Master Jedi - Abuse of Power
posted 4 September 2007, Tuesday
The lights flickered above Leia as she stared up at the ceiling from her bed contemplating the dull, sore pain that still ran up her right leg. Bandaged and treated, her leg was healing well, but naturally. Neither the muscle rehabilitators or any advanced medical equipment was functional. The Eviscerator was currently operating at a hobbled forty percent after a major battle in the Adumar system which Leia was happy to have missed. Equally avoidable was Admiral Dorem who under the current conditions seemed like an angry dog constantly barking orders which gave her a headache.
Slowly sliding her legs off the bed the throbbing pain reminded her of the terrible decisions that got her to this point. I know I can do better, Leia constantly repeated to herself. I know there's another way, but I just won't take it. I'm too angry, and anger is an enemy of the Jedi. After sitting down she grudgingly reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her aluminum cane that one of the medical droids prescribed and limped her way to her bathroom where she washed her face and prepared for her daily therapy - taking long walks through the ship.
Everything was as hectic as it was when Leia arrived a week ago. Dorem was lighting a fire under everyone to get the ship repaired quickly which meant workers ran instead of walked with officers right behind keeping them motivated. Along the corridors, panels sparked, consoles beeped erratically and the lights that weren't completely dead flickered with doubt as Leia forced herself to walk. She had already explored a large part of the area around her room, and had come to the conclusion that Super Star Destroyers were too big - especially for those who had trouble walking.
Arriving at a familiar junction Leia looked left, looked right, looked forward then decided to take a new path today. She turned right and happened upon a lift which she also decided to take. It only went down from her location and it dropped her off in an unfamiliar area of the ship to her amusement. Leia limped forward feeling the pain in her leg fade as her legged warmed up from the exercise and came upon a large warning on the wall: Hazardous Materials Area - Proceed With Caution. That's strange, thought Leia as she looked around wondering if she was in any danger. I never thought the Empire would have an area like this, but this is a command ship and these monsters seem to have everything.
Pressing forward hoping not to catch a virus or some other kind of contamination Leia walked passed a barracks area, what appeared to be a few labs and then a tiny area with two tables just before a noisy mess hall. Seeing the tables as a sign to take a break Leia took a seat and immediately noticed a young man laying on the floor behind the tables looking ill. "Are you okay?" Leia poked him with her cane.
The man looked up and was startled by the face of a woman. Suddenly he didn't look that sick anymore. "Ugh, well I haven't eaten anything but scraps for three days. I'm feeling weak and light-headed."
"Well why haven't you eaten anything? You're not contagious are you?" The warning at the front popped into Leia's mind.
The young man managed a small smile. "No. We haven't seen a hazardous material in years," he slowly sat up. "See, it's that son-of-a-bitch Lieutenant. He thinks he's the king of the damn area. He's banned me from the mess hall or getting anything to eat. My buddies throw me some scraps when he's not paying attention, but if they get caught they're screwed too."
Leia was shocked. "What did you do to earn such a ban?"
"I disagreed with him."
"With him? You mean the Lieutenant?"
"Yeah. See he's a speeder fanatic. The ultimate fanboy, and he loves the Pegs System-3 model speeder. He was talking about it last week with some of the boys and he couldn't stop mouthing off about how powerful it was or how advanced it looked. It pissed me off because that model is way overpriced and doesn't really offer anything new. I prefer the more popular W-11 model which offers superior control and innovation which hasn't been seen in the speeder scene for years. During his rant I decided to tell him the W-11 was better and he exploded in anger."
"So you're here starving because you disagreed with the Lieutenant on which speeder was better? That's outrageous! I'm going to get you some food. Sit down and get ready to eat." Leia stood up with determination and headed for the mess hall.
"Wait! Don't go!" The young man shouted but Leia ignored his warnings heading straight for the door. The mess hall opened up into a rather large room for the amount of men occupying it. In the center the workers ate and conversed while the food service was conducted to the right of the doorway. At the very back was the officers table with four officers. It sat on an elevated platform looking down on the men as if to ensure the superiority of the officers. Leia stood at the doorway for few seconds before the entire hall went silent; every man staring at the woman at the door. Although Dorem informed the ship of their special guest very few had actually seen her, and now for the first time the ship's hazardous materials unit beheld Dorem's personal guest who had to be given the same respect as Dorem himself by his order.
