Briskly walking down the hallway, Laceeya steered herself to the bridge. After a couple days of waiting, she’d just received word that the first group of reinforcements had arrived. The doors hissed open, and she stepped in, navigating between the consoles to the front. Beyond the viewport, the outlines of five small VT-49 Decimators could be discerned, floating in space having recently departed hyperspace.

  The 38 meter long ships possessed a center cockpit with a viewport that had a somewhat similar aesthetic to those found on TIEs but at a larger scale. It was flanked by a long blade-like wing on either side that reached out slightly ahead of the cockpit. Mounted centrally on the dorsal and ventral sides were a pair of potent quad laser cannon turrets, with wide firing arcs.

  It still took Laceeya a moment to recognize that those ships were a part of her task force now. She glanced out the side viewport where the Shadow’s Bane stood. It was especially difficult to envision that the powerful Victory I-Class Star Destroyer was under her command now as well. Ten years ago, when she was still in the academy, she never would’ve dreamed she’d have a 900 meter long Star Destroyer under her command. It was a great honor, and she felt proud of having accomplished such a feat at her age. The feeling of accomplishment, however, did not block out the fears and doubts that always lurked in the back of her mind.

  A few other far-off shapes catching her attention, Laceeya narrowed her glowing red eyes, peering closer at the distant silhouettes of the other ships. Along with the warships that had come to join Laceeya’s task force, there were a few additional repair barges and supply ships that had been sent to assist in repairing the battle-damaged vessels.

  “Rikal,” Laceeya called. “Open a channel with the new arrivals, I’d like to speak to the commanders.”

  “Yes ma’am.” Rikal acknowledged, her fingers moving across her control board.

  Running her fingers over the side seam of her uniform trousers, Laceeya bit her lower lip in thought. She was a little anxious about introducing herself to the commanders of the ships. Meeting new people in a situation like this was always a bit stressful, and Laceeya privately worried that she would somehow disappoint them, or something similar. It was a silly thing for an officer of her rank to worry about, she thought. But as always, she did her best to keep her worries to herself, and present the calm and confident Commodore that she felt she should be.

  Laceeya reassured herself that the commanders of the other ships in her task force all found her to be an excellent commander, and that they respected and trusted her. That’s what they said at least, but Laceeya trusted them fully, and all and their actions and attitude had only ever supported that claim.

  So she tried to tell herself that the new officers who would be under her leadership would feel the same way, and that she had nothing to worry about. She just wanted them to trust her and to feel confident following her into battle. She wanted them to know that she’d fight for them, and do everything she could to keep them alive.

  Rikal was speaking into the comm, relaying Laceeya’s request to speak with the commanders of the ships. After a moment she looked up, getting Laceeya’s attention. “I have them on the comm ma’am.”

  “Thanks Rikal.” Laceeya responded, stepping over to the station where she could speak into the comm. “This is Commodore Laceeya. Welcome to Nyar Three, it’s an honor to have you here, and an even greater privilege to have you as part of my task force.” She continued with introductions, talking briefly with the commanders of each ship.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you, Commodore,” Lieutenant Commander Thyonn, commander of the VT-49 Decimator Nightstalker was saying. “I’m glad to be a part of your task force, ma’am.”

  “Thank you, Lieutenant Commander,” Laceeya replied. “Where were you stationed before?”

  “The Nightstalker and I were on patrol duty, based out of the base at Jonaku,” Thyonn explained. Jonaku was much nearer to what those in the Chaos knew as Lesser Space. Shyka and others had told her that those in Lesser Space thought of it as the main part of the galaxy, and the Chaos to them was an unexplored area called the Unknown Regions. Perspective was an interesting thing, she thought.

  “Did you encounter the Grysks there?” Laceeya asked.

  “Not directly ma’am, no,” Thyonn said. “Mainly we were hunting some large pirate gangs in the region. Though we have had a number of skirmishes with groups that could be client species of theirs.”

  “Well you’ll certainly get to see plenty of them out here,” Laceeya murmured. She gave an overview of the situation, detailing the recent Grysk attack and their alliance with the Kwenast.

  Commander Cyonne, commander of another one of the VT-49s, the Sunbeam, spoke up next. “Commodore, I have a…gift for you, Admiral Parck had me bring it to you, but it’s from Grand Admiral Thrawn.”

