall of a ruined skyscraper, which the planet certainly didn’t lack for. “Hello?”
His datapad buzzed as well; a text-based message ordering him to return to Toxic Lake Garrison.
It was Darth Baras calling Akuliina. “Apprentice, your progress has been conveyed to me, and I’ve been briefed on the search for General Faraire. Moff Hurdenn informs me that Faraire has relocated all of the Republic’s forces on Taris to protect his command centre at the Republic stronghold.”
She smiled. “He’s scared.”
“A frightened enemy can be the most dangerous. This assault will take all our firepower. I’ve summoned your crew to the base. They will all be utilized. And I’ve informed Moff Hurdenn that you are commandeering the entirety of his forces.”
Moff Hurdenn’s voice came through the same line. “Yes, right, they are yours to command, my lord.”
“Oh, I have longed to lead an army!” she exclaimed, her face glowing and her eyes alight with joy. He’d seen a similar look on his last girlfriend’s face when her parents gave her a new speeder for her birthday. How incongruous.
Also, that implied that Akuliina was his present girlfriend, which she certainly was not.
“You will now sink your teeth into full scale war,” Darth Baras was saying. “Rendezvous with Hurdenn, Pierce, and your crew at the Imperial base. There is much planning to do. Be swift.”
“At once, Master.”
He stood before the command centre’s largest holo display, hands clasped behind his back, observing the reports from all sides. The team had been split into three for maximum efficiency. Vette was disabling the Republic base’s main power station, to reduce the security and defenses within. Moff Hurdenn had no one better than her, and Akuliina undoubtedly wouldn’t trust them as much as Vette anyway. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Pierce led a small squad into the spaceport to lock the forcefields there. The Republic ships in orbit would no doubt send reinforcements down, but between the Sith Thana Vesh and Lieutenant Pierce, none of them would interrupt Akuliina and Jaesa, who were advancing on General Faraire’s wing of the base with all available forces.
It was thrilling, to be in command of so much. As a lieutenant on Balmorra, he’d hardly ever gotten the chance to command like this. The last time he’d been in control of such a large force was Druckenwell. His eyes flickered from one read-out to the next, monitoring Pierce’s vital signs, Akuliina’s troop numbers. She had a hundred Imperial soldiers behind her; the Republic had nearly eight times that number. But Jaesa was with her to weed out the weak and cowardly enemies, to weaken the resolve of the strong.
He would have loved to see Akuliina at their head, no doubt a proud and commanding figure in her red-and-grey combat gear, her white hair shining in the light of Taris’s moon. He only hoped those with her could keep up. If they failed her, he’d execute the survivors personally.
One side of the terminal beeped; a call coming in from Vette’s secure channel. “Soooo, Cap’n,” she said, conversationally.
“Vette, I sense this will not be mission-critical. Can it wait?”
“…I mean, yeah, it can, but we’ve got this secure channel and all, and we never talk!” There was a reason for that. “So let’s talk about how distracting you’ve been.”
“I- What are you talking about.” Don’t tell him Vette was interested in him too.
“All those smouldering gazes you give Lina! I know she’s hitting on you with a vibroaxe, but you’re kind of encouraging her.”
He frowned, his words coming out clipped and indignant. “I am not.” At least, he didn’t think so. His deadpan was well-practiced.
“Uh, yeah, you are!” She went on in a more contemplative tone. “I think I’ll call you Captain Smoulder from now on.”
She wouldn’t actually do that. “Vette! Please! The mission! Have you disabled that security system yet?”
“Yeah, yeah, working on it! There was a thing, and I had to- and then I almost got killed by the – but anyway I’m working on it. Anyway, talking out loud helps me focus sometimes.”
“I don’t believe a word of that.”
“Well, that’s your problem.” She paused for a moment, then came back. “So maybe try smouldering less. I think it’ll make life easier for all of us, especially you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Hmm, well, maybe next time you’re doing it, I can give you a signal, then you’ll know.”
He almost put his face into his hands. “Vette, I don’t need help from you. Now, I have to go supervise the others. If you need help, call me.”
“Will do, Cap’n!”
At least she hadn’t chosen this time to pester him about Moff Broysc.
He tapped Pierce’s channel and received a solid burst of cursing from the speaker. “Lieutenant. Report.”
“Nothing to worry about, Captain. The Republic’s moving quickly, but we got to the force field controls and destroyed them. It’ll take them a few hours to set it to rights. Going to have a fight on our hands getting back out, though.”
“Are you on the bunker side of the force field?”
“Give me some credit, Captain. Of course we are.”
