Chapter Three – Derelict

RF Hammerhead-class ship Lohara
Inspecting derelict Republic Hammerhead-class Telos flagship Ioba
Present Day


  “We’ve gotten to the bridge Captain, and there is no evidence of any fire fight.  All loose objects and bodies may have been cleared out by explosive decompression after the hull breached on the Command Deck”, reported Sergeant Jeru.
  When the Lohara had made the short hyper-jump to the coordinates of the Ioba the Captain had ordered an immediate scan of the area for Sith ships and Lieutenant Pobi had reported no contacts.  Meri then ordered for two shuttles, containing twenty soldiers each, to dock in the rear and forward airlocks.  The squad that had landed at the forward airlock had been the first to report nothing on the bridge or the crew quarters, which caused Meri to become more and more wary of the situation.
  “Captain, as your executive officer, I’m suggesting we get out of here before something like that happens to us”, stated Commander Yuhari while pointing through the viewport at the Ioba.
  “Commander, this was one of the ships that was with us at Telos”, Meri retorted, “and we abandoned a lot of ships there so we could escape.  So, I want to find out what happened to these people because it could, very possibly, be our fault that they’re either missing or dead.”
  The Commander was taken aback by her debate but eventually nodded and took the wound to his ego.  She continued to supervise the security squads on the other ship when the rear squad finally reported in, “Captain, we have discovered nothing in the surrounding areas but we have discovered a male human body in an environmental suit that appears to be unconscious in Engineering.”
  Finally, Meri thought, now we can get some answers.
  “Good work, Sergeant.  Do a biohazard sweep of his suit and if it comes up clear then bring him onboard and take him to the Medical Bay”, Meri ordered.
  She pressed the ‘terminate transmission’ button on the communications terminal.  “I’ll be waiting in the Medical Bay for the survivor, Commander Yuhari you have the bridge.”
  “Yes, ma’am, I’ll keep the seat warm for you”, he replied.
  She got up from the communications terminal and walked past the Commander towards the door to the corridor. She walked through the door and started the long walk to the elevator.  Just once she would’ve liked to take this same route to her quarters to get a couple hours of sleep.  She hadn’t slept in at least 38 hours, the escape of the battle had left everyone’s adrenaline pumping, but now her body was beginning to lose its energy and starting to falter under its own weight. When she got to the elevator she cued the Medical Bay on the terminal in the back and immediately leaned on the wall and sighed from exhaustion.
  “Captain, I suggest you get some sleep”, said Commander Yuhari over the intercom.  He must’ve been watching me this entire time, thought Meri.
  “No it’s perfectly all right Commander, I’ll be fine for at least two more hours”, she replied while getting up from her leaning position.
  “Oh, but Captain I insist.  Besides, the good doctor has said that our guest won’t wake up for at least three hours, so you have a little bit of time.”
  Suddenly the elevator stopped in its ascent and began going down again.  When Meri looked at the elevator terminal she noticed that the destination had somehow changed to Crew Quarters.
  “You know, I could have you court marshaled for this”, she threatened.
  “Oh, I think you’ll forget all about that when you wake up”, he replied.
  She gave up and slumped back against the wall.  She respected Ralon as a military officer but sometimes had to resist the temptation to flush him out the airlock.  The elevator eventually stopped at Crew Quarters and as she walked out of the elevator she massaged her neck after being in the leaning position for so long.  She walked down the long corridor to her quarters and punched in the access code and as soon as she walked in the door closed and she heard the click of the electronic lock engaging.  Thanks again Ralon, she thought to herself angrily.  She glimpsed at her desk terminal and thought of all the reports she had to fill out but waved the obligations away and sat down on her bed.  She took off her military jacket  and boots a burrowed herself under the thin covers on her usually uncomfortable but now heavenly bed.  After what felt like a few moments of sleep, she was once again standing in the stalks that she had lost her brother in 37 years ago.  She frantically began looking for her lost brother but to no avail.  She heard a voice like her mother’s cry from the heavens, “Why have you lost your brother?”
  Meri looked up to the sky and yelled, “I’m so sorry Mother, please forgive me!”
  But before she could receive an answer her vision became blurry and she woke up crying and sweating.  She wiped the tears from under her eyes and the sweat from her brow and realized she was drenched in sweat.  She bent over and held her head in her hands for a few moments before getting up and taking a quick trip to the sanisteam in the refresher.  She walked out putting her hair in a tight bun before her personal comlink chirped for attention.  She walked over to her desk and activated the comlink.
  “Go ahead Pobi.”
  “Ma’am, the ship doctor told me to inform you that the survivor is awake but has been exhibiting erratic behavior and wants to see you in the Medical Bay immediately”, Pobi announced.
  “Very well, I’ll be there shortly”, she replied and terminated the transmission.
  She put her full military field uniform on and walked out the door.  Unlike most times she walked out of her quarters, this time she took the quickest route to the elevator.  They needed to get to the bottom of this, and fast.  
  She walked into the elevator, punched the Medical Bay directional key, and waited for the short ascent to begin.  The door began to close but not before Commander Yuhari slipped through.
