Noventa - A Star Wars Story

"That is true," she nodded in agreement. It didn't really matter to her if it was sabotage or some lucky shot... exhaust ports existed for a reason, damnit! Was the Death Star supposed to just collapse on itself from all the thermal heat that had nowhere to go?

Not that she would have minded that, of course. It probably would've done the Galaxy a big favor.

"Guess you could say the tables have turned now? That the Empire is now the underdogs... though I have no intention of letting them get their bearings if I can stop it. The Republic doesn't mean anything to me, old or new, but I'll be damned if I let those bastards get away with the things they've done."

"Interesting, I guess each side wants to put their own spin on it. The Rebellion wants everyone to think it was a noble victory, underdog in the face of the all powerful Empire, while the Empire wants to paint the Rebellion as sneaky saboteurs."

Temra shrugs. "Doesn't change the end result though, just the narrative surrounding it."

She gave a shrug. "I was like... 12 or 13 when the first Death Star was taken out and I didn't hear about it until later. The Imps were mostly talking about it like it was some sabotage or something from what I overheard."

"You never heard the story about how that Imperial space station got blown up then? A single proton torpedo in the exhaust port?" Temra had thought his comment was witty, but maybe he didn't tell it right. His jokes had a habit of landing flat.

It seemed unlikely to her, from the intel she had, but the future was unpredictable.

Following his gaze up, she chuckled. "Of course it has a thermal exhaust port. Where else would the thermal exhaust go?"

"I hope not. I guess it depends on their intentions here. What they have at present is probably enough for a display of force. As long as they're not looking to establish a permanent base here."

Following Fey's gaze upward, he sighs wistfully. "Don't suppose that has an unguarded thermal exhaust port?"

"In such a short amount of time?" Fey raised an eyebrow. It seemed unlikely based on the investigations leading up to the coup. "I wouldn't worry too much about that... yet, at least. I don't think they have quite the forces needed to go and root out potentail problems."

While she couldn't see the Imperial ship in orbit right now, she looked up to where she thought it was. "This is a skeleton crew, and they're probably rushing to accumulate as much resources as possible. Maybe they'll get backup though...?"

"Mister Arcton has the right of it. Dr Suhr is an ex-resistance member, benevolent, kind and not one to take this occupation lying down. Unfortunately, if these Imperials have done their research, they may already be aware if these...less than desirable traits."

"Ah, Doc, right?" she connected the dots a bit more, having only met the doctor briefly. "Can't say I know her, but monsieur Cal Arcton speaks well of her."

"Yes, Dr Suhr has been most generous in letting all her staff reside on premises. It also is most pragmatic in case of late night arrivals. While the clinic does have standard hours of practice, I've never seen her turn away a needy patient."

Fey nodded. "Working alone isn't always the best way."

Accepting his contact info, Temra likewise was given her own contact info as well as the name of the ship at the starport that she was living in. "If I'm not around, you could probably ask for Kai, Lena, or Jelna. We usually keep track of eachother, especially in situations like these. So you live at the medical center then, in case I need to reach you?"

Temra shrugs non-committedly.

"I'm not even sure there's anything I can do to help," he admits with a wry grin. "But I shall keep your very generous offer in mind. I don't imagine the Imperials will be letting many people off planet without intense scrutiny for a little while, so we may all be stuck here for the foreseeable future. We may as well try and help each other out." He adds as he passes over his comm details and frequency in case Fey needs to contact him.

Her lips pressed together as she thought about what he said. "... Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I know only that I have found another few souls who are concerned by it. I understand that if there are beacons of good in this universe there will also be pits of darkness and evil, but nonetheless its existence does not sit well with myself or these others. I think that we will try to investigate this phenomenon soon, and hopefully prevent it getting any worse."

"Hmm... I've noticed that too," she said, her tone growing a bit more serious with the mention of that. "Do you think it will get worse? That horrible feeling of something wrong?"

Fey worried it was connected to the Imperials somehow. That it was either caused by them, or had drawn them here. "I don't know much about resistances or rebellions either, but I do know that I feel the same that I don't want to run and hide the rest of my life. Besides, I think I've made some friends on this world too, and I'd be upset if they got hurt by the Imps."

"I must admit, I am not entirely sure, but I am done running and hiding." His tone is definitive and it appears he's made his mind up about this.

"There's talk of resisting the occupation, but I'm not experienced in such things. There's something wrong with this planet on a deeper level than the Imperials, something that's dark and malignant and evil on a far more primal scale. I'm not real versed in dealing with that either, but then I'm not sure many other people here are either."

"I can agree with that." She frankly disliked the idea that she had no control over her life. Mostly because there had already been so much of her life she had no control over.

"What are you going to do now? With the Imperials here?"

"I too would prefer to think I have some sort of say in how my life story unfolds. To know it was all scripted from the start would indeed be a little demoralising, why should we bother making an effort if the end result is already set in carbonite?"

*SIGH*

"But such things are not ours to be known, so we struggle and fight and do what we can to survive. As long as I have the sense I am the architect of my own life and decisions, I can life with that."

"Hmmm..." her fingers drummed against their seat in thought. "Maybe?"

She chuckled softly. "Probably not. Or rather, I don't like the idea that things are predetermined - it just seems like too cruel a thing, I say."

"I'm sure we both understand that the Empire has no need for an excuse for its cruelty, but some nights I lay awake and wonder what it would've been like if things had gone differently. If they'd never taken over my shop, I neve would've met Shazziq, would've never come here or learned about the Force. My life would've been so much different, so much simpler."

"Fate? Or coincidence?" He mused out loud. "Do you believe in fate Miss Fey?"