Register | Login | Search | Help | New Boards | Harassment Policy | Rules of the JC | TOS | Markup Codes
Locked Topic | Read Only Topic | Previous Active Topic | Next Active Topic
Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 - Previous | Next | Reload
Author Topic: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) *Complete*
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 1/29/08 2:35pm Subject: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) *Complete* - Date Edited: 9/17/08 8:00am (18 edits total) Edited By: yodas_waiter
Title: The Enforcer
Author: yodas_waiter
Characters: OCs
Genre: Action
Timeframe: 0 BBY, some months before the destruction of the Death Star
Summary: An Imperial noble discovers that he has a latent Force sensitivity. His new powers open up a new world of possibilities whilst at the same time risking to bring down the one he has built up.

Ok, so this story has been rolling around in my head since May and it feels good getting this under way. The inspiration for this story comes from Spiderman, Batman and Heroes (so you can understand the narrative angle I'm striving to achieve). This is basically the origin story, so no "super-villains" yet but I promise you plenty of action, so bear with me to begin with wink

The main character of this story, Hector Viralte, was formed in the OC Project that was started by corellian_ale but I had to drop out because of story reasons. The OC Project was going places where I did not want to go with this particular character. Still, the short time the character was a part of the project proved very important to me as I got a sense of who he is and where this story will go. The supporting cast also appeared thanks to that session. So a BIG THANK YOU to corellian_ale for starting the OC Project and to all the great posters of the Essential OC Thread that came with some very helpful feedback. You helped me out a lot guys! happy

Finally, I want to dedicate this story to my missing Master in action: Sionnach-Airgid. She helped me lay the groundworks for this character and many other OCs that have appeared and will appear in the future. Thank you! grin

Now, that was a long introductory post but I hope you're still with me. Let's get this started! cool


-------------------------

Prologue
The Vision

Darkness.

A darkness vibrant with life, sounds everywhere. Hector opened up his eyes slowly and unwillingly.

It was happening again.

But the sounds were penetrating deep into his ears and his mind, it was impossible to remain still. It could not be ignored because simply ignoring it would not make it go away. He opened his eyes, stood up and was met by an awesome sight.

Coruscant was burning.

The sight was alarming in its own way and the air was thick with the screams of countless people. Hector moved slowly to the edge of the platform on which he had awoken and stood balancing precariously as he observed the carnage all around him. Buildings were collapsing slowly into the void and massive clouds of dust coloured the sky blood-red.

‘How real!’ Hector exclaimed with a mix of delight and fear. It had never been this real before. Well, real enough to cause discomfort bur not this real. For a brief moment, Hector actually questioned if Coruscant was really burning and that it was not a dream or a vision he was having. But the next thing to happen removed all doubt from Hector’s mind that what he was witnessing wasn’t a dream or a vision.

‘See this,’ a deep, omniscient voice said softly, yet it boomed all around Hector.

‘Who said that?’ Hector said and turned around, only to be met by the sight of the empty platform.

‘I,’ came the answer.

‘Who?’ Hector demanded.

‘You,’ it answered cryptically.

‘Me? I know I’m here,’ Hector said, growing impatient. He was not in the mood for a cryptic conversation as Coruscant was crumbling, real or not. ‘Who are you?’

‘I am You,’ it answered. Hectors jaw dropped.

‘That doesn’t even make sense!’ he shouted. ‘Who are you!?’

But the presence ignored Hector’s question and asked instead: ‘See this?’

‘Hard to miss,’ Hector said, resigning himself that he would not get a straight answer and instead embraced the absurdity of the situation. ‘What is it?’

‘It is what to come,’ the voice answered.

‘Coruscant burning? Really?!’ Hector said in surprise. ‘I know there are rebel factions but they would never manage to strike Imperial Centre,’

Again, the voice didn’t answer or clarify. Instead, it boomed: ‘Look,’

‘I am,’ Hector said, but then he saw what the voice was referring to. Great, thick vines were growing from the sides of several buildings, squeezing them and making them crumble. An almighty roar, such as Hector had never heard before, grew from nothingness and was the only thing he heard for several long seconds.

‘What was that?!’ he shouted, still covering his ears, after the roaring had subsisted and the vines disappeared in the dust cloud.

‘It is what to come,’ the voice said once again.

‘Am I supposed to interpret this?’

No answer.

For some reason, a strong white light rose from the lower levels and glowed through all the destruction but it quickly fizzled out. Then an all encompassing darkness seemed to fall from the sky and seep through the remaining building. The horizon disappeared and the dark closed in on Hector.