"At ease, gentlemen." Leia said in a regal tone usually reserved for politicians then walked up to the nearest food server. "Give me a plate of your best food, and make sure the portions are big!" Leia ordered with the ease and authority of a high ranking Imperial officer. The server began frantically running back and forth trying to make up his mind about what to give her when the clacking of officer boots quickly heading towards her made her turn around. In front of her stopped a thin, fragile looking man with an obvious air of superiority and arrogance - the three other officers behind him. "Greetings. It's an honor to meet you. Is there anything I can help you with? I am Lieutenant Amirocs and--"
"No, thank you Lieutenant! I can manage this myself," Leia cut him off.
"But... Wouldn't you prefer to eat in an area more suited to a special guest of the Admiral?"
Leia sighed annoyed by Amirocs' elitist tone. "I'm not eating here Lieutenant. This is for someone else."
"At least let one my men carry that for you." He turned and called on the nearest man, "Get over here! Carry her tray and don't spill an ounce!"
Politely thanking the young man who came to carry her tray, Leia turned around and walked out of the mess hall completely ignoring Amirocs and the other officers. She walked back to the table just outside and sat across the ill looking worker who had managed to climb up to it. "Holy shit! Is this for you Ray?" The tray carrier exclaimed as he set the food down.
"I tried to warn her, but she wouldn't listen. The Lieutenant's going to throw me in the brig for this, but at least I'll have a full stomach." Ray began stuffing his face with food.
"No one is going to the brig!" Leia said sternly. She turned to the young man who carried her tray, "If any officer asks you where you went you tell them the truth. You tell them that I gave this food to... Ray here, and if they have a problem with it they can take it up with me! Do you understand?"
"Yes Ma'am!" The worker saluted and went back in the mess hall.
As soon as he passed through the doorway Amirocs signaled him over with his finger. He stood with his arms crossed waiting until he arrived then blasted him with questions and animosity. "Now where did she go?"
"She's just outside sir. Sitting at one of the tables." The worker stood at attention.
"Was she eating? Was she alone?"
"She wasn't eating sir, and she wasn't alone. Specialist Gunnar was with her."
"Are you stupid? Who was eating the damn food? Can't you tell me that?" Amirocs continued his verbal assault.
"Specialist Gunnar was eating the food, sir," He paused wondering if he dared repeat Leia's words. "She said - The lady said that she was giving the food to Specialist Gunnar and that if anyone had a problem with it they should take it up with her personally."
"Get the hell out of my sight! How dare you bring me such news! You're banned from the mess hall for three days starting tomorrow!" Amirocs turned to his fellow officers. "That handicapped bitch! Did you hear that? Who the hell does she think she is?"
Just outside the mess hall Specialist Ray Gunnar was scarfing down his food in a way Leia didn't think possible. As she watched him she realized that she was going to have to employ a permanent solution for the craziness that was going on in that tiny part of the ship. Lieutenant Amirocs wasn't the type to submit or let things go, and she was going to have to deal with him. "So that hit the spot soldier?" Leia asked hoping to make Ray stop for a breath of air.
"I'm not a soldier," Ray gasped feeling the energy rush back into him. "None of us are. We're hazardous materials technicians. None of us are trained to fight."
"And that's the reason why you have your own little, self-contained area of the ship?"
"It's a precaution in case we do find or bring something hazardous on board. This way we have everything we need here, and have little reason to wander the ship and possibly spread contamination." Ray finished his meal with a controlled burp. "That was delicious... You do realize that I'm gonna have hell to pay from Amirocs? I really appreciate you bringing me food, but that asshole isn't going to let something like this go. I mean, I've seen some self-important, power hungry officers in my short time in Hazmat, but Amirocs beats them all by a million lightyears! He treats everyone like garbage then goes around punishing us for doing the same things he does ten times worse!"
Leia sighed grudgingly thinking about her upcoming confrontation. "Amirocs is a worthless human being who doesn't deserve his rank or position. In fact, how did he get this assignment? I find it hard to believe that someone as horrible as him was given such a prominent position."
Ray laughed, "It's not that prominent. In fact I'd say it completely unimportant. We're just a tiny unit in one ship out of the entire Imperial fleet. Us hundred-and-fifty guys are just a speck of dust on any ship's sensors. And Amirocs? That piece of shit doesn't do anything other than organize the meal shifts and other menial duties - things we trained scientists can do ourselves."
"Still, how did he get his position? Do you know?" Leia was completely baffled at how someone like Amirocs could be deemed worthy of overseeing others.
Ray pushed his tray aside. "Well I'm not really sure. I hear he used to kiss up to all his superiors and go out of his way to get noticed. After being passed over for real positions he finally begged someone to put him in charge of the Hazmat unit, and since we're not that important in the eyes of many officers they gave it to him. It wasn't long after that he went on his power trip."