  “I see,” Laceeya narrowed her eyes in thought. What could Parck and Thrawn have sent? “Dock alongside the Ethereal, and I’ll come down and meet you.”

  “Understood, Commodore.” Cyonne acknowledged.

  Minutes later, Laceeya was walking down a corridor towards the portside docking ring, joined by Shyka and a group of stormtroopers. The proper security and clearance codes had been given, but she still liked to be cautious.

  The hatch opened, revealing Cyonne and a few others. A crew technician wearing a light grey jumpsuit stood next to him, holding a strange item in his arms. It looked like…some small animal, nestled against a sort of tubing.

  “Commander,” Laceeya greeted. “What is that?”

  “Commodore Laceeya,” Cyonne said, him and the others snapping to attention. “It’s an incredible honor to meet you in person, ma’am,” He looked over at the animal the crew tech was holding. “That, is an ysalamiri.” Laceeya peered at the little creature. It was lizard-like, about half a meter long, with rust colored skin, small ears sticking up, and four dark eyes that were currently half open. “Admiral Parck explained to me that they naturally repel the Force, essentially creating a bubble that the Force cannot have any effect on.”

  “I see,” Laceeya said slowly, frowning slightly. She wasn’t particularly familiar with the Force, it was a concept from Lesser Space. Chiss sky-walkers, the navigators that guided their ships through the maze of the Chaos, possessed an ability known among the Chiss as Third Sight. But that ability only allowed them to see possible danger seconds in advance, allowing them to steer around obstacles and hazards while in hyperspace.

  There were navigators from other species in the Chaos with similar abilities, but Laceeya had never encountered anything like what those imbued with the power of the mystical “Force” that she’d heard about were said to be able to do.

  “Admiral Parck said that Grand Admiral Thrawn wanted all capital ships and bases to have ysalamiri on hand,” Cyonne continued. “We have more as well, ma’am. They’re sessile creatures and don’t move, and their claws actually grow into and take in nutrients from the trees they live on. This nutrient tube has the same effect.” He gestured to the frame the creature sat on. “I was told that a single ysalamiri has a range of around a couple meters, and multiple seem to reinforce each other to expand that.”

  “Interesting,” Laceeya murmured. “Very interesting.”

  “He’s such a cute little guy,” Shyka said, crouching down in front of the ysalamiri for a closer look. “Is it okay to touch him, sir?” She asked Cyonne.

  “Yes…I suppose so.” Cyonne replied, sounding somewhat perplexed.

  Shyka reached out and gently pet the little creature’s back. The small animal didn’t seem to take notice of the attention she was devoting to it.

  “I’ll send some crew techs to bring the rest of them over.” Laceeya said.

  “Yes ma’am.” Cyonne acknowledged. “Again ma’am, it’s an honor to serve under you.”

  “Thank you, Commander, Laceeya replied, smiling and inclining her head in thanks. “I appreciate that. I’m glad to have you with us.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  Laceeya ordered a few crew to assist with transportation of the ysalamiri from Sunbeam to the Ethereal. Shyka was still staring at the little animal as if mesmerized by it, petting its back softly as she carried it frame in her arms, while her and Laceeya strolled down the hallway.

  “Who would’ve thought such a cute little thing could defeat the all powerful and mighty Force?” Shyka said dryly. “I don’t know much about the force, but I grew up hearing all sorts of scary stories about the Jedi,” She shrugged. “Of course a lot of that was probably propaganda from the Empire…But the idea of Forceg-users has always freaked me out…I’ve heard they can influence your mind, or make you forget things, and sense your feelings or see the future and know what someone is going to do. I don’t want anyone in my mind. Not to mention that they can supposedly move objects without touching them,” She pursed her lips, shrugging again. “I don’t know. I’d also heard from a few people who lived during their time that the Jedi were protectors of the galaxy, fighting for peace. It’s not like most people ever ran into them even when they were around. So I’m not entirely sure what’s true or what isn’t. Still…anyone being able to mess with my mind is scary.”

