2Chapter One
[Bridge of Republic Cruiser-Trinity]
A man stands alone at the end of the large main viewport. Officers mill around from station to station around him, busy with work but he remains still. Hands clasped behind his back, in a relaxed military stance of attention. His eyes are fixed on the planet below. The rush of traffic to and from the world below stream steadily in various directions into the space around them. Each line is heavily monitored and planned by the planet below but its frenzy is a distraction regardless.
The main doors to the bridge open and a bridge officer enters, quickly striding forward towards the lone man in uniform. He reaches the front of the bridge and clears his throat gently, requesting to interrupt the Captain of the vessel from his quiet contemplation. The man does not move, lost in thought.
"There is an urgent message incoming from the Admiral for you, General."
Still the man does not move.
"General." The man repeats more urgently. "Sir?"
Finally he turns. His expression blank. He looks at the officer. This was not one of his normal bridge crew, men and women who knew explicitly the dislike he had for being interrupted by messages from the Admiral. It could only be one, after all.
Silently he orders the officer to restate his message.
Rather instantly the officer does. "There is an urgent message from Admiral Tyris for you in the briefing room, sir."
He frowns, glancing to the doors leading out of the bridge and into the briefing room. Typically they used it for visiting dignitaries and battle tactics, not for personal messages.
Regardless, he headed for it and entered, half surprised he wasn't followed by the very same man who'd delivered the message. He went to the holo unit in the centre of the table and activated the message menu, calling up the most recent requiring his passcode.
A blue holographic image sputtered into view above the console. Kayl stood back, crossing his arms as the image of his father appeared before him. Immediately he frowned. Something wasn't right.
… you have no idea… son… Jedi… do not trust the…they came from…
The message cut out, filled wth static and frantically sent during obvious turmoil, making Kayl quickly adjust the controls offered to him during the message replay. He tried to clean up the image or even the dialogue but nothing was consistent.
It appeared like his father was frantically searching for something in a desk or on a console as he spoke. His uniform was in disarray, as was his entire appearance. Something unheard of in the Tyris family but something that he'd been hearing rumours of. He'd heard whispers of his father's degrading mental health for the past year. He'd never seen it first hand, other than a shortening temper and the odd lapse in memory but nothing like this. He looked deranged. He kept spouting garbled nonsense about Jedi being out to get him. Warning his son not to trust anyone. Nothing made sense.
Suddenly his father stopped and looked directly at Kayl, causing him to stop all attempts to clarify the message. His father took a step back, away from the holo projector. There was an odd sound. Not quite a blaster shot, nor a power overload and then nothing. The holo cut out. The message was over.
Kayl stared blankly at the holo projector a moment, waiting for more. Nothing happened. He slammed the flat of his palm against the projector, hoping it would spit out more but obviously it did not. That was all there was. He took a step back and raised his hands to his head, raking his fingers through his hair.
What the hell just happened?
He took a deep breath and accessed the panel again, replaying the message. This time he focused on every little detail. Every word spoken, regardless of the missing pieces and did his best to anticipate what his father might have been trying to say. He had little luck in that endeavour but that last moment… that sound…
Kayl grabbed his hat off the table and abruptly left the room, his boots thudding purposefully upon the polished floors beneath his feet as he left the room and resumed his place on the bridge.
That sound? It had been a lightsaber igniting.