"I really feel sorry for you guys and what he's put you through." Leia shook her head in disbelief.
"By the way, what's your name?" Ray asked feeling it was rude to continue any further without knowing.
"I'm Leia. Leia Organa from the New Republic of free planets," she said purposely withholding her title.
"So you're our enemy!" Ray laughed. "It's nice to meet an enemy as nice as you, and a special friend of the Admiral's no doubt. You must be very important!"
"I used to be... Now I don't know." Leia thought about her inevitable confrontation with the council and senate if she ever returned. "At least I'm important enough to deal with that poor excuse for a human being in there. Even if I wasn't I'd take care of him anyway." The disgust Amirocs made her feel clearly showed on her face. "Tell me something. Do all the specialists feel like you do?"
"There's a few who stay quiet, but I'm sure we all agree in our hatred of that worm."
Out of the mess hall popped a specialist's head who scouted what Leia was doing then disappeared again. "Your Lieutenant just sent someone for an update," said Leia who was facing the mess hall door. "I'm sure he's going out of his mind by now and is working up the courage to come over and tell me something."
Ray looked worried. "How do you plan on making the Lieutenant change his ways? He doesn't seem--"
"I know," Leia interrupted knowing what he was going to say. "I don't know what I'm going to do. He just better hope I don't get angry. If it comes to it I'll throw him out the air lock and hope one of the other officers gets the message."
"You'd really do that? You'd kill him?" Ray looked shocked. "What about the other officers? What about the Admiral?"
"Sometimes you have to get dirty when you need to clean up a mess." The words slipped out of Leia's mouth without her permission. She knew they came from the growing hatred of the Lieutenant and every despicable thing he had done. For as much as she wanted to control herself the abuse of power she was hearing about affected her greatly, and stirred memories of all the people who fought and died under her command.
"He's here," Leia whispered to Ray who turned around and noticed the admiral walking towards them.
"Excuse me... Um," Amirocs struggled not knowing how to address Leia. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment."
"Go inside Ray and let me speak with the Lieutenant," Leia told ray who immediately ran inside the mess hall. "What is it Lieutenant?" Leia asked uninterested.
Amirocs frustration was unbearable, and the thought of an outsider not giving him any respect and subverting his orders pushed him over the edge. "Excuse me, but that man was supposed to be under punishment! Who do you think you are barging in here telling my men to disobey me?"
"Let me ask you this first. Why was that man being punished? What could be so bad as to keep a man from food for so long?" Leia folded her hands in front of her and looked at Amirocs like a teacher about to punish a student.
The question flustered Amirocs. "Well, um... He didn't pay me the proper respect and he was clearly insubordinate."
"So disagreeing with you about which speeder is better is insubordination?"
"Those are lies. That never happened!" Amirocs clearly lied.
"As a commander who has sent men to their death I have to say that you are not fit to lead anyone, you are a horrible excuse for an officer and a worthless human being. I don't know if I'm more disgusted with you or the incompetent people who put you in such a position." Leia's anger began to rise.
"I don't care if you are the Admiral's guest! I don't want you in the hazmat unit again! I'm banning you from this place!" He got hysterical almost foaming at the mouth.
"You're going to ban me?" Leia laughed. She stood up and walked up the Lieutenant putting her face as close as she could to his. "Listen closely you piece of garbage. As of right now I'm stripping you of any authority you have. As of right now you are a nobody. You will do as I say and take some serious time to reflect on how horrible of a person you are--"
"I don't have to listen to this shit!" Amirocs turned away from Leia and started walking away. "Don't let me see you here again you bitch!" He headed into the mess hall feeling proud for standing up to a special guest of the Admiral. He walked up to Ray who was discussing the situation with a friend and began to berate him.
Like so many times before Leia's frustration and anger turned into rage, and Amirocs was going to pay. With clear determination she limped into the mess hall and came up behind him as he engaged in another tirade against his men. She squared him up and with her hurt leg kicked him in the groin from behind with all her might. The girlish squeals that Amirocs released immediately drew everyone's attention. Bent over and wincing in pain the Lieutenant turned around to see his assailant and offer some type of defence, but just as he did Leia brought her cane around and drove it into his mouth shattering all of his front teeth. "You're lucky I don't have my lightsaber!" Leia said as she grabbed Amirocs by the hair and lead him to the back of the mess hall to the officers table.
