Badge Awards
Description
What happened so far: After the Empire encounters problems with the invasion of the insurgent planet Kila especially in the captal, the city of Koshua and other setbacks, Admiral Tilla Breen, the highest-ranking military commander in the Kila sector has to call military command on Coruscant for reinforcements.
Recurring characters: Tilla Breen, Rielle Voska, Garron Holt, Deyran Kaul
Breen turned back to the hologram of Major Naxo. “Regarding the situation in Koshua...”
The door to the bridge slid open without a sound.
All conversations ceased. The presence that stepped onto the command deck seemed to chill the very air.
A figure entered the bridge, causing the perceived temperature to immediately drop by several degrees.
Snow-white hair, cut short. A pristine gold-and-navy uniform. His movements were calm, precise, like a blade slicing through paper. At his side, four black shadows: Deathtroopers, silent in gleaming armor.
Voska spun around, eyes wide. Beside her, Holt tensed instinctively.
“Grand Admiral Deyran Kaul ...,” began Tilla Breen, her voice composed, though softer than usual. “I wasn’t informed your shuttle...”
“That wasn’t necessary, Admiral Breen.”
His voice was calm, cold, and utterly devoid of emotion. Yet every word cut with surgical precision.
“Effective immediately, I am assuming military command of the Kila sector. Your request for reinforcements was discussed in the Moff Council. Grand Moff Tarkin decided that new leadership is required.”
A moment of frozen silence. Then he stepped closer, hands behind his back.
“A failed offensive. Severely damaged Star Destroyers. Deserters under your nose. And now a retreat bogged down into a war of attrition. Your performance is... regrettable.”
Breen held his gaze. Motionless. A slight tremor in her fingers, hidden behind her back.
“Your experience in the Kila sector remains of use. You will continue to serve aboard the Hydra. Under my command.”
It wasn’t praise. Not an offer. It was a verdict.
“Thank you, Grand Admiral,” Breen replied stiffly.
Major Naxo saluted in the hologram. “It is an honor to serve under your command, Grand Admiral.”
Kaul turned to him immediately. “Show this rabble that the tide has turned. Double the assaults. We waste no more time on caution.”
Naxo hesitated. “Our losses...”
“Are irrelevant.” Kaul’s tone remained unchanged. “Transports with three million new troops will arrive within the next days. Make sure they leave an impression.”
Naxo saluted again and disappeared from the holofield.
Voska barely noticed she’d been holding her breath. When she looked to Commander Holt, she saw something in his face she had never expected: a flicker of dread. Just a trace, barely there, but for a man like him, who had survived wars and led countless offensives, it was telling.
“Winds are changing…,” she murmured softly.
Holt nodded as if he wanted to say “Yes, and it reeks of cold and death.”
----------------------------------
After all the hard, cold narrative of most of the story it ends with two lines of ominous poetry.
While I wondered how the brave trio could bring down Tilla Breen, the irony is that they couldn't directly take her, but their actions have helped her to self-destruct. If she hadn't turned so much of her attention to them, maybe other events could have turned out better for her. And the fault goes up the line of command, if she hadn't been ordered to murder the senator, events could have fallen out much differently.
A favorite phrase I have read, "I am the architect of my own destruction."
I was originally shocked by the number of 3 million reinforcements on their way. The massive numbers of Star Wars always shock me. Then I remembered that 3 million is the number I've read invaded Russia in WW2 and they were met by 2.5 million.