Fireworks exploded in a dazzling display of color and engineering. Animals, spacecraft and other designs lit up the sky in blue and red as the planet of Lianna celebrated the news from the new planetary government. Warlord Zsinj had fallen and the planets independence had been formally recognized by the New Republic. While no official treaties had been signed, it was rumored that several planets from the Tion cluster would unify into a confederation.

As the celebratory parade continued, Jihara could do nothing but look on with disgust. After the death of Palpatine, oversight over the various imperial worlds had fallen to the wayside. So long as the planet continued paying its tithes to Zsinj, the fool could care less about planetary production falling to less than half of what it gave the Empire. When Zsinj fell and his admirals demanded more from the planet, they were met with a small fleet of Tion class Mk-01-star destroyers, which themselves were bastardizations of the imperial class. Caught between the Republic and a resurgent Lianna, the admirals could do nothing but get torn apart.

Jihara had been aboard the original Iron Fist when her fleet came across the ships built by her home world. The fighter bay doors had been sealed long before she could make it to her interceptor and the admiral surrendered the ship. Most of the crew had been handed over to the Republic, but given her heritage the planet made an exception. After she had been interrogated by Republic agents of course.

When it became clear that Jihara would give them nothing she was placed in the custody of a bounty hunter and beaten to within an inch of her life. He had tried everything to force her to give up some type of actionable information but after violating and beating her, he had been forced to surrender his prize to Liannan forces. A brief diplomatic objection concerning her treatment was issued but the Republic claimed it was not responsible for any damage accrued during transportation by contractor.

Now, she watched the proceeds from the governor’s palace with her hand on her chin wondering what came next. By now, Thrawn was certainly dead. Rumors had emerged of a massive war fleet under his command emerging from dark space but nothing had been reported after a few rotations. Jihara estimated that he was either dead or running for his life.

Unbidden, a distant memory began playing itself in her mind. She was leaning against the balcony in a similar fashion when a blonde-haired boy appeared on the railing. He had climbed the 7 or so stories to reach her level and stared in disbelief when their eyes had met.

“Well, aren’t you trouble.” The sound of his voice intermingled with the real voice of the new Consul as he asked “What troubles you.”

A tall man with a sharp mustache and large grey eyes that matched the color of his hair, he had been placed in charge of the planet after her father’s death and had been holding the reins since. The planet celebrated him as a hero, cleverly deceiving Zsinj while building up planetside forces in a glorious revolution, or so the monikers said. A shameless opportunist who would sell his own mother if it meant getting ahead was all Jihara saw.

“Nothing you would understand.” She never even glanced at the man as he walked over to lean on the railing with her, her tone had suggested the conversation was over but Consul Yhorran had other plans.

“I know you have some lingering resentment over the way you were treated while in custody, rest assured my administration is working around the clock for reparations.” His comment was meant to be soothing but judging by her response it was anything but.

“Is there a reason you’re still here?” Now she stared him directly in the eye but it was not the look he was expecting. He could have understood hate, contempt or sadness. Instead, she looked at him as if he had shit smeared on his face.

“Yes, actually” He took a moment to collect his thoughts while looking at the celebrations. A grand parade that had now descended into the general chaos of drunken merriment. “There is something I thought you’d like to know.” He had hoped to spark some interest in the young woman but she continued to gaze over the city while staring at nothing in particular. There was a time when he could tell what was on her mind. When she was a young girl, he had always felt some pity for her. Her mother had been scarry enough, but her father was a nightmare. The man demanded absolute perfection from his family and any mistakes were greeted with a merciless beating. He felt a pang in his chest after he remembered what Jihar had done when he found out his child would be a girl. If he was not currently staring at the child, he could have been convinced that it had died during her father’s rage. “There is a rising warlord. A deserter actually. Commander Ilus.”

Finally, she turned her head and glared into his eyes. “I have never heard of an Ilus.”

