And owning the home where the offenses took place would certainly count as might being involved.”
“Leave my parents alone!”
“I’d like to, Norrin. But if an investigation is ordered, then I have to step back and let the hounds chase whatever scents they find. But there is a way out, for you and them.”
Norrin paused again. “And?”
Vere smiled. You could instead take advantage of a few opportunities in the Imperial Navy. The Empire is good at recognizing assets. And, if you are among my men, I could ensure you are shielded from certain consequences.”
Norrin turned away, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“But Norrin, I’d rather focus on the positives. What if, indeed, we built a new galaxy? One where it didn’t matter how popular you were, or how good you were at slingball or gravball? Not how much money your father made, or what he did during the war? What if your only way to the top was your performance. Wouldn’t you like, perhaps love that? A place where those who achieved great things moved to the top, instead of those who won on the roll of life’s chance cube?”
Norrin made no answer. He was still standing with his hands in his pockets
Vere frowned, and looked away from Norrin into the distance. “There have been some rather unfortunate incidents of troopers descending onto smaller settlements like this. Places built around an industry or two, like a research station or an academy for wealthy types and their children. Homes destroyed, whole towns or even small cities torn asunder. Not that this would upset you, of course.”
“You’d be surprised about what might upset me, Captain Vere,” Norrin said. “What button did you say you needed to push again, if you wanted to rain fire down on my home?”
Vere smiled. “Not that I need to, of course. It’s on my datapad, Norrin.”
“Are you sure, Captain Vere?”
Vere, his smile fading only a little, pulled out his small datapad from his pocket. His eyes widened when he saw the screen.
“Your datapad is blank, Captain Vere, and I won’t tell you why. Probably the first time that’s happened to you, isn’t it? You left your small blaster at my house, and you don’t have the means to call out for help. I doubt even the lungs of an Imperial officer could carry all the way up to the Predator. Tell me, Captain Vere. What would happen right now, if a terrible accident happened to you? What if you fell down into that chasm?”
Vere smiled. “It might interest you to know that it wouldn’t be the first time someone tried to assassinate me. Imperial officers are not known for the love they inspire among their underlings. I take precautions for situations just like this one.”
Vere reached down towards his boot. “I wouldn’t do that,” Norrin said, his hand sticking out through the bulge in his pocket.
The smile started to fade from Vere’s face. “You’re playing a very dangerous game, Norrin Mek. Do you realize how many laws you’ve broken in the last minute alone?”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I know the law doesn’t matter much these days, even for big people with Star Destroyers. I also know that if you’re playing cards, even a player with a perfect Sabbac hand loses to a blaster pointed at his face.”
“Very good, young Norrin,” Vere said, straightening up. “It appears we are at an impasse. I doubt that even a young person of your intelligence and capability would be able to lay ahold of a blaster, and keep it hidden from your parents. Not one large enough to kill me in one shot. Plus, if I disappeared, there’d be an inquiry, a search, you’d be found out and you and the admittedly small number of people in this world dear to you would all die quite horribly.”
“You were going to do that to me anyway, Captain, unless I became your puppet on a string for the rest of my life. If you die here, I have a chance of framing someone else for your death, just like I framed that tech for that thing with the city water supply. He thought he could embezzle funds from the city bankers, and when that came to light, believing he could drop hallucinogens in the water was an easy jump for most people, especially the police.”
“You’re not dealing with local police, Mek. The men who were fooled so easily are trained to catch people who break into houses and leave traces of themselves. My people caught you from orbit.”
“I could step up my game.”
“Not in time. And if I disappeared, perhaps this entire region would be scoured by a large-scale weapons barrage as an exercise in routing out a nest of rebels.”
“Back to the physical threats again.”
“Remember what I said to your parents back at the house, Norrin? About fear? I lied. Fear keeps quite a few people in line. You’ll find that out if you join me. But if you kill me, even if you survive you’ll be running for the rest of your very, very short life. In case you haven’t noticed, one of the very few things in this galaxy that is truly efficient is the growing Empire.”
Norrin thought for a moment. “And if I joined you, how do I know you wouldn’t put a blaster hole in my head as soon as we got back to my house?”
“You’re far more useful to me as an ally, Norrin. And in a very short time, you’d see me as the same. You’d join the Imperial academy, as a cadet ensign- a word from me would allow you to go in a week, without having to graduate from this school you hate so much. You’d be trained first through boot camp with the stormtroopers, but then magically recognized as a pilot, one of the elite. And after a period of time in that you’d be transferred to a place where your talents would be far, far better utilized than the dreck they are teaching you here about commerce, accountancy or other similarly pointless pursuits.”
“I’d be a spy?”
“No, far better. A spy puts his life in danger. If indeed all works out well, you’d be the kind of operative who’d be safe in a temperature-conditioned room, tapping away at a datapad, monitoring and occasionally dealing with the enemies of me, the Empire, and yourself. In that order.”
Norrin thought. “And if it doesn’t work out well?”
“Then you’re still in a position of privilege in the Imperial Navy. A pilot. One of the top. Not a grunt trooper who gets sacrificed on the whim of a commander to make a point, not a flunky expected to point and shoot. You’d be a pilot, trained to fly fighters, bombers, perhaps interceptors if you’re especially apt. Based on your latest high score at your hologame- Called to Kill, or whatever it’s name was, I think you’d move up through those ranks quite quickly.”
Norrin looked again at Vere, weighing the older man’s words in his head. His hand moved in his jacket pocket slightly.
Vere’s datapad began to glow again as it powered up and the screen shone its familiar hues of green and blue.
“You’ve impressed me today, young Mek,” he said as he tapped a few points on the screen of the now operational datapad. “If you’ll just put your thumb on the red circle, I can begin to follow your new career with much interest.”
Norrin smiled.
This old fool was going to get blindsided, just like the headmaster had when they delivered and dumped the sacks of fertilizer on his office floor.
Except it was going to take more than that to take down an imperial officer. Still, Norrin knew himself to be a quick study, once he was motivated.
He held out his fist, with the thumb extended.
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...TO BE CONTINUED....