“Then hold position. Faraire may attempt to escape through that passage.”
“Right. Can do.” And Pierce went back to cursing.
Akuliina’s forces had stopped advancing inside the main walls of the Republic base, not yet at Faraire’s bunker. They had engaged the enemy. The Republic was entrenched behind barricades and buildings all around their compound; hundreds of blasters were aimed at Akuliina and her men. Time for the real fun.
“Jaesa-”
“Not now, Quinn!” Jaesa snapped. “I’m bringing death to some cowardly conscripted dogs.”
He waited patiently until the deafening roar of blaster rifles, the screaming and the cries of “how is she so fast?” had died down a little.
“Right,” Jaesa said. “Hot damn, look at her go. All’s well here, Captain. Lost a few men. Republic’s losing a few more.”
“Excellent,” he said. “You do realize you’re in an excellent flanking position now, yes?”
“Oh, hey, look at that, we are. Follow me, men!”
He made a few calls to some of the sergeants among the group, repositioning their weapons for maximum effectiveness. Akuliina was in danger of over-extending herself, and the Republic was beginning to realize they had to actually use strategy, not simply hold the Empire back by sheer weight of numbers. Fortunately they didn’t seem to have any Jedi with them; that could really throw a wrench into their plans. Jedi were so unpredictable in their abilities.
His hands twitched. He wanted to be out there, at her side, among the noise and blaster bolts. But he was more use here.
Vette’s comm rang. “Hey, so I did the thing. I’m leaving now. Before anything else blows up or shoots at me.”
“Well done. Back to base.”
Akuliina was calling now; she must have made it to the door of Faraire’s bunker, as he had requested. Her men were clustered around her, firing back into the courtyard; the Republic was vainly attempting to advance on them but Jaesa and her unit were holding them back. “I’m here, Quinn. What’s the word on the others?”
“Both Vette and Pierce have succeeded in their missions and have performed admirably. Vette is returning to our outpost, and I’ve left Pierce to hold the secondary exit.”
“I will reward them both,” she said. “Vette I knew was the best one for the job, but I’m glad to hear Pierce came through.”
“Yes, it seems under that insubordinate exterior is a very capable soldier.” It didn’t pain him much to say it; only a fool would disregard ability simply because of a conflict of personality. “Now all that blocks you is the general’s elite guard. They are many, and well-trained. Be careful, my lady.”
He heard the smile in her voice. “Danger only makes things more fun.”
She was insane. In the best way. “Then this may be the most fun you’ve had yet. Good luck.”
He turned back to the main screen, pacing and worrying as Akuliina was trapped in a room with a giant wardroid, relieved when she brought it down while remaining unscathed, and he was rewarded when Faraire tried to run straight into Pierce’s arms and surrendered.
“Congratulations on the success of your mission,” Moff Hurdenn said to her. “Taking down the War Trust is an incredible victory. It is clear you are the future of the Empire, and I hope you will count me among your closest allies.”
She nodded, her head raised proudly. “I may call on you someday, Hurdenn. Your unquestioning obedience will be expected.”
“Well, yes, of course, you can count on that. As a show of support, I place Lieutentant Pierce under your command. He will be invaluable in your domination of the galaxy, I believe.”
Pierce smiled. “Works for me. Done what I can here on Taris. Glad you’re willing to let me go, Hurdenn.”
“With me, you’ll fulfill greater things than Taris, Lieutenant,” Akuliina said. “I hope you’re ready to face destiny.”
Pierce saluted. “You won’t be disappointed, my lord.”
Quinn stepped forward, at attention. “Lieutenant, fall in. I will brief you on how things work here when we are back on the ship.”
“Can’t wait,” Pierce said sardonically, and did not match Quinn’s military step.
Well. He didn’t much care for Pierce, but at least there would be another man around. He had nothing against women as some of his fellow officers did, and if there was one thing he’d learned serving under Akuliina, it was that they were never to be underestimated. He just had been beginning to feel a bit outnumbered on the Fury. After years of serving with only men, to be serving with three women and no one else had been a bit strange.
When they had all returned to the ship, Akuliina called Quinn and Pierce to her in the cockpit. “I’m only going to say this once. I know neither of you like the other, and I don’t care. You will work out your differences and the chain of command without involving me. Am I clear?”
“Perfectly, my lady,” Quinn said, chin raised proudly. She’d not be interrupted by him.
Pierce grumbled and shuffled. “Yes, my lord.”
“Something you would like to say, Lieutenant Pierce?”
