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Empire Reforged
Chapter 21: There Is Always a Record
Location: ISV Silver Lance, Docked at Centares Command — Debriefing Chamber C
Date: BBY 8 – 1030 Hours
The walls were white.
Not sterile, not clinical — calculated. White to reflect the light evenly. White to erase the lines between shadow and truth. Imperial Intelligence didn't use dark rooms. Darkness gave people somewhere to hide.
Lucan sat at the center of the chamber, back straight, boots flat to the deck.
Across from him sat two officers — one in Fleet Intelligence blacks, the other in Strategic Analysis gray. They wore no nameplates. Their datapads were polished, cold. Their faces were unreadable.
"Lieutenant Virex," the man in black said. "This debrief is recorded. You are being evaluated under Article 7-Sub-B: Unilateral Mission Escalation within unregulated space. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Lucan said.
"Your command of the Vigilance was not authorized to engage in long-term deviation from assigned patrol routes."
"Correct."
"And yet you pursued an independent tracking operation spanning nine systems, captured multiple ships, dismantled a relay network, and led a ground strike on an unlisted world."
"I did."
The man didn't blink. "Why?"
Lucan's reply was razor-sharp.
"Because no one else was watching."
The analyst tapped her pad. "Our concern is scale. You acted without support, reported only after engagement, and withheld your findings until you had constructed a complete operational picture. That could be interpreted as concealment."
"It was operational control," Lucan replied. "You don't report an ambush one shot at a time."
The man raised an eyebrow. "And you believe you have the authority to make that distinction?"
"I believe I had the responsibility."
Silence.
The analyst shifted her datapad slightly. "Your recovered archive contained over ninety-seven terabytes of encrypted data — some of which is still locked behind deadfall algorithms predating the Clone Wars. These are not rebel courier chains. This is infrastructure. Logistics. Blueprint-level targeting data."
"I know," Lucan said.
"You acted alone."
"No," Lucan corrected. "I acted with a crew trained to think, not just follow."
The analyst gave a barely perceptible nod.
"Then you'll accept the consequences."
Lucan nodded once. "I already have."
The man leaned forward.
"Then understand this, Lieutenant: Fleet Command has issued you a conditional commendation — Strategic Response Badge, with Sector Intelligence classification upgrade. Your record is now flagged for operational autonomy review. Effective immediately, you are promoted to the rank of Commander, provisional."
Lucan didn't move. He didn't blink.
"You are also now listed under the Nexus Oversight Directive."
Darran, standing behind Lucan, visibly shifted.
Nexus was not an award.
It was a leash.
Lucan understood.
"Orders?"
"You will resume patrol within your original Mid Rim sectors — but now with discretionary mobility into unregulated systems deemed 'at-risk.' Any anomalies you detect will be handled internally until Intelligence deems them fit for open reporting. You are to monitor, investigate, contain — and not escalate without authorization."
Lucan met the man's eyes.
"And if I detect the same thing again?"
The analyst answered softly.
"Then you'll already know what to do."
—
They left the chamber with new orders and old tension.
Back aboard the Silver Lance, Lucan stood at the forward viewport, Darran at his side.
"You're not surprised," she said.
"No."
"But you don't like it."
"No."
"They're watching now."
"They always were," Lucan said. "They just never expected someone to walk through the door."
Darran gave him a sidelong glance.
"You're not afraid of them."
Lucan's voice was flat.
"I'm afraid of what happens when no one else is."
He turned to the crew below, prepping systems, logging fuel reserves, recalibrating sensor arrays.
His crew.
The shadows had given way to light — but the cold had only deepened.
And the next move would be his.