Empire's Child

Chapter 18

I sit up slowly, blinking. I'm back on the shuttle, in the back. I'm sitting on the floor. I hope I didn't roll off the seats. I have a pounding headache, but other than that I'm okay. I try to turn my head, but something stops me. I look down and realize I have an oxygen mask on. Weird. I'm not surprised that Father took me back to the ship, but I never thought he would take the time to put an oxygen mask on me, just in case. The Grand Inquisitor definitely wouldn't. I pull it off. I can breathe fine. I stumble to my feet, then lean against the wall as the floor spins under my feet. Yeah, I should probably stay sitting. I slide back to the ground. I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and let it out.

I can breathe again.

It's nice.

After a second, I stand again. I'm still unsteady, but I can walk. Keeping my hand on the wall just in case, I walk up to the cockpit, where my father is flying. We're about halfway back to the Star Destroyer. Father's mask is fixed. He must have extras. I sit in the co-pilot's chair, rubbing my forehead as if that'll make the headache go away. "Are you alright?" My father asks. I nod. I expect him to be angry that I couldn't take care of myself, that I couldn't figure out that the air was toxic or how to filter it. I duck my head, half in embarrassment and half because I'm still dizzy.

"Yes. A little dizzy, but that's it." I tilt my head away. I don't want to see what's coming. "I'm sorry. I was trying to help and I made it worse." I don't dare look up, keeping my eyes on the floor.

"Look." I hesitantly look up, deciding it's worse to disobey a direct order. Father is pointing at some kind of number graph thing on the ship. There's nothing on it right now. Huh. I thought I remembered something on that back on the moon. "This shows you if the air is safe. Anything below this line," he points at a red line about halfway up, "isn't safe. And that tell you if there are dangerous toxins in the air." He points to another thing. This has a small light, which is green right now.

"Oh. That was red before, I think." I say, sitting up taller to see it better. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." The small shuttle pulls into the Star Destroyer's cargo bay. A few stormtroopers gather, then scurry away as the Grand Inquisitor stalks up to the ship, glowering at them. I don't want to leave the ship. Flying was amazing, even if I didn't do anything. I follow my father out of the shuttle into the big ship. I don't look at the Grand Inquisitor.

Before leaving to go report or whatever he has to do, my father turns back to me. "Go to the medbay and make sure there aren't any problems." He says. I nod.

"I will. And, um, thank you." I'm not really sure what I'm thanking him for, but I know there's something. Could be a thank you for making sure I'm safe, or for not killing me earlier on Mapuzo, or something else. I duck my head and hurry out of the huge bay and into the halls, passing multiple squads of stormtroopers and the occasional officer. A few of the officers give me questioning looks, as if wondering why there's a child on their Star Destroyer. I ignore them.

The medbay is in the same place in every Destroyer and I easily find it. The door slides open as I approach it. I've never really been to the medbay. I rarely get sick and normally I treat my own injuries. In the main room there's a desk with a few chairs. Two stormtroopers sit on opposite sides of the room. Their helmets are off and they're glaring daggers at each other. One has a black eye and the other has a black mark on his armor from a blaster. They probably got in a fight or something.

A young woman dressed in medic clothes sits at the desk, half looking and her datapad and half watching the two stormtroopers. She looks up when I come in. She hides her surprise well, but I'm pretty sure she didn't expect to see a kid today. "Hello! What brings you here?" She asks, smiling at me.

"I'm supposed to get a check-up, I think. I, um, breathed in some air that was bad for me." I say, shuffling my feet.

"Hmm." She taps her datapad with a concerned expression. "Well, I'll need a few more details, but if you'll come with me we can get you situated in an exam room beforehand." I nod and follow her. She leads me into another hallway, then into a room with a bed and table. The table has a bunch of drawers filled with different things and the Imperial symbol on the surface. Other than that it's bare. I'm directed to sit on the table, then answer a few simple questions like my names, where I was injured, and a few others. Then she scans my chest, checking for dangerous toxins. "All right. The scans are coming back clear of poison, but I'm going to have you stay here for the night, just in case. If you get hungry, thirsty, or something else, call me using this." She hands me a comlink. "My name is Amaile. Is there anyone I should call so they don't worry?"

"I don't think so. Will I be out of here by 0600 tomorrow?" I ask. My training starts at six in the morning, so I have to ask.

"If you want." Amaile hesitates for a second, then leaves the room. I lay down on the bed. I don't have to tell the Grand Inquisitor about this. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Or, I guess, hurt me.