Reflections: A Star Wars Fan Fiction Novella

Chapter 1

"Cryus Reu. According to the NRSB, you were made a Baron of the Empire." Sitting across from a small table was a prisoner of the New Republic. His palms were facing upwards and his wrists were restrained by the pair of stuncuffs attached. His bronzed skin and charcoal hair were offset by the ridiculous orange jumpsuit that had been given to him by the prison staff.

Corporal O'qa Shilii wasn't impressed by his stoic face. Ironic, that we make them wear the colors we wore. The Kel Dor waited until her assistant had entered the room before sealing the door behind them. She thought it better not to allow another one of those incidents to occur.

Kelri, her Arkanian assistant, had already claimed her spot in one of the two chairs facing the prisoner. Shilii cringed as she pulled out the left chair. Something about sitting on the left of a person always unnerved her, she never had figured out the reason behind it.

Keying the correct sequence to command the observer droid to record the interrogation session, she released it from her palm. The small orb blinked rapidly as it did a pre-scan. Once it settled into its orbit, the blinking lights were replaced by a single glowing red dot. It was time to begin.

"Cryus Reu, as a member of the Imperial military you are under investigation for multiple crimes against the Republic. This interrogation's purpose is to compile evidence for your hearing, this is not an opportunity for you to bargain. My name is Corporal Shilii and to my right here, is Private Valmekdind. You will not be tortured for your silence, but if you refuse to respond, we may assume that as a subconscious admission of guilt."

This caused the man's eyes to drift upwards towards the eyes of his interrogator. They slowly drifted to her companion before moving on to the droid. His stare finally settled onto the door behind the two women. "I completely understand, Corporal."

Nice, a somewhat-civilized Imperial. The last one spent over an hour spewing hate. O'qa wasn't one to look a gift-speeder in the radiator. "Excellent." She swiped and tapped at her datapad a few times, before focusing on her subject. "Cryus Reu. According to the NRSB, you were made a Baron of the Empire. Is this correct?"

"What does the NRSB stand for?"

"The NRSB stands for the New Republic Security Bureau. Were you a Baron of the Empire?"

"I am a Baron of the Empire, yes."

This reverse-slight prompted the Arkanian girl to speak. "Not are, were. You are just Cryus Reu here. We don't recognize ranks given as rewards for war crimes."

Stealing a glance at her partner's face, which clearly demonstrated that her response wasn't a tactical decision. "Agent Valmekdind." One exchanged look caused the Arkanian to erase all signs of the emotional outburst from her face.

"Is it true, Cryus Reu, that you were present at the Battle at the Nadiri Dockyards?"

"That is correct, Corporal Shilii."

"Is it also true that when made aware of civilian evacuees, your forces fired on the transports?"

"That is correct, Corporal Shili, with a single exception. Civilians don't build weapons."

"Point taken, however, you were ordered to fire on unarmed transports, were you not?"

"Yes, we were ordered to fire on all fleeing transports."

"Did you destroy the transports?"

"We did not."

"Did you attempt to destroy the transports?"

"If your intelligence is accurate, you should know that not a single GR-75 perished that day."

"You are correct, Cryus Reu, the GR-75s were spared that day. Why did you spare them?"

His eyes focused on the door behind the two women, again. "I made a purely tactical decision. Every second the Starhawk was operational our people died. Should I have wasted time eliminating those not in the process of murdering us?"

"Killing Imperials isn't murder."

O'qa twisted her head sharply to face Kelri.

"Sorry, ma'am."

"Do I have to remove you from this interrogation, Private?"

"No, ma'am."

A mental sigh hovered in O'qa's mind. If this Private had been present at the last one's interrogation, she would have melted into the floor tiles within a minute. As much as she abhorred the Empire, this prisoner was at least trying to cooperate, which was more than could be said for most Imperials, let alone Rebels, under the circumstances.

"Speaking of GR-75 transports, your squadron did destroy two of them at the Scouring of Mon Cala. Those were civilian transports. Why did you not spare these?"

His unfocused eyes locked onto her eyes, remaining as such as he spoke.

"We were conducting a military operation against a hostile planet. No casualties had to be incurred that day. Those transports ascended out of orbit, following the initiation of hostilities. They were clearly there to act as a voluntary shield for the New Republic fighters. That, Corporal Shilii, is a war crime."

"I am not a justice, so let's not debate what is and isn't a war crime, Cryus Reu."

His eyes furtively flickered over the Arkanian's face before returning to the Kel Dor's. "Agreed, Corporal."

"As such, when the two remaining supports fled, you did not destroy them. Instead, you targeted a medical frigate. Is this true?"

"Yes, that is true. We targeted a heavily armed medical frigate which had entered the metaphorical battlefield."

"You and your allies fired onto this medical frigate, although its trajectory was not in any way hostile?"

"That is correct. If I recall correctly, we destroyed its shields and targeting system before we moved on. Would you have had us destroy it, instead?

"Of course not, I'm surprised you weren't punished by the Empire for that decision." The Corporal paused. "Let us now discuss what happened to you, after the Battle of Galitan." She turned to her companion. "Kelri, please show restraint."