  Laceeya nodded. “It does sound pretty creepy. I can’t speak on it really, I hadn’t heard about these Jedi until I joined the Hand. There's navigators in the Chaos that have the ability to guide ships through hyperspace, far faster than a jump by jump method or even a navicomputer. As you know, navicomputers don’t really exist out here, plus with the nature of the Chaos they’re not as effective or useful due to the shifting hyperlanes.” She chewed her lip thoughtfully. “Of course, those navigators don’t have any of those other abilities, they’re only able to see dangers in hyperspace slightly before they happen,” She paused for a second. “Either way, it’s good peace of mind to know that if we’re ever attacked by one of these Force-users or whatever, we have something to help protect us from their powers.”

  “It‘s definitely reassuring. But I hope we never encounter one of them in the first place,” Bren agreed, shivering. “I do remember hearing that apparently there’s a Jedi in the New Republic,” She mentioned. “But we don’t exactly get the holonews broadcast out here, so I don’t know what goes on out there anymore, and for all I know it might not be true.”

  Laceeya shrugged slightly. “I’d think it’s probably true,” She said thoughtfully. “There must be a reason Thrawn is collecting them, maybe he expects to face this Jedi,” She squeezed her lips together. “Then again, Thrawn likes to be prepared for everything, so it could just be a preemptive measure.”

  “I’d be happy to have them around even if they didn’t block the Force or whatever,” Shyka said. “I’ve been wanting a pet.”

  Laceeya rolled her eyes, smiling. “Looks like your dream has come true then.” She said.

  “Where are we going to put them?” Shyka asked.

  Laceeya pursed her lips, looking at the little creature with her head cocked slightly to the side. “I guess around the ship,” She said. “If we ever ran into one of those force-users, it’d be good to be ready.”

  “Works for me,” Shyka replied cheerfully. “I’ll be happy to have the little guys around.” She peered at the ysalimiri in her arms. “We can put this one behind your chair on the bridge. That way you’ll be protected, and I get to have my day brightened whenever I see the little guy. Of course my day is already brightened when I look over at you.”

  Laceeya smiled over at her. “I guess we can do that.” She agreed.

  The techs retrieved the other ysalimiri from the Sunbeam, bringing them over to one of the storage units in the Ethereal. Laceeya observed as she had a number of the little creatures brought up to the bridge, mounting the frames they sat on around the area.

  She nodded internally in satisfaction. Laceeya didn’t know much about the “Force”, but Bren was right. It did sound pretty creepy, and it was certainly a reassuring peace of mind to have the ability to counter it, even if they never ended up needing to.

  Laceeya pursed her lips. Ysalamiri or not, she still hoped they never had a run-in with an enemy Force-user.

  The repair barges that were nestled around the Ethereal were hard at work completing repairs, fixing the many wounds that had been incurred. Resting her chin on her hand, Laceeya sat in her command chair on the bridge, overlooking the work and watching as bit by bit, fresh life was being breathed into her ship.

  She just wished it could be fixed up faster. Sitting around waiting for repairs to be completed and reinforcements to arrive, while the Grysks remained active, made her anxious. They didn’t have the time to bring it up to a completely perfect state of repair, but the techs could have everything functional and the major hull damage fixed in less time.

  She grimaced to herself. The Ethereal had a hard life. This was the second time in the past month that the Class-546B had sustained significant damage, needing time in dry dock to be fixed up.

  Once the Ethereal was restored and Vice Admiral Ilcunor and his fleet arrived, Laceeya and her task force planned to depart from Nyar Three to search for and hopefully discover more information on the scope of Grysk activities in the nearby western area. She stared absently into space, lost in thought over the worrying extent of Grysk activity in this region of the Chaos.

  There was so much space in the vast reaches of the Chaos, that it was impossible to patrol it all. But if the Grysks had moved into the Kwenast system, and had attempted to take over Nyar Three, it stood to reason that they’d also expanded their presence to some of the other populated systems in the nearby region to the west.

  Suddenly, the sensor officer’s voice cut into the ambience of the bridge, pulling Laceeya from her musings. “Commodore!” He exclaimed. Ensign Frenara was off duty at the moment, with one of the secondary sensor officers currently filling his role. “Ship dropped out of hyperspace, looks like a small transport of some kind ma’am, maybe a light freighter.”

  Her attention fully on the arrival of the mystery ship, Laceeya quickly stood up from her command chair and stepped over behind the sensor station. “It doesn’t match any design I’ve ever seen,” She said, her lips set in a thin line as she peered at the display screen.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  She was just about to ask Rikal to establish communications with the ship, but Rikal spoke before she got the chance. “They’re hailing us Commodore,” She reported, looking up at Laceeya. “Should I respond?”

