Star Wars: Dark Protocol

Chapter 7

The bridge crew of The Devourer sat nervously at their stations. Most were new recruits, fresh from the
Academy for Young Imperials on Lothal. The junior officers in charge of them, however, had been pulled from various other stations by the Imperial Security Bureau and placed in command of their new charges. They were still docked which left them plenty of time to wonder just what the hell was going on. Although each officer was fiercely loyal to the Empire, ISB never gave lower ranking officers information of any kind.

And so they sat at their stations, nervously awaiting the arrival of their new commanding officer.

A notification appeared on one of the crewman's screens near the back of the bridge.

"Leiutenant Flare, Shuttle Duranon has docked. The Captain is disembarking now." The Ensign reported.

"Aknowledged." Lt. Flare responded.

Originally from Imperial Center (Coruscant, as it was known before the Empire), Leiutenant Seph Flare was born and raised in Imperial High Society. As such, she spoke with a heavy High Coruscanti accent, though it was more clipped and concise from her decade of service in the Imperial Navy. The xenophobic Empire rarely recruited females, but the months following the destruction of the second Death Star and the consequent death of the Emperor and many other Imperials led to a decrease in male ranks and opened the door for more women to join. Flare was caught up in this personnel void and managed to join the Royal Imperial Academy on Imperial Center in her early 20s.

Flare reached back to fix her light brown hair that she wore in a short, tight ponytail and adjusted her cap. She turned her golden-brown eyes upon her fellow officers and chanced a quick glance around the bridge, wondering who her crew-mates were. She looked over towards the weapons station.

Lieutenant Beck Relk was also native to Imperial Center. A tall, slender young man, Relk had short cropped blonde hair and cheerful blue eyes. He had originally crewed the Chimaera, but transferred to Coruscant after the Battle of Endor. That is, until he was reassigned to The Devourer.

Directly across the bridge from him was Lieutanant Eli Buckley. Another man from Imperial Center, Buckley had dark brown hair stylishly cut and a steely gaze with his dark gray eyes. He manned the Defense Station. Flare didn't know anything about him.

Towards the back of the bridge stood Lieutanant Gart Follet behind his ensign at the Sensors Station. Follet was born on Commenor but moved to Coruscant with his family at the age of 2. Now in his mid-30s, Follet had jet black hair cut military style with shocks of gray jutting back from his temples and a salt-and-pepper goatee. His intelligent blue eyes stared fixedly at his consoles.

The blast-proof doors to the bridge whisked open, and Flare hurried back to her station. The clack of boots on the grated-metal deck rang out a confident step. Captain Eurich Pruut was on the bridge of The Devourer.

His ship.