  “Sorry for intruding Captain, just wanted to pay a visit to our guest as well”, he admitted.
  “It’s all right Commander, and by the way, I haven’t forgotten about that court marshal”, she joked as the elevator came to a complete stop and the door opened.  
  He smiled faintly as they walked out of the elevator and into the corridor leading to the Medical Bay.
  Yuhari pierced the silence, “The doctor told me that the survivor had no freeze burns or asphyxiation signs that would coincide with explosive decompression.  He infers that he must’ve had the environmental suit on before the atmosphere vented.”
  “Which completely rules him out as a suspect”, she sarcastically replied.  
  “And what’s this about the erratic behavior that Pobi told me about”, the commander asked.
  “I have no idea”, she explained, “but I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”  
  They walked to the Medical Bay door but it didn’t open automatically as it usually did.
  “Kark”, exclaimed Yuhari, “why isn’t it opening?”
  Meri walked over to the door and typed in the override code and it hissed open to reveal the explanation for the door being locked.  The doctor and his aides were all attempting to keep the survivor down on the bed to strap him in.  He was yelling things like “Republic scum” and “kriffing doctors”.  The doctor and his aides were finally able to get him level on the bed and use the black straps on the side of the bed to restrain him.  The doctor wiped the sweat from his brow and jumped when he saw Captain Meri and Commander Yuhari standing there observing.
  “Captain”, he nodded to Meri, “Commander.”
  “Is he stable”, asked the commander, knowing the obvious answer.
  “Well, medically he is but mentally…I’ll leave that up to you”, the Doctor replied.  
  Meri left in the middle of their conversation and walked over to the man on the bed who was still struggling to free himself from the restraints.
  “Don’t bother, those straps are stronger than a bantha’s hide”, she stated.
  He stopped struggling and looked into her eyes and she felt him studying her every detail and taking it in.
  He finished looking her up and down and threatened, “Republic slime, your ways of democracy and freedom will soon be demolished by my master, Darth Revan."
  “Who are you”, she asked, “are you not Lieutenant Lok as it says on your uniform?”
  “You are all fools.  I was sent here by Lord Revan himself to steal vital information and sabotage your precious flagship”, he said through his teeth, “I am a Sith operative and I have fooled you all, you Republic slime.”
  “If your name is not Lieutenant Lok then tell me your name Sith, and we might give you a proper funeral”, she indirectly threatened.       
  He closed his eyes and contemplated what she had just asked.
  He opened his eyes, “My name is Ruk’ta Tabon of Valatrus, but I don’t want one of your blasted funerals.”
  Once he had gotten the last word out, Meri already had unclipped the blaster from her belt and pointed it at his temple.
  The doctor and Yuhari ran over, “Captain, may I ask what you are you doing”, the doctor stammered.
  “Oh, just shooting a lying impersonator Doctor”, Meri replied, no joke intended.
  “Captain, what are you talking about”, Yuhari asked while reaching for her blaster.
  She quickly pulled the blaster farther away from his reaching hand, “This man was sent by the Sith to infiltrate and sabotage the Ioba and he claims to be Ruk’ta Tabon, my dead brother.”
  Yuhari stopped reaching for the blaster and looked at the man laying on the table, who was smiling from the chaos he had caused.
  “Oh, yes.  It’s me, sister…or should I say Meri.  I remember everything about you, how you left mother to die defending us, and how you allowed me to be captured by the Sith soldiers and tortured beyond recognition.  You are nothing but Republic bantha fodder.”
  He spit in her eye and she immediately wiped it away and struck him on the temple with the butt of her blaster.  He cringed in pain but didn’t scream or whimper, and blood started to seep from the wound she had inflicted.
  “I don’t know If you’re my brother or not, but I do know that you’re a Sith and an impersonator, and that constitutes a trip out the airlock.  But don’t worry, I’m sure your illustrious Lord Revan will return and retrieve your floating body from the depths of space.”
  She unclipped her personal comlink from her belt.
  “Sergeant Jeru, please report to the Medical Bay with four security troopers, we’re going to send our little passenger on his way”, she ordered.
  “Yes, ma’am”, Jeru replied and she terminated the link.
  “Captain, I don’t like this air of brutality that you seem to have inherited from our enemies.  Come on Meri, if you send this Sith out the airlock then we’re no better than the people were fighting”, Yuhari urged.  
  She grunted angrily and slowly pulled the comlink back from her belt, “Sergeant Jeru, belay the last order, code nine three zero dash six seven one.”
  The Sergeant sounded disappointed, “Yes, Captain.”
  She angrily slammed the comlink back down on her belt and turned back to the Commander, “I hope you know what you’re doing.” She turned to the doctor, “Please have this man sedated for our journey to Coruscant, where he can be properly interrogated.”
  “But I have to dress his wou-,” he barely got the last word out before the ship shuddered violently.
  “Sith Interdictor-class warship has dropped out of hyperspace, all hands to battle stations”, announced Pobi over the intercom.
  She leaned over the now bloody-faced Ruk’ta on the bed, “Well, looks like your friends have decided to be fashionably early for this party”, she turned to the commander, “let’s get to the bridge.”