The entire room, including the officers, were in a state of shock trying to make sense of what was unraveling before them. None of the men had ever witnessed such an attack on an officer, and none of the officers dreamed that something like this would happen in their tight, deluded circle. As Leia reached the table one of the officers finally made a decision to draw his service blaster, but before he could aim it was on the ground behind a very angry looking Leia. With a flick of her arm the officer was thrown into the wall and knocked unconscious. "Do you want to try something too?" Leia asked the remaining two officers who after looking at each other scurried to the front of the mess hall.
Leia flipped the officer's table off the elevated platform and presented Amirocs before the hall lifting his head up by the hair exposing his humiliation. "This poor excuse for a human being, let alone an officer, has been abusing his power for long enough, and things are going to change around here." The room stayed silent as the men were too afraid and shocked to cheer. "Someone bring me some rope!" asked Leia. Almost immediately one of the specialists ran out then back into the hall with some which he cautiously handed to her. Leia then tied Amirocs to some tubing running along the ceiling and again presented him to the hall. "The Lieutenant is going to spend a few days up here on his pedestal. No one is to give him food or water as he reflects on his behavior, and no one is going to discuss this with anyone outside of this unit. You officers back there," Leia pointed them out, "are also to blame in all of this. You encouraged his bad behavior instead of standing up for the unit and your men. You should also be up here with him, but I'm going to hope that his example will be enough to teach you your lesson." Leia limped off the stage with her leg in more pain than usual because of her kick and slowly made her way to the front. The officers who were now petrified of her stayed as far away as they could. The men however were now focused on the strung up Lieutenant and by the time Leia made it to the front of the mess hall they were cheering and letting their feelings be known.
Back in her room Leia threw herself on her bed and began to massage her aching leg as she retraced the days happenings. I can't believe that idiot Amirocs, she thought to herself. I'm surprised Dorem has overlooked him for so long. I guess its the fact that the unit is so small and unimportant to him. And with the crisis right now trying to repair this ship he's going to care even less. Hopefully those officers will realize it and not try to report what happened. Leia fell asleep and stayed in her room for two days cursing the pain.
On the third day Leia felt it was time to check up on the Lieutenant and returned to the hazardous materials unit where one of the specialists waited at the entrance. "What are you doing here?" Leia asked as she limped up to him.
The specialist saluted and stood at attention. "Ma'am, I'm watching the entrance making sure no one leaves. You left orders not to speak with anyone and the men wanted to make sure everyone followed them."
"The men? What have the officers been doing?"
"They have stayed in their quarters most of the time only coming out to eat, Ma'am. They also talk with Lieutenant Amirocs from time to time."
"Speaking of the Lieutenant, how is he doing?"
The specialist immediately put on a worried look as soon as Leia talked about food. "Ma'am, I... Uh..."
"What is it? Spit it out."
"Ma'am, while no food has been given to the Lieutenant... The men decided that he should be given water this morning. He was looking horribly ill and we didn't want his death on our hands." The young man braced himself for the punishment Leia was sure to bring upon him.
Leia laughed, "Don't worry. You guys did the right thing. It shows how much better you are than him."
As soon as she walked through the mess hall door the specialists who were eating and socializing immediately stood up and saluted Leia. Flattered Leia ordered them to sit down and then walked up to check on Amirocs. The officers weren't there, but at her request quickly joined everyone not wanting to suffer at Leia's hands. Amirocs looked dehydrated and sickly as she picked up his head revealing his swollen bloody mouth. "So Lieutenant," leia whispered, "Have you learned anything these past few days?"
Amirocs only offered a hateful glance.
"I'm letting you go now, and I expect to see a significant change in the way things are run here." Leia turned to the officers who were hiding off to the side. "Come here and take him down! Make sure he gets some food and water."
Leia moved stepped off the stage while they tended to Lieutenant Amirocs. After giving him some food and tending to his wounds they sat him down on the floor. Leia was satisfied and was about to leave when she noticed Amirocs trying to sneak a fellow officer's blaster out of its holster. I knew it would come to this, Leia frowned as she Force-pulled it away from him. Why couldn't you learn your lesson you fool! As disgusted as she was with him she had really hoped that Amirocs would be capable of change. Now there was only one option left.
"You three pick him up and follow me!" Leia ordered. The officers carried Amirocs just outside the mess hall where she asked them where the nearest air lock was. Because of the self contained nature of the unit there was one just around the corner. She led them there and ordered them to toss the Lieutenant in, but they refused. "Fine!" Leia said as she Force-threw Amirocs into the air lock and shut the inner door. She looked at all three of the officers who stared back at her wondering if she was really going to do it - Hoping she wouldn't. "Pay close attention!" Leia said as she hit the eject button on the panel and sent Lieutenant Amirocs to his death. "Don't make me come back here and do that to you! Understand?" With that she limped past the officers and went back to her room. "God help me," Leia whispered to herself as she threw herself once again on her bed.
