𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘿𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙇'𝙎 𝘼𝘿𝙑𝙊𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙀 • 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙫𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

TWENTY-THREE

                
               
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
 
The Devil's Advocate
  
  

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"I'D APOLOGIZE, BUT I DON'T THINK I'M SORRY."

Aim let out a soft laugh as I approached his bed, his arm in a cast. "An apology was the last thing I was expecting from you, General. I suppose you're here to finish off what you started."

Taking a seat on the chair beside his bed, I sighed. "Though I'd love to, I'm not here to kill you."

He nodded. "I know why you're here."

I looked at him expectantly, prompting him to go on.

"It was towards the end," Aim revealed. "We thought we had eliminated all of the Rebels, but there was one survivor. He took Noa out before we had the chance to down him."

Looking down at my hands, I lowered my voice. "And when you told me? I know I went crazy, but I can't recall a single second of it."

"You don't remember?" He asked with shock, to which I shook my head before he continued. "Your eyes glazed over. I've never seen such a vacant look in the eyes of a living person. It was like you were... not possessed, but the opposite. Like your soul left your body."

"You make me sound terrifying," I scoffed, hoping he was just exaggerating.

"You are- I mean, you were," Aim said bashfully. "I was certain you were gonna kill me."

Processing the new information and piecing together all the knowledge I had so far gathered, I was baffled. I had never before lost time or blacked out while being fully conscious. Then again, I had never before lost Noa.

"His body," I mumbled, before looking up to meet his eyes. "Noa's body. Did you bring it back?"

A look of regret grew on his face. "I'm sorry, General. Amidst all the chaos..."

"You just left him there?" I asked lowly, my voice and hands shaking.

Aim swallowed thickly, his eyes filling with fear. "I- with all the bodies and chaos, I didn't see him and we were just following protocol-"

"General Damri," A nurse greeted me with a nod, standing at the foot of Aim's bed. "I do apologize, but it's time for me to give the trooper his medication."

"Of course," I replied nimbly, before standing up and patting Aim's uninjured arm. "Recover soon, trooper."

"Thank you," He said quietly with a nod before I left the med bay.

They were scared of me. I saw it in their eyes when I passed them in the corridors. The Stormtroopers, guards and even the higher ranked officers moved out of my way and avoided eye contact at all cost.

I liked it.

My office felt more than just physically empty when I reached it. Seeing the pages scattered over the work table with Noa's scrawled notes on them made me feel nauseous. I recalled the times I'd watch him concentrating on a particularly difficult problem, or the times he'd let his creativity take over and he'd end up concocting a fantastical image of some physically impossible gun. I'd laugh and call him an idiot, and he'd just brush me off and playfully say I had no vision.

I flicked through the pages, my heart stopping when I noticed a small note in the bottom right hand corner.

'Make sure you eat a proper meal today!'