Instead of sounding intrigued, Yhorran noted that she sounded exasperated and feeling some pity he decided to drop the pretense and tell her what he knew “Well that’s probably because he is a stormtrooper and he is the one behind the raid on Tatrang, and it was his fleet that arrived on Tatooine. Where he has been all this time no one knows, but rumor has it he has an intact imperial star fleet. Dreadnaught included. Apparently, the Hutt’s contracted him to attack Telos before a vote on joining the Republic. They want the terraforming equipment for something but do not want to deal with the Republics war fleet so they contracted this Ilus, who portrays himself as a military contractor. The Republic has already declared neutrality, given the Mon Cala scandal. My guess is this upstart stormtrooper has never had to deal with planetary guns and his fleet gets ripped apart in the atmosphere, or is severely crippled. Win for everyone if you ask me, last thing we need is another warlord.” Yhorran trailed off to glance over and gauge her reaction only to find her wide green eyes pinning him to the spot.

“Go on” she prompted

“Of course, there is a chance he surprises us all and wins. In which case it wouldn’t be bad to have ties with a rising star. You’re obviously bored here, why not travel to Telos on behalf of Lianna and attempt to bring this Ilus onto our side. Failing that, tell the mercenary that we will pay double whatever the Hutt’s have contracted him for.” Yhorran sighed before adding “Feel free to decline, I just figured you’d rather be up there than stuck planetside.”

“Is this your way of doing a favor for me? Why?” She eyed him with suspicion, unable to understand his motives. Up until this point, she had yet to meet a man who hadn’t wanted something else from her.

“To be Frank, I need all the allies I can get at the moment. Having the planetary hero on my side can be an invaluable tool as I am sure you know.”

“What makes you think this puts me on your side? Nothing is stopping me from going to Telos and meeting Ilus.” She finally looked away and began gazing out at the celebrations once more. “I could not care less about any of it” she whispered mostly to herself.

Stolen story; please report.

“I cannot possibly understand how you are feeling right now.” He turned his gaze out on the celebration before he added “What I do know is that the entire galaxy is headed for another war. With the Empire gone, there is nothing holding the rebel alliance together. But that hardly matters. What does matter, in my opinion, is where Lianna stands at the end of the war. We can be a subject planet, like much of our history or, for the very first time we can take our fate into our own hands and rise as a new galactic power. All that’s left is for the sons and daughters of Lianna to decide, for you to decide.”

“That’s a good speech” Jihara smiled for the first time in what felt like days. While she was frankly disgusted by him, the thought of piloting her interceptor in combat made her heart flutter.

“It’s only good if it has its intended effect.” Yhorran shot back with a soft grin.

Jihara signed before ripping her eyes away from the festivities and looking Yhorran in the eye. For the first time she noticed how old he had gotten. His once black hair was now streaked with gray and his eyes had heavy bags underneath. His signature mustache was far thinner than before and overall, the man looked exhausted. Some might say near death. “It was a good speech then.”

Hours later she sat in the cockpit of a newly refurbished interceptor. It had the same classic look as it did when she was still an imperial with slight changes. The current design was larger in order to accommodate for a hyperdrive and increased missile storage. As she imputed the coordinates for Telos she sank back into her seat and let her mind wander to days long past.

Her first week at the Imperial flight academy she had met her first and only friend. Killian was around her age, with blonde hair and green eyes.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t trouble.” She had been standing in line in the mess hall when he approached her for the first time. The moment their eyes had met, she instantly recognized the boy who climbed to her balcony all those years ago. The boy she pushed off her balcony all those years ago.

“You? Says a lot about Imperial authorities that a miscreant like you hasn’t been shot yet. Why are you here?” She had the same mastered expression she was prone to wearing, a look of grim determination.

Killian chuckled as he replied “I am happy to see you haven’t changed. Tell me, how is it that you manage to still look constipated after all these years?”

She felt the heat rush to her face “Insolence” she hissed “tell me, how is it that you managed to find yourself amongst your betters yet again? It does not matter, the Admiral will know what to do with you.” She turned sharply towards the door and started to walk before he grabbed her wrist.

“Wait. Please, let’s just talk.” After a moment of complete silence, he added “Besides, I think there is a reason you did not report me then. I do not think you will report me now. Despite my insolence.” He lowered his voice as he quickly glanced around to ensure no one was listening. “Look, let’s talk while we eat. Besides, there is something I think you should know.” He released her wrist and motioned toward the line they had just left.