To Be Continued...
Slowly sliding her legs off the bed the throbbing pain reminded her of the terrible decisions that got her to this point. I know I can do better, Leia constantly repeated to herself. I know there's another way, but I just won't take it. I'm too angry, and anger is an enemy of the Jedi. After sitting down she grudgingly reached over to her nightstand and grabbed her aluminum cane that one of the medical droids prescribed and limped her way to her bathroom where she washed her face and prepared for her daily therapy - taking long walks through the ship.
Everything was as hectic as it was when Leia arrived a week ago. Dorem was lighting a fire under everyone to get the ship repaired quickly which meant workers ran instead of walked with officers right behind keeping them motivated. Along the corridors, panels sparked, consoles beeped erratically and the lights that weren't completely dead flickered with doubt as Leia forced herself to walk. She had already explored a large part of the area around her room, and had come to the conclusion that Super Star Destroyers were too big - especially for those who had trouble walking.
Arriving at a familiar junction Leia looked left, looked right, looked forward then decided to take a new path today. She turned right and happened upon a lift which she also decided to take. It only went down from her location and it dropped her off in an unfamiliar area of the ship to her amusement. Leia limped forward feeling the pain in her leg fade as her legged warmed up from the exercise and came upon a large warning on the wall: Hazardous Materials Area - Proceed With Caution. That's strange, thought Leia as she looked around wondering if she was in any danger. I never thought the Empire would have an area like this, but this is a command ship and these monsters seem to have everything.
Pressing forward hoping not to catch a virus or some other kind of contamination Leia walked passed a barracks area, what appeared to be a few labs and then a tiny area with two tables just before a noisy mess hall. Seeing the tables as a sign to take a break Leia took a seat and immediately noticed a young man laying on the floor behind the tables looking ill. "Are you okay?" Leia poked him with her cane.
The man looked up and was startled by the face of a woman. Suddenly he didn't look that sick anymore. "Ugh, well I haven't eaten anything but scraps for three days. I'm feeling weak and light-headed."
"Well why haven't you eaten anything? You're not contagious are you?" The warning at the front popped into Leia's mind.
The young man managed a small smile. "No. We haven't seen a hazardous material in years," he slowly sat up. "See, it's that son-of-a-bitch Lieutenant. He thinks he's the king of the damn area. He's banned me from the mess hall or getting anything to eat. My buddies throw me some scraps when he's not paying attention, but if they get caught they're screwed too."
Leia was shocked. "What did you do to earn such a ban?"
"I disagreed with him."
"With him? You mean the Lieutenant?"
"Yeah. See he's a speeder fanatic. The ultimate fanboy, and he loves the Pegs System-3 model speeder. He was talking about it last week with some of the boys and he couldn't stop mouthing off about how powerful it was or how advanced it looked. It pissed me off because that model is way overpriced and doesn't really offer anything new. I prefer the more popular W-11 model which offers superior control and innovation which hasn't been seen in the speeder scene for years. During his rant I decided to tell him the W-11 was better and he exploded in anger."
"So you're here starving because you disagreed with the Lieutenant on which speeder was better? That's outrageous! I'm going to get you some food. Sit down and get ready to eat." Leia stood up with determination and headed for the mess hall.
"Wait! Don't go!" The young man shouted but Leia ignored his warnings heading straight for the door. The mess hall opened up into a rather large room for the amount of men occupying it. In the center the workers ate and conversed while the food service was conducted to the right of the doorway. At the very back was the officers table with four officers. It sat on an elevated platform looking down on the men as if to ensure the superiority of the officers. Leia stood at the doorway for few seconds before the entire hall went silent; every man staring at the woman at the door. Although Dorem informed the ship of their special guest very few had actually seen her, and now for the first time the ship's hazardous materials unit beheld Dorem's personal guest who had to be given the same respect as Dorem himself by his order.
"At ease, gentlemen." Leia said in a regal tone usually reserved for politicians then walked up to the nearest food server. "Give me a plate of your best food, and make sure the portions are big!" Leia ordered with the ease and authority of a high ranking Imperial officer. The server began frantically running back and forth trying to make up his mind about what to give her when the clacking of officer boots quickly heading towards her made her turn around. In front of her stopped a thin, fragile looking man with an obvious air of superiority and arrogance - the three other officers behind him. "Greetings. It's an honor to meet you. Is there anything I can help you with? I am Lieutenant Amirocs and--"
"No, thank you Lieutenant! I can manage this myself," Leia cut him off.