  “Yes, go ahead and get them on the comm,” Laceeya affirmed with a nod. “I’m curious what they’re doing here.” The speck of the approaching ship was becoming visible, as it cruised toward the direction of the planet. Laceeya moved over to the comm station. “Shyka, stand by with weapons just in case.”

  “Yes ma’am, I’m on it.” Shyka confirmed immediately.

  “And Captain,” She added, getting Harax’s attention. “Have the repair barges ready to break away in case we need to fight.” Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, but she liked to be prepared for any possibility.

  “Understood, Commodore.”

  “Channel is open…now, ma’am,” Rikal confirmed. “You have the comm.”

  Nodding her thanks to Rikal, Laceeya spoke into the microphone. “This is Commodore Laceeya of the Empire of the Hand ship Ethereal.” She said, switching to the trade language of Minnisiat, which was commonly used in the region.

  “Greetings, Commodore,” A hoarse but liquidy voice in Minnisiat responded. “I am Zan’pararr of the Kwenast Dynasty. I have heard your people stand against those who call themselves the Grysks.”

  In front of Laceeya, Rikal glanced up at her, looking surprised to hear that it was the Kwenast. “Yes, that’s true,” Laceeya answered slowly. “From what I’ve seen, the Kwenast are allied with the Grysks. In fact, we were attacked by your people and the Grysks in your system.”

  “So I have heard,” Zan’pararr confirmed gravely. “Our leaders and military are firmly under Grysk control. No one dares oppose them. Yet I do not wish to see my people as slaves to carry out the will of the Grysks.”

  Laceeya pursed her lips in thought. Could this be a trap, or a scheme of some sort crafted by the Grysks? Captain Harax had walked over, listening intently with a frown creasing his forehead. He glanced over at Laceeya, meeting her eyes. She shrugged in return.

  “What is it you want from us?” Laceeya asked carefully.

  “I come to you bringing information. I am formerly a part of my people’s military,” Zan’pararr said. “I know more than most about those who call themselves the Grysks. After coming to our system and gaining control of my people, they built an orbital station around our world.”

  Laceeya’s interest was piqued. Ever since seeing it, she’d been pondering over the purpose of the new space station in the Kwenast system. “Go ahead.”

  “The Grysks have my people working heavily in the mines. They bring materials to their orbital station,” Zan’pararr told. “Our people are not allowed to see the work they do there.”

  “Which materials are brought up from the mines?” Laceeya questioned. If Zan’pararr was telling the truth, information about the Grysks operations could be incredibly valuable.

  He listed off a few ore types found in the mines, none of which were standing out to Laceeya, until he said the final material. “Rathtiam is what our people call it. The Grysks have said the Rathtium is the top priority.” Laceeya and Harax glanced at each other, and he gave her a slight shake of his head. Neither of them had heard of it.

  “What’s this material used for?” Laceeya asked carefully.

  “Our people have found little use for it,” Zan’pararr explained. “It is a type of crystalline ore. Very difficult to mine, and we do not use it in our ships.”

  Laceeya pursed her lips in thought. She knew of all the other ores and minerals that had been listed, and they were all used in a number of things, such as the construction of ships. But if the Grysks had ordered the Kwenast to mine the Rathtium specifically, it must be something vital to them. Out in the Chaos, it was common for different species to have their own names for various ores and minerals, but Laceeya was familiar with all the others that Zan’pararr had mentioned.

  What could Rathtium be that the Grysks were after it specifically, when the Kwenast had found no use for it? Generally any sort of useful or valuable resources, such as certain materials used for warship hulls, would be useful to most species. It must be a rare commodity that was in unique abundance on the Kwenast homeworld, Laceeya thought, hence the Grysks’ interest in it and the station built to process it.

  “Do they usually have their own ships guarding the station?”

  “They keep two hidden, at another planet in our system,” Zan’pararr said. “One with size like your own. Another that is four of your ship in length. A terrifying warship.” Likely the frigate and destroyer they had encountered, Laceeya mused. “We have seen other warships of theirs, yet those do not stay. In addition, the station itself is greatly armed and defended. After your ship departed, the large warship returned to stand guard around our planet. Just before I made my escape, two additional vessels arrived, one twice the length of your ship, and another around the same size.” He paused for a second. “Few of our civilian vessels have hyperdrives, yet with my security clearances I managed to steal a ship that did and escape.”