Well, that’s because I thought I just murdered someone, Jihara thought to herself “Fine, perhaps this will be amusing.” She returned to her spot in line despite the protest from her classmates. She heard someone whisper Ice Bitch but decided to ignore the comment. They grabbed their food and took a seat in a less populated area of the hall. “Speak. Quickly, I don’t have all day.”

Killian looked at his conversation partner as his heart began thudding in his chest. Her attitude and general demeanor had not changed a bit. Endless lies ran through his mind, but as he gazed into her eyes he felt, for some strange reason, as if he could trust her. How wrong time would prove this to be. “Look, I will put my life in your hands. As far as I can tell, you are more than likely to report me anyway and even if they don’t find the truth you have connections to get me expelled. So, I will tell you everything.

“Remember when we first met? On the balcony?”

“When you were trespassing in my home? Clearly I remember, tell me how are you still alive?”

“I almost di-” He cut himself short and took a deep breath and as he did, he could swear that she muttered ‘a pity.’ Ignoring this, he continued “Clearly you remember. Well, when I woke up, sorry for that by the way. You know, waking up.” Jihara rolled her eyes as he continued. “When I woke up, I was in a strange room I had never seen before. There was a woman in there, she told me that the hospital rejected me on account of the fact I was an orphan and wouldn’t be able to pay. She took me in and helped me heal. She saved me and in return I started working for her. Nothing big, just small runs here and there. We were selling illegal media.” When Jihara raised an eyebrow and started to stand, he reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Look it’s just movies the Empire banned for one reason or another. No harm in letting folks enjoy a film, right?”

“I highly fucking doubt you just sold illegal media.” Jihara sighed and sat back down and placed her chin in her hand “I don’t see why any of this is relevant.”

“Well, if you’d be patient I’d get there. Anyway, one day when I went out to collect a drop, nothing strange everything went as it always goes. Like usual, before selling, Luka let me watch some of the films.” At this point he took a long pause before taking a deep breathe. “One of the films turned out to be footage, from an imperial probe droid. Don’t ask me how it made its way to us. But it was from Telos. Do you remember the Telosian rebellion a few years back? Well in the recording you can see the massive terraformers’ in the background.” His eyes began to mist as he remembered the horror, he had borne witness that day. “They were killing everyone. The stormtroopers. They went house to house burning and looting. Anyone who ran was shot and those they caught were taken to the outskirts of the town and forced to dig a massive whole. Then one by one Imperial officers executed the civilians in the town and kicked them into the mass grave while chuckling and laughing with one another. They sprayed it with a strange black fluid and set fire to the whole thing. The troopers then went house to house and… they… they were dragging women inside and the bastards were taking turns. When the last stormer left the house someone with a flamethrower would set fire to the thing. The droid was close enough to pick up the screams of the women inside. The droids then panned out and you can see a group of children being loaded onto a transporter, and then the footage goes black.” Tears streamed down his cheeks as he recounted the horrible footage that had come complete with audio. He quickly wiped them away and he looked up at Jihara who had sat with the same bored expression in her eyes as she leaned on her chin.

Jihara sighed at the crestfallen boy and replied “So, in summary, you obtained illegal footage and saw something you were never meant to see? This excuses your behavior because?”

Killian felt the heat rush to his face and a small vein appeared on his forehead “You don’t care about the empire committing war crimes? Massacring civilians?” His voice had been louder than he had meant which caused a few stares from the surrounding tables. Jihara firmly stomped on his foot under the table.

She leaned forward and whispered so only he could hear. “Unless you want to get us both expelled, shut. Up.” She leaned back and folded her arms “Of course I care, how do I know you aren’t lying.” Naturally, she could care less about the fate of rebel scum, but if she provided proof that this smuggler was engaged in illegal activity it would be a massive boon to her nascent career. She planned on rising high in the admiralty, preferably independent of her father’s influence.

“We are confined here, if you can get us out, I can show you.”

While Jihara had doubts over the footage’s authenticity, she let a small smile play on her lips as she fantasized about infiltrating their smuggling ring, out loud she said “I might be able to get us out, but if this turns out to be nothing, I will make sure you end up dead this time.” What she didn’t say was that she fully planned on killing him either way.

“I promise you won’t be disappointed.” Killian replied.

No. I won’t, Jihara thought to herself.