"But... Wouldn't you prefer to eat in an area more suited to a special guest of the Admiral?"
Leia sighed annoyed by Amirocs' elitist tone. "I'm not eating here Lieutenant. This is for someone else."
"At least let one my men carry that for you." He turned and called on the nearest man, "Get over here! Carry her tray and don't spill an ounce!"
Politely thanking the young man who came to carry her tray, Leia turned around and walked out of the mess hall completely ignoring Amirocs and the other officers. She walked back to the table just outside and sat across the ill looking worker who had managed to climb up to it. "Holy shit! Is this for you Ray?" The tray carrier exclaimed as he set the food down.
"I tried to warn her, but she wouldn't listen. The Lieutenant's going to throw me in the brig for this, but at least I'll have a full stomach." Ray began stuffing his face with food.
"No one is going to the brig!" Leia said sternly. She turned to the young man who carried her tray, "If any officer asks you where you went you tell them the truth. You tell them that I gave this food to... Ray here, and if they have a problem with it they can take it up with me! Do you understand?"
"Yes Ma'am!" The worker saluted and went back in the mess hall.
As soon as he passed through the doorway Amirocs signaled him over with his finger. He stood with his arms crossed waiting until he arrived then blasted him with questions and animosity. "Now where did she go?"
"She's just outside sir. Sitting at one of the tables." The worker stood at attention.
"Was she eating? Was she alone?"
"She wasn't eating sir, and she wasn't alone. Specialist Gunnar was with her."
"Are you stupid? Who was eating the damn food? Can't you tell me that?" Amirocs continued his verbal assault.
"Specialist Gunnar was eating the food, sir," He paused wondering if he dared repeat Leia's words. "She said - The lady said that she was giving the food to Specialist Gunnar and that if anyone had a problem with it they should take it up with her personally."
"Get the hell out of my sight! How dare you bring me such news! You're banned from the mess hall for three days starting tomorrow!" Amirocs turned to his fellow officers. "That handicapped bitch! Did you hear that? Who the hell does she think she is?"
Just outside the mess hall Specialist Ray Gunnar was scarfing down his food in a way Leia didn't think possible. As she watched him she realized that she was going to have to employ a permanent solution for the craziness that was going on in that tiny part of the ship. Lieutenant Amirocs wasn't the type to submit or let things go, and she was going to have to deal with him. "So that hit the spot soldier?" Leia asked hoping to make Ray stop for a breath of air.
"I'm not a soldier," Ray gasped feeling the energy rush back into him. "None of us are. We're hazardous materials technicians. None of us are trained to fight."
"And that's the reason why you have your own little, self-contained area of the ship?"
"It's a precaution in case we do find or bring something hazardous on board. This way we have everything we need here, and have little reason to wander the ship and possibly spread contamination." Ray finished his meal with a controlled burp. "That was delicious... You do realize that I'm gonna have hell to pay from Amirocs? I really appreciate you bringing me food, but that asshole isn't going to let something like this go. I mean, I've seen some self-important, power hungry officers in my short time in Hazmat, but Amirocs beats them all by a million lightyears! He treats everyone like garbage then goes around punishing us for doing the same things he does ten times worse!"
Leia sighed grudgingly thinking about her upcoming confrontation. "Amirocs is a worthless human being who doesn't deserve his rank or position. In fact, how did he get this assignment? I find it hard to believe that someone as horrible as him was given such a prominent position."
Ray laughed, "It's not that prominent. In fact I'd say it completely unimportant. We're just a tiny unit in one ship out of the entire Imperial fleet. Us hundred-and-fifty guys are just a speck of dust on any ship's sensors. And Amirocs? That piece of shit doesn't do anything other than organize the meal shifts and other menial duties - things we trained scientists can do ourselves."
"Still, how did he get his position? Do you know?" Leia was completely baffled at how someone like Amirocs could be deemed worthy of overseeing others.
Ray pushed his tray aside. "Well I'm not really sure. I hear he used to kiss up to all his superiors and go out of his way to get noticed. After being passed over for real positions he finally begged someone to put him in charge of the Hazmat unit, and since we're not that important in the eyes of many officers they gave it to him. It wasn't long after that he went on his power trip."
"I really feel sorry for you guys and what he's put you through." Leia shook her head in disbelief.
"By the way, what's your name?" Ray asked feeling it was rude to continue any further without knowing.