  ”I see,” Laceeya said, chewing her lip as she mulled everything over. The fact that the Grysks had brought in additional reinforcements lent credence to the idea that it was a crucial system to them. “Thank you for bringing us this information.”

  “I wish the Grysks to be gone,” Zan’pararr murmured. “I wish my people to be free. I bring this information in the hope that it will help you to destroy the Grysks and free our world.”

  ”We’ll do our best,” Laceeya said, pausing for a moment. “You understand we’ll likely have to fight and destroy Kwenast ships, since your people are working for the Grysks.”

  The comm was silent a moment before Zan’pararr spoke. “I do,” He said quietly. “Perhaps some of my people will think me a traitor. But it is the price we pay for freedom.”

  Laceeya wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Thank you again,” She said. ”We’ll do what we can to drive the Grysks from your world, but it won’t happen overnight. We’ll need more intel and warships to assist us,” She chewed the inside of her cheek. “Do you have the coordinates of these mines?”

  “I understand,” Zan’parrar’s voice responded gravely. “And I do, I will transmit them to you. Additionally, I ask that I may remain here temporarily for safety.”

  “You’ll have to agree to a search of yourselves and your vessel,” Laceeya explained. “If everything checks out then that’s fine.”

  “Thank you, Commodore Laceeya.” He said.

  With a click, the comm shut off, leaving the bridge in silence.

  “Well,” Shyka finally spoke, breaking the quiet. “Wasn't expecting that today.”

  “That’s for sure,” Laceeya agreed, staring off into space. She flipped through possibilities of the crystal’s identity in her mind. It was hard to pin down.

  “Could it be Kyber crystal, Commodore?” Harax asked. “It’s been used before to build devastating weapons.”

  “Anything’s possible,” Laceeya murmured, remembering the horrible Death Stars she’d heard the Empire had built in the past. Grand Admiral Thrawn had managed to get a hold of plans, providing specifications of the immense battle stations, ensuring those in the Hand would be well versed if they encountered a similar threat in the Chaos. Such terrible weapons, even on a smaller scale, in the hands of the Grysks would be terrifying and devastating. But from what she’d heard, Kyber was incredibly rare, and a massive quantity would be needed to build such a weapon.

  “Maybe it’s an important component in their gravity well generators?” Shyka suggested, cocking her head to the side. “That could explain why it’s so important.”

  “There’s just no way of knowing for sure without more intel,” Laceeya said with a sigh. “That said, Thrawn has obtained Grysk gravity well generators in the past, and I don’t think there was anything like that used in them.” She shrugged. “I’ll look over the details we have on them, but we’ll probably have to go figure it out on our own at some point.”

  “The Grysks certainly won’t be polite enough to hand the details over.” Shyka muttered sourly.

  “Agreed,” Laceeya said with a small frown. Shyka was right about that. If there was one thing the Grysks valued most, it was secrecy. The lengths they went to to guarantee their technology didn’t fall into enemy hands was considerable to say the least.

  Laceeya felt a chill run down her spine. The Ethereal suddenly didn’t feel as safe as it did a few minutes ago. The news delivered by Zan’parrar left a foreboding impression on her.

  Laceeya tugged down on her tunic to smooth out a crease. Perhaps she was worrying over nothing, and the crystal was simply something benign whose use would pose no threat. Laceeya wished that was the case, but her gut feeling said otherwise.

  She clenched her jaw. One way or another, she had a feeling they’d find out soon enough.

  A couple uneventful days passed, filled with the monotony of overseeing repair work. Finally, Vice Admiral Ilcunor’s fleet arrived at last, and Laceeya had come up to the bridge to greet him. The impressive array of warships loomed in space, centered around Ilcunor’s flagship, the powerful Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer, Voidhunter. The 1600 meter long warship dwarfed all of the other ships at Nyar Three, its triangular grey hull almost twice the length of the 900 meter Victory-Class, and magnitudes of greater mass.

  The Voidhunter carried an immense suite of weaponry, from the eight huge octuple barbette turbolaser batteries that had been upgraded from an Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer, and the 60 heavy turbolaser batteries and 60 ion cannons scattered around the ship, to the 40 point defense laser cannons. Like many of the Empire of the Hand’s warships, the Voidhunter had undergone substantial modifications in order to cut down on crew requirements without affecting performance. The ISD was a powerful tool of war, and its firepower would be welcome in the fight against the Grysks.

