Hearing a weapon of unknown energy activate nearby, Flash Sentry looked up from his work and reached for the blaster beside him. He had finished welding the hull of the Rogue Sun, and was about to check out the new systems he had installed when that noise completely wiped out his concentration. Drills were common on large Imperial ships, but she hadn't seen anyone on the security deck (or the entire ship) other than Lady Midnight. His appointment was so recent, and so early after the Callos catastrophe, that he was forced to react cautiously to any unexpected situation.
There were two weapons in combat, buzzing and clashing, and to that harsh, almost rhythmic noise were added the sounds of physical violence. There was the clatter of metal pieces impacting and exploding as if a dozen soldiers were attacking with their armor. Many fragile parts were stored in the hangar, some of which could become dangerous if not handled carefully. A cry of fear played on his lips. There was something about the noise of those weapons... something familiar that he could not remember.
He put down the welder, unhooked the gun, and crept out from under the ship. At first glance, the Rogue Sun was unremarkable: she was a long ship with symmetrical armament and the chassis of a small transport, two solar panels on the starboard side and a heavier armament bay on the port side. But that was precisely the intention. Although it was a prototype designed in order to appear nondescript and not attract attention, it was actually a fighter ship with the fastest hyperdrive the Flash had ever seen, as well as possessing an authentic camouflage system. All of this, with top-notch scanners and sensors, competitive sublight engines, and powerful deflector shields, made the Rogue Sun the most fascinating craft he had ever flown.
Or that he would pilot if he survived his first day on the job.
"Your file impresses me, Captain Sentry" Lady Midnight had told him a week earlier. He had just returned from Callos and was still shocked by what happened there with the Black Squad, so he was not as proud as expected "There are very few pilots of his category who have such a risky sense of duty".
"Thank you, Lady Midnight".
"I have a new mission for you. Some would consider it a reward if they found out, but they won't. Is that clear?"
Despite not having understood those words, he nodded. Darth Midnight had given him instructions on how to access the hidden rooms of the flagship and described the small ship he would find there. It was for him.
"You will be working with one of my warriors performing under the name "Sunkiller". She will be known soon. I have placed great trust in you, Captain. Make sure you do not disappoint me. The price of failure is higher than ever".
"Understood, Lady Midnight" Before she ended the conversation, he asked, "What is our mission, my lady? You have not explained it to me yet".
"You will find out".
The masked figure turned his back on him. He supposed he shouldn't ask any more questions.
Flash, as an obedient officer to the Empire, did as ordered and went to see his new ship. He was impressed. He just needed a few minor adjustments to get it working at full capacity. But now, strange screams and a scandalous duel had taken over the hangar and threatened to spread out of Lady Midnight's secret space and onto the ship itself.
Sneaking around a cryogenic cylinder taller than him, Flash was finally able to see the combatants. He widened his blue eyes in surprise.
The weapons were the first thing that caught his eye: they were lightning swords that he had only seen once, in an old forgotten hologram that his father found in a recess in the database in his new home. He showed it to her before erasing it with a notch. "Assassins" he murmured at the sight of those figures. They were men and women of various species dressed in brown robes, fighting droids with blazing blades of pure light. "They're all traitors".
"What did they do?"
Flash was young and unable to understand the frustration and resentment that his father built up inside him. He only manifested them when he gave him reasons, and for that reason she always seemed so.
"What did they do?" He turned to him and spoke in a harsh, contemptuous tone. "That Jedi carrion betrayed Tirek. That's what they did. What nonsense do they teach you at school if you don't even know that?"
The memory of that reproach still hurt him. Flash struggled to push it out of his mind as he tried to understand what was happening in front of him. Two women (one with the rainbow hair, the other of the same age as her, thin as a whip and with red hair with yellow tresses) were engaging in a duel with weapons identical to those wielded by the hateful Jedis. One of the swords was so blue and luminous that it looked white. The other was red and deadly. When they collided, sparks flew in all directions. Both women jumped and bounced around with superhuman agility. When gesturing, the metal walls sagged and engine parts as flying missiles.
He didn't dare to make any noise. He remained crouched in the shadows, with the paralyzed muscles and filled with a mixture of fear and awe. In all the years that he had served the Empire he had never seen anything like it. He had heard rumors about the mysterious powers of Lady Mindnight and the cylindrical hilt that hung from her belt, but he had never seen anything. He had simply ignored the gossip as alarmist propaganda designed to fuel fear and bolster loyalty. He had never needed to be threatened to serve the Empire, so it was easy for him to ignore the rumors.
Now he regretted not paying more attention to them.
The situation became even stranger when the younger combatant, with a wild glint of satisfaction in her gaze, pierced her opponent's chest with the vermilion light from her lightsaber. Defeated, the other woman collapsed on her knees with a look of surprise on her face.
Flash adopted the same expression as the rainbow-haired woman's body began to sparkle and blink like a hologram. He confirmed that was indeed her nature a few seconds later. Her arms, legs, torso, and face flickered and disappeared, revealing the bipedal silhouette of a purple and green droid. He jerked and fell forward with a scrapping noise.
