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“Captain, your finest men will disembark upon arrival immediately. Do not alert the enemy to your presence. They do not yet know we hold knowledge of this planet.”
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“Yes my Lord. And if they encounter enemy combatants? Jedi?”
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“There are no survivors Captain. Wipe them out. Leave no one to continue the Jedi rites. Sacrifice all that you need to insure our success.”
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“As you wish my Lord.”
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The hologram of Emperor Palpatine dissolves as the pressure inside the room dissipates.
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Chills still running down his arms, his finger tips trembling, Captain Brior forces himself to leave the cold empty room.
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The captain spots two of his enlisted officers as he enters the hallway.
“Lieutenant Sumner, Corporal Volgrin, fetch Lieutenant Kane and tell him to prepare his squad,” Brior says with a slight tremble in his voice. “Tell him that he’ll have his day if he succeeds.”
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He looks at his young officers. “This order comes to us directly from the Emperor himself.”
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Sumner beams with pride. “Yes sir, without a doubt, the day is ours.”
“Not yet,” Brior replies. “That planet is cold and dead, and Kane may still fail.” He stares at Sumner. “It’s not every day that intel discovers an uncharted world you know.”
“Uncharted sir?” asks Volgrin. “Uncharted as in unsettled? Our maps are complete, we haven’t missed-”
“Uncharted,” Kane interrupts. “As in the Jedi have concealed this place from all of us until now.”
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“You are dismissed,” says Brior. “Instruct Kane to prepare his men: cold weather gear.”
The two enlisted officers nod their heads.
“Yes sir.”
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The two begin to walk toward the troopers’ quarters. Sumner chuckles to himself as he smirks. “The Captain is mistaken if he doesn’t think Imperial might will win the day.”
“Do you really think that? With hardly any intel we’re going in blind.” The young officer shakes her head slightly. “There could be orbital defense systems, blockade runners, mines. We could be walking into a trap!”
“The Aberrant Dawn is a Victory Class Star Destroyer,” says Sumner. “We are quite capable of defending ourselves if need be corporal.”
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“And those who cannot defend themselves, can always be protected by others.” says Sumner slyly.
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“If only this ship’s hull was as hard as your head and as strong as your ego,” Volgrin tells him.
“Yes, if only,” the lieutenant says.
“You’re a fool Sumner.”
He continues to chuckle to himself. “Even fools need protecting sometime. Contrary to the more feminine type aboard, The Dawn will hold just fine, unlike others.”
“Are you insinuating because I’m a woman I can’t defend myself?”
Sumner smiles. “No, of course not. But some occasions do arise when we put our guard down.”
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“And we are so close to victory,” he whispers.
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“So close.”
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“Get your filthy hands off me Sumner!”
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“Don’t ever touch me again!” says Corporal Volgrin as she walks away. “Do you take me for a fool you Imperial bureaucrat?”
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“Alyaa, I didn’t mean anything by it! Droid, out of my way! Alyaa, you’ve taken my forwardness the wrong way!”
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“Alyaa!”
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“Corporal Volgrin, please!”
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“I didn’t mean anything by-”
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“My-”
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“Advances.”
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