William looked back up at Draxacon, his "friend" giving him a concerned gaze. If Drekar wanted William to cause some chaos, than the former Imperial captain would oblige. He would use his new Ex-Separatist allies to burn the Imperial Palace down to the ground. He would use his special suit to destroy any Storm trooper that got in his way, and they would tell tales of how his Red Death would leave no survivors. He would burn this Empire.
Suddenly, he stood up, catching Draxacon off guard. He moved to the door and left Draxacon's room, startling some passing officers. Draxacon shoots up and tries to catch up to William, who was already halfway through the hall, heading towards the bridge. "William!" Draxacon shouted, running through the hall to reach his captain. "What's the plan?" He asked, breathing slightly more heavily due to his unexciting jog.
"As far as I can see, the only thing left to do. My family is dead. I killed my uncle, the Empire killed my parents, I just killed the adoptive father who killed my sister-" He stopped, forcing Draxacon to stop as well.
In that strange flash back, his father said that Rialla should raise Will with a child named Verica. He also recalled that one of the prisoners they had shared the same name. He couldn't forget the way his anger built up when he looked at the girl previously. Could it be...
"Draxacon, I have a feeling that prisoner answered more than one question for you." William said, slowly beginning to walk once more. Draxacon let out a defeated sigh as he joined his comrade.
"Ya got me. She also confirmed a suspicion I had. Her mother was Rialla." Draxacon answered without missing a beat. William grunted once more, picking up the pace and returning to that fast march he began with. His destination had altered slightly. He'd be stopping by the brig first.
----------------------------
The lift door slid open, revealing to William and Draxacon what was left of the brig. The droids that belonged to Kha Vulpus had slowly began taking apart the ship, disassembling the less critical parts of the ship while the crew moved all of their supplies to the dummy ship. where there had once been a row of numerous cells available, there were now only two. The two men moved to the first cell, the door opening to reveal Desmonadon, a defeated man sitting all alone in misery. William walked in, catching the rebel's attention. He grabbed the former commander by his caller with his new arm and raised him up, making the commander struggle. He grunted and grabbed William's arm, trying to hold onto it as to not get choked. William simply gave the rebel a cold stare while the rebel glared back at his captor with hatred. But the rebel would be caught off guard by what came out of William's mouth.
"Desmonadon, I need your assistance."
The rebel stopped struggling and gave William a puzzled look. Had he lost it? Had he been in this blasted cell for so long that he was hallucinating the whole encounter? Was he in a dream state? Desmonadon suddenly slapped himself, causing Draxacon and William to wince at this sudden self harm. Desmonadon winced as well, looking at William.
"Why the hell do you need my help? I'm just filthy rebel scum. I'm still perplexed as to why you haven't executed me and that other rebel girl." He shouted back, giving the captain a look of disgust. "And if its to help locate other rebel bases, good luck with that. You should've interrogated me a long time ago. I'll never talk."
William set the man down, shock being the only thing Desmonadon expressed. Was he dreaming? This whole series of events couldn't possibly be happening because it just wasn't possible. This Imperial would not just turn his back on the Empire, that was crazy. Could it have been the Force? No, that's not how the force worked! Before Desmonadon's mind could wander farther, William spoke.
"I need you to help me lead my men against the Empire. I fear that once I tell my crew of my intentions, some of them will abandon me , especially some of the commanding officers. That is when I'll need you, to fill one of those roles." Desmonadon was slowly beginning to think he had died and this was some sort of strange afterlife. His growing insanity of being locked in this dull cell was getting at him, so he wanted the madness to end. The rebel sighed, looking to the floor.
"What choice do I have but to accept?" The rebel said, shrugging. William grinned, turning away from his new subordinate.
"Good choice." Was all he replied with as he left the cell. The moment he walked out, the walls began to break apart as droids cut through the panels and disassemble the now useless cell. Desmonadon watched as the former source of imprisonment was almost dismantled instantaneously, only leaving the cell floor. Desmonadon looks up to William and Draxacon, shocked at the speed of the droids, only fueling his growing insanity. He thought he was in some sort of holo-vid production. He decided to play along with this and followed his new captain.
The three men now stood in front of Verica's cell, the light sound of weeping being heard. William began to feel bad for the way he treated his long lost niece. Though, how could he have known it was her? The only thing that even hinted that this girl was important in some way was his unexplainable anger towards her in the beginning. The way just her appearance triggered him. He shook his head and opened the door, revealing to them a curled up woman crying into a blanket, staining the dull article of fabric dark as her tears fell onto it.
Verica looked up, dread filling her heart as she saw the ruthless captain of the ship. She had lost track of when he had interrogated her, but she had hoped they would have killed her already. Now she guessed the demon they called William came to do the job himself. She closed her eyes as he began walking into the cell, slowly and methodically, as if to intensify her fear. He stood right over her...
and placed a hand on her back.
She opened her eyes and saw that this man, the rebel killer she had heard tales of, kneeling on the floor with a soft look in his eyes, completely contrasting how he glared upon her during their last encounter. She was taken aback, her mind spinning as this cruel man patted her back, as if he was trying to console her.