"Well done, master. Another perfect duel".
The droid whispered those words until the young woman who had "killed" him turned him over.
"You have caught me by surprise, SPIKE" observed the girl with an unexpected affection after the brutality she had shown before "I had not fought against that training program for years. I thought you had eliminated it".
The droid tried to get up, but only managed to lose his balance and almost fell again. His owner held him in time and helped him up.
"Easy, SPIKE. You have a bug."
"It's my fault, master" the droid said with an electronic sigh, studying the smoking hole in his chest "I thought using an ancient training modality would manage to surprise you and kill you. Sorry to let you down again".
A worried smile crossed the young woman's face.
"I'm sure you will keep trying".
"Of course, master. It is the main objective of my program".
The droid and his master began to make their way through the hangar's maze of rubble. Flash reacted in time. Before they saw him, he ducked and ran toward the ship. His voices sounded closer. He holstered the pistol frantically and reached for the welder.
"Don't ambush me again until we've changed your central stabilizer. It could take weeks, being so far from the Core ..."
Flash did not look up as the pair circled the cryogenic cylinder he had hidden from them a few seconds earlier; however, he noticed that the young woman was looking at him and intercepted his sudden silence as a delayed reaction. He kept his gaze fixed on the ground with an incipient wave of fear. He didn't know what would become of him if this stranger found out that she had been spying on her.
An almost inaudible sound of footsteps told him that the girl and the droid had disappeared from sight of him. He tried to decipher the excited whispers they exchanged.
"SPIKE, who is that?"
"Ah yes. Your new pilot has finally arrived, master".
"But who is it?"
"According to the archives of the Empire..."
There was a moment of silence during which Flash regretted being so curious. That side of him had given him nothing but trouble.
But then, he heard his own voice echoing through the hangar and forgot about his great flaw.
"Captain Flash Sentry" said the holodroid in the voice of Flash "Born in Corulag, where he became the youngest student of the Imperial Academy. He is a decorated fighter pilot, with more than a hundred missions of experience. He was the commanding officer during the bombardment of Callos. Lady Midnight selected him to lead the Black Squad, though she later assigned him a highly confidential mission..."
He hastily circled the cryogenic cylinder and saw himself standing directly ahead. It was an excavated replica held by the woman Flash identified as the agent sent by Darth Midnight, the one named Sunkiller. Flash's face burned with outrage at this blatant invasion of his privacy.
"Is my psychological profile in there too?" he asked.
The girl and the droid looked at him. With an expression of poorly concealed embarrassment, Sunkiller released the droid and broke away from him. SPIKE staggered, then adopted an attentive expression that was a good imitation of him, with neat blue hair, the regulation uniform, the tricolor insignia, and a blotch of grease beginning to form on his cheek as the droid updated the files he had. contained their images.
"Actually, yes" explained the robot "but it is restricted information" and added to Sunkiller "Master, I am afraid it will be impossible to reprogram it".
Flash had to fight the urge to reach for the soldering iron and open another hole in the droid's pierced chest. This face-to-face encounter with a replica of himself was the last thing he expected; he was not prepared to face it.
The girl made a gesture. The droid disabled Flash's simulation and regained his robotic appearance.
"Do you know why you are here?" Sunkiller asked him.
Flash regained control, lowered the soldering iron, and took a deep breath.
"Lady Midnight gave me instructions personally" he replied "I am here to pilot your ship and take you wherever your mission is".
Sunkiller's face showed neither satisfaction nor disgust.
"SPIKE" she ordered the droid "prepare the Rogue Sun for take off".
The drilled robot staggered to his orders as her Master and Flash spoke more calmly.
"Did Lady Midnight tell you that she killed our last pilot?"
Flash was watching her with the same attention with which she appraised him. He wore a black combat uniform that looked like it had been patched up many times. His hands and arms were covered in scars.
"No. But I guess her previous driver gave him good reasons for doing it" He paused and added, "I won't".
"We'll see. I'm sick of training new pilots." Her gaze fell on the changes he had made to the Rogue Sun. She raised her eyebrows at the new panels he had welded "What is that? What have you done to my ship?"
Suddenly Flash felt self-conscious and wiped the stains off his cheek.
"I have taken the liberty of upgrading the sensors on the Rogue Sun. So you can spy on any suspicious ships in an entire system".
He waited for a sign of approval, but she just nodded. Flash, with her wounded pride, said:
"I suppose that's part of your mission. You must be one of Darth Midnight's spies. Your ship has fabulous long-range sensors and a cloaking system that..."
"The details of my mission are none of your concern. It is enough for you to know where I am going."
"And where we go?"
"To Nar Shaddaa. Will you know how to get there?"
"Of course" he replied furiously, biting his lip.
He rushed past her and headed for the ramp that led to the ship.
In the cockpit he found the droid fiddling with the controls, not knowing what he was doing.
"Leave that" he snapped "I'll do it".
"Yes, Captain Sentry".
The droid walked away accompanied by a recital of cracks and clicks from his pierced belly. It was then that he remembered the strange observation he had made to her master about ambushing and killing her, and he wondered if he maybe he should have been nicer.