  To many in Lesser Space, an Imperial-Cass Star Destroyer represented terror and fear. But here, as a part of the Empire of the Hand, it was a reassuring sight to see, a beacon of light against the shadows of evil in the Chaos.

  “Ma’am, I have Vice Admiral Ilcunor on the comm,” Rikal called out.

  “Thank you, put him through,” Laceeya said, receiving a quick nod from Rikal, and wetting her lips before speaking into the microphone. “Vice Admiral? This is Commodore Laceeya.” She announced.

  “Commodore,” Ilcunor’s commanding voice boomed over the speaker. “I’m glad to find you and your task force safe.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Laceeya said. “It’s a relief to see you, as well. I didn’t expect the Grysks to return before you got here, but there was always a chance.”

  ”Indeed. I expect you plan to conduct additional reconnaissance while my fleet guards the Nyar system?” Ilcunor asked.

  “Yes sir,” Laceeya replied, nodding to herself. “I thought it would be a good idea to scout a few of the other nearby inhabited systems in the region to look for Grysk activity. They seem to be in the process of beginning a major offensive, sir.”

  “It does appear that way,” Ilcunor sighed. “Very well. I received a message regarding your trip to the Kwenast system, and of the trouble you encountered there.”

  “Yes sir,” Laceeya repeated. She went into detail explaining the situation, relaying the recent information she’d received from Zan’parrar. “It sounds like the Grysks have some important operation going there, sir. I’d like to learn more about it, but I’m worried that they’ll have brought in additional reinforcements after our recent incursion.“

  The Vice Admiral was silent for a moment, mulling over the details. “Yes, you mentioned this Zan’parrar said a cruiser and light cruiser were brought in. And if it does end up being as imperative as you say, expect they will be pulling more ships to defend the planet,” He finally agreed. “If that’s the case, it would prove too risky to send your task force there. A gravity well projector in the area would prevent your ability to perform a quick escape. I don’t think it would be wise for any of my fleet to accompany you, as the base at Nyar Three is far too important to leave with minimal defenses given the probability of another Grysk attack.” He paused again. “The Grysks wouldn’t launch an attack on our base for no reason. They want the Nyar system under their control, and they’ll certainly return at some stage.”

  Laceeya pressed her lips together in frustration. She wasn’t frustrated with Ilcunor, rather the situation as a whole. She felt like they were playing into Grysk hands by not further investigating the Kwenast system. But she knew it could be devastating to arrive in the system only to find an overwhelming Grysk fleet waiting for them, with a gravity well generator keeping them trapped.

  And Ilcunor was right, the base at Nyar Three was a key facility. The resources for repairing warships was a boon, as was the Clawcraft production that occurred within its walls.

  “Yes sir, I understand that and agree,” Laceeya said. “But I really do think it’s imperative that we gain more information about what’s going on there.”

  Ilcunor sighed heavily. “Do you have something in mind, Commodore?” He asked.

  “Yes sir, I believe it’s important that we gather additional intel and find out what this facility is, and destroy it, if necessary,” She said. “Clearly it’s something of extreme importance to warrant parking a destroyer in the system, along with a gravity well generator, sir.”

  “The attack will have to wait,” Ilcunor said, his tone making it clear that the topic was over for now. “You mentioned you were planning to scout some of the nearby inhabited systems?”

  “That’s correct sir,” Laceeya replied, pursing her lips. She needed evidence that what was going on at Kwenast was as critical as she suspected. Perhaps that wouldn’t be found elsewhere, but it was paramount to attempt to discover what else the Grysks were up to.

  “Good,” Ilcunor said. “Carry out that mission once your task force is prepared.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Laceeya said, signing off. And who knew? The Chaos was full of surprises, and maybe one of the other systems held the answers she chased.

  A starfighter was an incredible thing, less a ship and more of an extension of the pilot, a thin membrane of armor. A glancing hit from a piece of shrapnel or a stray laser bolt could pierce your hull and put a sudden and violent end to your existence. Life expectancy was comparatively far shorter for a starfighter pilot than most.

  Safiram knew this all too well after years of experience as a starfighter pilot. He’d seen far too many pilots die, members of his own squadron and others. He’d put an end to countless enemy pilots himself.