"I am truly sorry, Verica. I should not have treated you so poorly. As your Uncle, I would ask that you forgive me for my harshness." William said, the faint glinting of tears in his eyes. Verica gasped, not due to the tears, but because he had called himself her uncle.
"I'm-"She began, but William nodded, indicating that he spoke true.
"I was your mother's brother. I watched her die to the man that took me and set me on the path to become..."He paused, looking away in shame. Verica looked at the man, seeing that the cold and ruthless man was dead, replaced with a new man all together, a man who had their view of thinking altered. He looked back to his niece, placing his new cold hand on her other shoulder. The chills ran up her spine as both hands squeezed her shoulders. He gave her a weak smile. "Well, that is in the past, and I want you to be by my side as we fight the Empire." She was still shocked at the bomb shell he had just dropped on her. She stammered, looking away from her "Uncle".
"Um, I'm not totally sure..." She looked past William and saw the big guy that had been friendly to her before. Draxacon walked in and stood behind William, nodding to Verica.
"He speaks the truth, Verica. He is really Rialla's brother. That's why I asked who you were when you were first brought here." He answered. Verica always thought that specific question about her mother was strange, but if the big guy knew these things, she would trust him. She looked back as William and gave him the same weak smile in return.
"As long as we get the Empire, I'm good." She nodded, and William grinned once more. He gave her a pat on the shoulder and stood up, the cell being deconstructed instantaneously. Verica jumped off the bench she was laying on, the moment after the bench was also removed. William pointed to the lift.
"Come on, they want to completely take this section out and we're the only life forms left. Time to head for the bridge."
----------------------------
Andriana looked over the officers as they did their work, slowly walking to the view port to look at the drop ships transporting their supplies to the dummy Emperor's Conviction. She then looked off into space, wondering how William was holding up. her lips slightly curled into a frown. She loved-had loved the man William was. He was a handsome man, his position would have been a reliable one to retire and start a family. But now, after learning from Draxacon that the William she knew was a product of Imperial mind meddling. Who knows who the real William would have been like if he had been able to life on his village in peace. She highly doubts she would love this different version, but this was all speculation. She was lost in thought, not noticing when four people walked onto the bridge. She only noticed when the officers near her saluted someone behind her, causing her to turn around to see William approaching her. She saluted as well, unsure of what to do except for what felt natural. William walked up to her, stopping in front of her. He raised his head, allowing the other officers to lower their hands. Andriana followed them, but looked into William's eyes as they stared into hers.
They were the same man's beautiful emerald eyes, but they had more color in them. It was as if the life had come back into his eyes, where as before they were somewhat dull and bland. William knocked her out of her thoughts when he caressed her cheek. She jumped slightly, feeling his warm hand touch her. Her heart began to beat harder, and she closed her eyes. If only he had acted like this before all of this chaos had occurred.
"Andriana, I wish to tell you something. Something I was never able to tell you because of my mental conditioning." William began, getting Andriana to open her eyes once more. the two looked into each others eyes, their hearts threatening to pound out of their chests. "I know we spent most of our time together, going through the Academy together and even serving together on this very ship. I know how you look at me sometimes, the way you make sure I am alright after every mission. You've always been there for me, even if I was in a state where others would rather avoid me." He placed his other hand on her shoulder, the reflective metal arm catching her eye. "Andriana, I want you to be my my side till the day I draw my last breath." He let out a soft chuckle after saying that. "It felt so good to be able to say that after so long."
Her tears began to stain her uniform, a flood of emotion filling her. He had always loved her, he was just unable to do so. They mad mentally programmed him to only focus on killing rebels. He always seemed like a robot before. But now, he was a person, a person she could love truly. She hugged him, pressing her face against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her closer.
After a moment of this, they separated, and looked into one another's eyes once more. Now Andriana spoke, her cheeks streaked red with tears of happiness. "William, you have no idea how long I've waited to hear you say that." She smiles. William lightly places his hand on her chin, making her look at him.
"Then I suppose you've been waiting for this as well." He says before placing his lips against hers. She made a few noises as he kissed her, many of surprised whines, but eventually she accepted this sudden embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Draxacon, Verica and Desmonadon struggled to watch the two smashing their faces together.
"This is kind of awkward." Verica said, looking away, blocking her eyes with her hand.
"Did they forget that we're on the bridge?" Desmonadon whispered to Draxacon, his face taking a perplexed expression.
"This whole thing feels kind of rushed. This relationship should have been more developed. What is this?" Draxacon said, making Desmonadon and Verica look at him in confusion. "That was weird, why did I say that?" Draxacon then took the same confused look as he tried to figure out what that was.
Andriana and William broke away from one another, Andriana's cheeks blushed red. She then grabbed William's hand and began heading for his quarters. She was on a mission, and no one would stop her.
As William was dragged away, he looked back to Draxacon. "Make sure all of the transporting goes smo-" His sentence was cut off as the door to the bridge shut, leaving only the three. Draxacon was still trying to figure that out.
Why would he say that?
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The Eleventh Sister watched as the ship dropped out of hyperspace, the planet Gwori in sight. She could see the small fleet orbiting the planet, grinning.
"William, William, William, now you are mine." She grinned, imagining a dismembered William by her blade.