"I'm Leia. Leia Organa from the New Republic of free planets," she said purposely withholding her title.
"So you're our enemy!" Ray laughed. "It's nice to meet an enemy as nice as you, and a special friend of the Admiral's no doubt. You must be very important!"
"I used to be... Now I don't know." Leia thought about her inevitable confrontation with the council and senate if she ever returned. "At least I'm important enough to deal with that poor excuse for a human being in there. Even if I wasn't I'd take care of him anyway." The disgust Amirocs made her feel clearly showed on her face. "Tell me something. Do all the specialists feel like you do?"
"There's a few who stay quiet, but I'm sure we all agree in our hatred of that worm."
Out of the mess hall popped a specialist's head who scouted what Leia was doing then disappeared again. "Your Lieutenant just sent someone for an update," said Leia who was facing the mess hall door. "I'm sure he's going out of his mind by now and is working up the courage to come over and tell me something."
Ray looked worried. "How do you plan on making the Lieutenant change his ways? He doesn't seem--"
"I know," Leia interrupted knowing what he was going to say. "I don't know what I'm going to do. He just better hope I don't get angry. If it comes to it I'll throw him out the air lock and hope one of the other officers gets the message."
"You'd really do that? You'd kill him?" Ray looked shocked. "What about the other officers? What about the Admiral?"
"Sometimes you have to get dirty when you need to clean up a mess." The words slipped out of Leia's mouth without her permission. She knew they came from the growing hatred of the Lieutenant and every despicable thing he had done. For as much as she wanted to control herself the abuse of power she was hearing about affected her greatly, and stirred memories of all the people who fought and died under her command.
"He's here," Leia whispered to Ray who turned around and noticed the admiral walking towards them.
"Excuse me... Um," Amirocs struggled not knowing how to address Leia. "Can I speak to you privately for a moment."
"Go inside Ray and let me speak with the Lieutenant," Leia told ray who immediately ran inside the mess hall. "What is it Lieutenant?" Leia asked uninterested.
Amirocs frustration was unbearable, and the thought of an outsider not giving him any respect and subverting his orders pushed him over the edge. "Excuse me, but that man was supposed to be under punishment! Who do you think you are barging in here telling my men to disobey me?"
"Let me ask you this first. Why was that man being punished? What could be so bad as to keep a man from food for so long?" Leia folded her hands in front of her and looked at Amirocs like a teacher about to punish a student.
The question flustered Amirocs. "Well, um... He didn't pay me the proper respect and he was clearly insubordinate."
"So disagreeing with you about which speeder is better is insubordination?"
"Those are lies. That never happened!" Amirocs clearly lied.
"As a commander who has sent men to their death I have to say that you are not fit to lead anyone, you are a horrible excuse for an officer and a worthless human being. I don't know if I'm more disgusted with you or the incompetent people who put you in such a position." Leia's anger began to rise.
"I don't care if you are the Admiral's guest! I don't want you in the hazmat unit again! I'm banning you from this place!" He got hysterical almost foaming at the mouth.
"You're going to ban me?" Leia laughed. She stood up and walked up the Lieutenant putting her face as close as she could to his. "Listen closely you piece of garbage. As of right now I'm stripping you of any authority you have. As of right now you are a nobody. You will do as I say and take some serious time to reflect on how horrible of a person you are--"
"I don't have to listen to this shit!" Amirocs turned away from Leia and started walking away. "Don't let me see you here again you bitch!" He headed into the mess hall feeling proud for standing up to a special guest of the Admiral. He walked up to Ray who was discussing the situation with a friend and began to berate him.
Like so many times before Leia's frustration and anger turned into rage, and Amirocs was going to pay. With clear determination she limped into the mess hall and came up behind him as he engaged in another tirade against his men. She squared him up and with her hurt leg kicked him in the groin from behind with all her might. The girlish squeals that Amirocs released immediately drew everyone's attention. Bent over and wincing in pain the Lieutenant turned around to see his assailant and offer some type of defence, but just as he did Leia brought her cane around and drove it into his mouth shattering all of his front teeth. "You're lucky I don't have my lightsaber!" Leia said as she grabbed Amirocs by the hair and lead him to the back of the mess hall to the officers table.
The entire room, including the officers, were in a state of shock trying to make sense of what was unraveling before them. None of the men had ever witnessed such an attack on an officer, and none of the officers dreamed that something like this would happen in their tight, deluded circle. As Leia reached the table one of the officers finally made a decision to draw his service blaster, but before he could aim it was on the ground behind a very angry looking Leia. With a flick of her arm the officer was thrown into the wall and knocked unconscious. "Do you want to try something too?" Leia asked the remaining two officers who after looking at each other scurried to the front of the mess hall.