“Er, no. My lord. It’s just… Captain Quinn…”
“Captain Quinn is an extremely competent officer,” Akuliina said coldly. “You could never do the things he does. And you do things that he cannot do. That is why you are on my ship in the first place. However, you can be replaced, no matter what Moff Hurdenn said.”
“I’m not so disposable, my lord,” Pierce said, though he seemed to have taken it as a challenge rather than an insult. “I’ll prove myself to you.”
“I look forward to it, Lieutenant. In the meantime, you will keep your snide remarks about the Captain out of my hearing.”
“Understood, my lord.”
She nodded to them both. “That is all. Quinn, put us into space and set course for the capital. We need to resupply.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Pierce watched her go, and when she was safely around the corner and behind a closed door, he turned to Quinn. “Must be nice, banging a Sith Lord. Is she kinky? She seems like she’d be kinky. Sir.”
He almost decked the lieutenant in the face.
That would have been extremely unprofessional, especially considering he was not… banging her. Emperor’s teeth, he did not want to think about that. Certainly not now. Don’t show emotion. Control. Ice. “Lieutenant. That is extremely unbecoming of an officer. Don’t make me put you on report within five minutes of you entering this ship.”
“Wait, so you’re not…?”
“Lieutenant Pierce. We’re here to do a job, not bicker and gossip.”
Pierce leaned in; he was a good six inches taller than Quinn, but Quinn refused to feel intimidated. “I’m not afraid of you, Captain.”
“I don’t need you to be afraid of me,” even though maybe he should, “I just need you to obey my orders.” How come no one on this ship respected him? Akuliina teased him, Vette bugged him, Jaesa hadn’t done anything yet… but the way she looked at him made it clear she was not interested in following orders from a non-Sith. And now Pierce challenged him. “Let me make this very clear, Lieutenant.” He backed up to where Pierce couldn’t simply overpower him and drew his pistol. “If you ever overtly mutiny on me, I will use this.”
Pierce looked from the muzzle of the gun to his face with a raised eyebrow. “All right, so you’re going that route. Fine. I won’t give you trouble. Sir. …For now.”
“That will do. Dismissed.”
They stopped on Dromund Kaas to restock on the way to Quesh as Akuliina had ordered, and in the evening Quinn was organizing the cargo bay when he overhead voices from the engine room.
“Master, as time passes, the thrill of killing is ebbing,” Jaesa said, her voice a thirsty growl. “I went out and found another Sith who was turning to the Light, and the same satisfaction did not flow through me as I cut him down. What is happening? I didn’t think I could get used to this feeling. Not so soon.”
“You sound like a spice addict,” Akuliina said, and her voice was disapproving. “You should control the violence. It should not control you.”
Jaesa snarled. “You of all people would preach temperance to me? The Jedi trumpet about control. I want to be unbound!”
“Now you sound like a child,” Akuliina said contemptuously. “Did you expect that you could get off on killing forever? Did you think that even the Jedi are devoid of all intelligence? Do you think the Empire’s greatness was simply built on murder without order or purpose? If you abandon all caution before you’re ready, you will burn out too fast. Don’t come crying to me when that happens.”
“It seems you don’t trust me to discover my own boundaries. So be it.”
Jaesa stomped away towards the loading ramp… and Akuliina stepped into the cargo hold. She did not look surprised to see him there.
He bowed to her. Better safe than sorry. “My lady.”
“She’s like I was a few months ago,” Akuliina said, frowning. “I… had never had so much freedom as when I emerged from Korriban, and I’ll admit I indulged in destruction until I was bored of it. But she’s never been taught how to refocus her frustration and energy onto higher goals.”
He already knew she was fairly self-aware, but she hid it so well even he forgot sometimes. “What are your goals, my lady?”
“Domination,” she said, smiling now. “Someday I shall become Countess Volkova – if I don’t simply skip all that and rule all of Kuat. The entire sector, even.” She glanced sidelong at him. “I want to be realistic, here. Too much ambition too fast and I’ll burn out as surely as Jaesa will.”
“That is wise,” he said to her. Just one more box to catalogue. He could imagine her as a ruler. She had clearly been raised for it, prepared for it. And with her strength of will, she’d rule at least a planet someday. What was realistic, when it came to her? What were her limits? He didn’t know, not yet.
“What about you?” she asked. “You’ve said you wish to make the greatest possible impact on the Empire. Any specifics?”
She remembered that? “I… believe I have it in me to become a Moff. Assuming Broysc doesn’t get in my way in the wrong way at the wrong time.”
“I think that can be arranged,” she said, and her smile turned sly. “Perhaps you can be my Moff. I’ll certainly need one.”
“I… would be honoured, my lady.”