Nebulous - Han Solo [2]

General

"I don't understand how we can still be having this conversation," said Tasha, running her hand through her hair, its tight ponytail discarded hours ago due to a slight tension headache that continued to throb through her brain. Dark circles seemed tattooed onto her eyes and she once again ignored the increasingly demanding hunger pangs of her stomach.

"Princess, the resources we would have to put into this kind of rescue attempt-"

"are worth the reward." She interrupted the general, trying not to shout out of pure frustration.

 "for one man-"

"a man who has become a pillar of this rebellion!"

"no!"

 Tasha stood there in shock at the General's expression. His face seemed to have entirely turned a pale shade of maroon, a harsh scowl creasing his brow. It was the first time the general had yelled at her, the first time anyone had yelled at her in a long, long time. Something suddenly flickered through her head, a strange feeling, panic, fear. And for once it wasn't her's. She mentally shook herself; it was probably just left over emotions from their escape, from Luke or Leia or even Lando. Tasha continued to glare at General Reiken, her hands tightening into fists by her side.

"why are you so against this?" she shouted in reply, "if we pull this off the galaxy's respect for the Rebellion . . . going into battle against impossible odds for the life of a less than virtuous man because they see him as worthy, as a person, as a life, even if society doesn't! the propaganda you could produce with that-"

"the Alliance is decreasing its recruitment drive," began the General, and Tasha felt that twinge of someone else's fear on the edge of her consciousness, "it is no longer essential for us to gain support and increase our numbers-"

"bullshit!" her voice full of contempt, scorn, "when has a rebellion not needed numbers?"

"this mission is not going ahead, and our recruitment campaigns are being shut down."

 "what about the spy?" Tasha started down another route, "the one who betrayed our location to the Empire? There's thousands of systems in the galaxy, there's no way they could've found us that quickly on their own-"

"as I have told you at least twice already, princess, that is not your concern-"

 Tasha slammed her hand down on the table, the harsh sound echoing in the almost empty room. A bead of sweat had formed on the general's temple, catching Tasha's eye as she opened her mouth again.The feeling was increasing, like she could feel someone else's heart continue to speed up the longer this conversation carried on, the longer she fought what the general told her – It clicked.

"too hot in here for you, general?" her entire face had turned hard as stone, her green eyes flashing dangerously. Reiken noticed, taking a seemingly casual step back, touching his forehead with the back of his palm.

 "we suffered some damage in the evacuation," he began calmly, "its possible some of our environment control systems were knocked out." A mirthless laugh spilled from Tasha, taking a step towards the door, blocking the exit.

"you're the spy," she growled, the words ripping themselves from her throat. A panicked flash crossed Reiken's face, and Tasha's eyes flashed gold as he tried to unlock the escape hatch connected to the briefing room, Tasha manipulating the force to keep it closed. "you're the one who's responsible for all those lives we lost during that evacuation." Anger bubbled inside Tasha, her eyes flashing gold again, and the man dropped to the ground, clawing at his throat. She heard someone banging on the other locked door behind her, but ignored them, the rushing in her ears louder than anything.

 "should I kill you, general?" she asked, the words ripping from her throat as she stalked closer to him, "for all those lives you as good as took on Hoth? Wouldn't that be justice, don't you think? If I'm really the monster that you seem to think I am, shouldn't I?" he spluttered as she continued, crouching down next to him. His eyes were bulging, his hand gripping, no, clawing at his throat. Her eyes flashed gold again and the general sprawled on the ground, gasping in air.

"well guess what?" she said, standing again, "I'm not a monster. I know that now. I decide who the hell I am and what the hell I do, not you, not Vader, not anyone else." The door opened and guards poured in, surrounding the general, yanking him up from the ground and taking him away.

"I'm Tasha Ryann, Jedi and a leader of the rebel alliance."