  He nodded and followed her run out the door.  They got to the nearest elevator and cued the Command Deck and waited patiently.  The elevator stopped and the doors parted.  They walked to the bridge door down the corridor and the doors parted to reveal utter chaos.  Crew members were running from terminal to terminal giving damage reports and answering calls for assistance.  Meri pushed past a few bridge crew members conversing about the minimal shield strength.
  “Report, Pobi”, ordered Ralon.  
  “The Sith warship came out of hyperspace too close for us to raise our shields soon enough and they took out the communications array”, Pobi replied.
  Meri took things into her own hands, “All right, continue returning fire with starboard turbolasers and reroute auxiliary power to the forward shield emitters.  Lieutenant Uru”, Meri turned around to face the Rodian at the navigation terminal, “bring the ship to coordinates 0, 9, 3 and maneuver the ship so that our forward turbolasers can fire.”
  Lieutenant Uru nodded and turned his attention back to engine control and began putting in the coordinates.  Meri had always wondered how a Rodian was able to keep their suction cupped fingers from sticking to the screen, but Meri shook it off.  The dark green, scaly, Rodian deserved some respect.  He proved himself to be an excellent pilot.  The ship once again shuddered as the Sith hit a weak spot in the Lohara’s shields.  Hold together old girl, we’re not out of this yet, urged Meri.  She looked out the forward viewport and noticed that Uru had done his job, they were directly facing the sith warship.  The Sith ship looked to Meri to be like two curved swords joined together at the hilt with a large bridge structure on the top rear, near the back were small spheres that were the primary shield generators.  
  “Ma’am the Sith ship has not yet launched fighters.  I’ll betcha they think we’re easy pickings”, the sensors officer, Lieutenant Commander Yui, joked.  
  Lieutenant Commander Yui had always been a joker but Meri knew she was an excellent officer on the field, her beautiful facial features and shining, blonde hair were rumored to distract Sith soldiers when the fight had to be taken to ground.
  “Fire all forward turbolasers at their interdiction dome and enter the coordinates for Coruscant and prepare to jump on my mark”, there was a slight pause as the forward turbolasers charged, “fire”, Meri commanded.  
  The area outside the viewport flashed green as the turbolasers fired and hit their target.  Designers of Sith warships tended to not pay much attention to shield strength because of the many weapons emplacements on the ship.  The turbolasers flashed across space and hit the interdiction dome at the center of the ship.  The first group of shots impacted the warship’s shields, but the second group broke through the invisible barrier and struck their target, causing a cascading explosion.
  “Jump to hyperspace…now”, Meri commanded.
  Meri quickly strapped into her Captain’s chair and immediately felt like her stomach was hitting her spine as the ship accelerated into hyperspace and stars streaked into lines and eventually changed into the beautiful violet dimension of hyperspeed.  
  “Damage report”, Meri asked while removing the straps and picking herself up from the chair.
  Lieutenant Pobi stared into space while he listened to casualty reports coming in on his earpiece.
  “Engineering reports a small rupture in the hull but they patched it up before it became potentially dangerous, and there’s no casualties Captain, we got lucky”, he reported.
  Meri bent over his shoulder and silently asked, “Has the doctor said anything else about our prisoner.”
  “Other than the fact that he remains rather calm since you last left, partly because the injury you inflicted caused a concussion.”
  Meri nodded and moved away from the communications station. She fell into her chair and pinched the bridge of her nose while she comprehended what to do about him.  Either believe he’s her brother or kill him for being an impersonator, or both.
  “All right there, Captain”, thoughtfully asked Ralon.  
  Meri smiled and patted his shoulder softly, “I’ll be all right Ralon, I just have a little headache.”
  “Why don’t you go to your quarters and lie down, I’ll handle things up here”, he offered.
  “Thanks, I think I will”, she stifled a sob as she got up from her chair and walked to the door.
  As she started out she could feel everyone’s eyes on her.  They were obviously unaware of what she had learned while in the Medical Bay.  She walked out the door and down the corridor to the elevator.  She walked in the elevator and down to the Crew Quarters and continued down another corridor and got to her quarters.  She walked in closed the door and immediately starting sobbing uncontrollably.  Her body shook violently as she tried to hold back the sobs but she failed miserably.  She lied down on the bed and held the pillow for comfort.  The tears were causing her pillow to become soaked and she continued to weep until she heard her door open.  She looked up from her pillow and saw Ralon walk in and close the door.  He came and sat down with her on the bed and let her cry on his shoulder.  
  “What am I supposed to do about him”, she cried, “I lost him and he comes back like that.”
  “You may have lost him Meri, but do you think your mother would have wanted you to be reunited like this, and you giving him a concussion with your blaster”, he comforted her.
  He lifted her head up from his shoulders but didn’t let go of her arms as he told her, “I care about you Meri, and I won’t let him get to you.  I promise.”
  He let go of her and smiled then slowly to the door.
  Before he opened the door he looked to her and said, “I’ll always be here for you Meri, and nothing will ever change that.”
  As he walked out, the door closed and Meri’s quarters were once again plunged into near-darkness.