  The knowledge of the innate risks and likelihood of death as a fighter pilot in the Hand, constantly engaging with the threats of the Chaos, floated through his mind as he walked down the corridor.

  A group of pilots had been transferred to the Ethereal’s squadron, filling in for the losses taken in the recent battles. Those losses were still far too fresh in his mind and heart. He couldn’t help but wonder which of the new members of the squadron would be next to die, and how long they would live. It felt like a cruel inevitability.

  The loss of his squad mates, especially Joak, had cut deep. A part of him didn’t want to welcome the new pilots into the squad. To do so felt as if it would be sealing their fates, dooming them to the same death faced by those before them.

  His hatred for the Grysks had grown significantly due to the death of friends. His lip twisted slightly. He wanted to eradicate their presence from the face of the galaxy, to make it so they couldn’t cause the same pain he was experiencing to others.

  Entering the hangar, Safiram clasped his hands at the small of his back, walking over to the group of five black-clad pilots. His eyes flicked around the hangar, noting their ships that hung from the rack system. A pair of modified TIE Interceptors, and three Nsiss-Class Clawcraft. He nodded to himself. Both were excellent fighters, and he assumed they were outfitted with the necessary equipment to fit into his elite squadron.

  Upon his approach, the cluster of pilots arranged themselves in a line, straightening to attention. His glowing red eyes fell on each of them, one at a time. They each wore the black TIE pilots flight suit, with red stripes running down the sleeves, that was standard for the Empire of the Hand. All five held a black TIE pilot helmet tucked under their arm.

  “I’m Major Safiram,” He announced, nodding to the group in greeting. “Welcome to the Ethereal. I’m glad to have each one of you here, as a part of my squadron.” He gave them a friendly smile. “You’ve all shown exceptional piloting skills, hence your transfer to our elite unit. What’s your names?” He asked.

  Safiram listened as each pilot introduced themselves. The small part inside of him almost didn’t want to learn their names, to get to know them. It would only hurt more when they died if they were friends instead of strangers. Safiram blocked out the grim thoughts. These were his people now. They deserved the same respect as the members of his squadron that he’d known for years.

  “I’m thankful to have you all as a part of the squad.” Safiram said after introductions were complete.

  “Thank you, sir,” Flight Officer Werrellis, a young human man, said. “I’ve heard a lot about Commodore Laceeya and the Ethereal, sir.”

  A faint smile tugged at the corner of Safiram’s mouth. “Yes, she’s certainly made quite a name for herself in a short amount of time.”

  “Happy to be here sir, it’s an honor to serve under you both.” Flight Officer Yocressi, a Chiss woman, put in.

  “Don’t worry about calling me sir in every sentence,” Safiram said with a smile. “We’re pretty relaxed about things around here.”

  “Yes s-“ Yocressi broke off. Safiram suppressed a grin.

  He turned, gesturing for the others to follow. “Come with me and I’ll introduce you to the rest of the squad.” Safiram told them. The new pilots all seemed like people he’d be happy to have in his squadron. A few of them seemed a bit stiff, but he supposed that was to be expected when meeting a new commanding officer. They’d acclimate to the more lax atmosphere of the Ethereal soon enough.

  These pilots were his responsibility now. The voice in the back of his head again told him to shut himself off from them, to treat them merely as subordinates, not friends like the rest of the squad that he knew well and trusted. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so painful in the occurrence of one of their deaths.

  Safiram sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the five men and women behind him. They all deserved the same respect, the same camaraderie that was given to his close friends in his squadron.

  His mind again wandered to the loss of Joak. It was a deep wound inside him, a blow that felt as if it would never fully heal. It was compounded by the deaths of three other members of his fighter group in recent battles. They were still his friends, though his bond with Joak had been something special.

  Anger swelled inside Safiram at the thought of his friends’ deaths as he strode through the hangar doors, into the attached corridor. Hatred towards the Grysks, who’d caused so much pain to both him and countless others across the Chaos.

  Setting his jaw, Safiram tucked his hate away, ready to unleash it upon the Grysks in their next battle.

  The pilots trailed behind him in a single file line. Faces of the dead, memories of when he first met each of them continued flashing through Safiram’s mind. He’d do all he could to keep the new pilots’ fates from matching those that preceded their places in the squadron.