Leia flipped the officer's table off the elevated platform and presented Amirocs before the hall lifting his head up by the hair exposing his humiliation. "This poor excuse for a human being, let alone an officer, has been abusing his power for long enough, and things are going to change around here." The room stayed silent as the men were too afraid and shocked to cheer. "Someone bring me some rope!" asked Leia. Almost immediately one of the specialists ran out then back into the hall with some which he cautiously handed to her. Leia then tied Amirocs to some tubing running along the ceiling and again presented him to the hall. "The Lieutenant is going to spend a few days up here on his pedestal. No one is to give him food or water as he reflects on his behavior, and no one is going to discuss this with anyone outside of this unit. You officers back there," Leia pointed them out, "are also to blame in all of this. You encouraged his bad behavior instead of standing up for the unit and your men. You should also be up here with him, but I'm going to hope that his example will be enough to teach you your lesson." Leia limped off the stage with her leg in more pain than usual because of her kick and slowly made her way to the front. The officers who were now petrified of her stayed as far away as they could. The men however were now focused on the strung up Lieutenant and by the time Leia made it to the front of the mess hall they were cheering and letting their feelings be known.
Back in her room Leia threw herself on her bed and began to massage her aching leg as she retraced the days happenings. I can't believe that idiot Amirocs, she thought to herself. I'm surprised Dorem has overlooked him for so long. I guess its the fact that the unit is so small and unimportant to him. And with the crisis right now trying to repair this ship he's going to care even less. Hopefully those officers will realize it and not try to report what happened. Leia fell asleep and stayed in her room for two days cursing the pain.
On the third day Leia felt it was time to check up on the Lieutenant and returned to the hazardous materials unit where one of the specialists waited at the entrance. "What are you doing here?" Leia asked as she limped up to him.
The specialist saluted and stood at attention. "Ma'am, I'm watching the entrance making sure no one leaves. You left orders not to speak with anyone and the men wanted to make sure everyone followed them."
"The men? What have the officers been doing?"
"They have stayed in their quarters most of the time only coming out to eat, Ma'am. They also talk with Lieutenant Amirocs from time to time."
"Speaking of the Lieutenant, how is he doing?"
The specialist immediately put on a worried look as soon as Leia talked about food. "Ma'am, I... Uh..."
"What is it? Spit it out."
"Ma'am, while no food has been given to the Lieutenant... The men decided that he should be given water this morning. He was looking horribly ill and we didn't want his death on our hands." The young man braced himself for the punishment Leia was sure to bring upon him.
Leia laughed, "Don't worry. You guys did the right thing. It shows how much better you are than him."
As soon as she walked through the mess hall door the specialists who were eating and socializing immediately stood up and saluted Leia. Flattered Leia ordered them to sit down and then walked up to check on Amirocs. The officers weren't there, but at her request quickly joined everyone not wanting to suffer at Leia's hands. Amirocs looked dehydrated and sickly as she picked up his head revealing his swollen bloody mouth. "So Lieutenant," leia whispered, "Have you learned anything these past few days?"
Amirocs only offered a hateful glance.
"I'm letting you go now, and I expect to see a significant change in the way things are run here." Leia turned to the officers who were hiding off to the side. "Come here and take him down! Make sure he gets some food and water."
Leia moved stepped off the stage while they tended to Lieutenant Amirocs. After giving him some food and tending to his wounds they sat him down on the floor. Leia was satisfied and was about to leave when she noticed Amirocs trying to sneak a fellow officer's blaster out of its holster. I knew it would come to this, Leia frowned as she Force-pulled it away from him. Why couldn't you learn your lesson you fool! As disgusted as she was with him she had really hoped that Amirocs would be capable of change. Now there was only one option left.
"You three pick him up and follow me!" Leia ordered. The officers carried Amirocs just outside the mess hall where she asked them where the nearest air lock was. Because of the self contained nature of the unit there was one just around the corner. She led them there and ordered them to toss the Lieutenant in, but they refused. "Fine!" Leia said as she Force-threw Amirocs into the air lock and shut the inner door. She looked at all three of the officers who stared back at her wondering if she was really going to do it - Hoping she wouldn't. "Pay close attention!" Leia said as she hit the eject button on the panel and sent Lieutenant Amirocs to his death. "Don't make me come back here and do that to you! Understand?" With that she limped past the officers and went back to her room. "God help me," Leia whispered to herself as she threw herself once again on her bed.
To Be Continued...
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