Character
The stone floor, carved from the natural rock, was remarkably smooth, cut with precision some twenty years prior. The walls, large and looming, were made of a combination of steel panelling and the fine granite that dominated the vast mountain that had been gutted to house the complex of hangars and habitations of the remnant force, sworn to the long fallen Caelitus.
The air was warm with moisture, damp on the occasion the environmental control system was being repaired. With so many living underground, the unnatural air quality needed permanent monitoring, save the deepest levels of the redoubt became starved of oxygen.
On the large dais, a rectangle of monitors and panels, manned by several uniformed personnel, their visored helmets protecting them from the poor lighting, data being sent to various processors about their person, hands moving on the touch screens with agility, flicking statistics and orders between various departments within the fortification. A few spoken words, uttered quickly and softly punctuating the otherwise permanent and muted hum of the whirring machines.
In an alcove, deep set in the wall, sat a bay of consoles with a large map, various graphically displays beamed above it in a three dimensional rendering of what looked to be an area of the surface of an unnamed planet. Standing behind it, her black leather uniform reflecting the fuzzy light that emitted from the map, was Donne.
Her hair, eternally silver from birth, her eyes, sharp and darting across the information, her mouth, pursed in a visage of contemplation.
The man standing beside her, in an otherwise nondescript uniform, gestured towards the corner closest to them. He spoke.
‘Commander, the last pocket of ground resistance is ensconced in this mountain region. With our air assets in continued deployment, we’re sure to flush them out in the coming weeks.’
She was unmoved, listening intensely.
The echani spoke.
‘Ensconced? What a colourful word!’
The commander gave a chuckle, a touch of nerves about him.
‘I meant nothing by it, ma’am’.
She raised a gloved hand, quieting him.
‘No mind, Commodore. You have done well.’
The man smiles lightly, sure to keep himself in check, lest the unpredictable and often volatile nature of this Sith warlord were to make an unwelcome appearance.
A mechanical voice buzzed from one of the many speakers.
‘Commander, we have an approaching shuttle. Clearance codes are approved.’
Donne swallowed, breathing deeply, searching for clarity. She found it, stalking away from the large strategic map and across the wet stone, the condensation collecting in shallow puddles.
‘Get this environmental system back up! It’s like a jungle in here!’
She walked into a blast of cold air, bright white light lining the corridors towards the reception centre. Her grey robe fluttered behind her, heavy against the back of her legs. Troopers in their black and grey uniforms stood, blasters in arms, their heavy duty helmets giving an imperious and forbidding welcome.
She stood still, flanked either side by her loyal soldiers, believers since the Fall. They would protect her; from what she did not know.
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