‘What’s going on?’ he asked but the presence seemed to have gone.

Hector retreated even though he knew he wouldn’t get far because he was on a platform. Within the blink of an eye, the darkness surrounded and penetrated him. For a split second, Hector felt like he was falling but then the ground was steady again and he stood up tentatively. As he did so, the dark disappeared into a brilliant light which blinded Hector.

‘What is the meaning of all this?’ Hector said as he covered his eyes.

‘It is what to come,’

‘Except that!’ Hector retorted. Suddenly, it felt like Hector’s veins were boiling. He fell to the floor in pain as he tugged at his skin. ‘What’s happening?’ Hector shouted in pain.

‘It is what you are,’

‘What?!’

‘Potential,’

‘For what?’ Hector was still in pain but forced himself up to his feet. ‘What potential?’

‘The potential in your veins,’ the voice answered. ‘Danger is coming. You are standing at a crossroad. Your decisions now will affect the destiny of many people,’

‘Danger…destiny?’ Hector was growing more and more confused and the pain wasn’t helping. He felt another shock of pain and fell to his knees with tears in his eyes. ‘What will happen to me?’

‘You will see. Be prepared, your destiny awaits you,’

Hector was about to answer but the pain was too much and he fell onto his back. Pain was all he felt, it was his very being. The bright light faded and was replaced by darkness once again. Hector felt himself going numb and from somewhere far beyond him, someone was urging him to wake up.



 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Alexis_Wingstar  3186 posts
Registered: Sep '06
50900_NaNo 15
Date Posted: 1/29/08 3:20pm Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY)
That was... wierd. Intriguingly wierd. I want to read more!

 

-----signature-----
3rd time NaNoWriMo Participant
3rd time's the charm, right?
RIGHT?
worried
tongue
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 2/5/08 6:27am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY)
Alexis: Yeah, sorry about that, but it was the only way I could start the story properly. It will make sense later, I promise wink And you need not wait any longer. Here's the update! grin

Chapter 1 coming in, now the story gets started. Enjoy!


------------------------------

Chapter 1
The Officers Aptitude Test

‘Wake up Hector! Wake up,’

Hector was being shaken so violently that he could not ignore it and he lifted his head up slowly and said groggily: ‘I’m up, I’m up,’

‘Then get up,’ came the reply and Hector recognised that harsh voice. It was his father, Janus Viralte. ‘If this had been the military, you would’ve already been demoted and assigned to cleaning the refreshers. Get up!’

‘I am up, sir,’ Hector said as his feet tenderly touched the cold floor.

‘Don’t give me attitude,’ Hector’s father said and pointed his finger towards Hector. ‘You might be younger than me but I can still take you on and win,’

‘Not today you wouldn’t,’ Hector smiled as he started getting dressed.

‘Well...no,’ Janus responded slowly and then more forcefully: ‘Anyway, there’s always tomorrow and get dressed already!’

‘Alright, alright. I’m getting there. Besides, I’m 23. You can’t threaten me like that anymore,’

‘Just get dressed,’ Janus said once again before turning around and taking a good look at the apartment. ‘This place is a mess. This is no way for a Viralte, or a military man for that matter, to live,’

‘I had some friends over to help me study. When we we’re done, we celebrated with a few drinks,’ Hector explained. ‘I’ll clean it up when I get back,’

Hector’s father merely sighed.

‘A military man can’t live like this,’ he said.

‘You’ve already said that, father,’ Hector said as he looked at himself in the mirror whilst he was combing his hair.

‘I know, but it bears repeating. As often as possible,’ Janus walked around the large bed and spotted something among the covers. He grabbed his ceremonial cane and used it to lift out a pair of woman’s underwear. ‘Did you happen to study anything else last night?’ he asked and shook his head.

‘What now?’ Hector said impatiently, turning around as he was buttoning his sleeves. He saw the woman’s underwear dangling from the cane and lunged forward quickly to grab them. ‘Give me those,’ he said through gritted teeth.

‘It’s only natural,’ Janus said as he started pacing around the bedroom. ‘You’re young and virile. Why shouldn’t you…you know…test the waters. I remember when I was your age, just after the Yinchorri uprising and all those young women of…’

‘Father, please!’ Hector exclaimed and covered his ears. ‘I don’t want to hear anything of your…escapades and I would appreciate it if you left me alone to mine,’

‘Sure,’ Hector’s father said. ‘But what I was about to say is that, whilst it’s certainly your right as a young man to lead an active love life, as a military man you can’t afford the same liberties,’

‘Of course I can. There are many historical precedents of military commanders who had a whole host of mistresses,’ Hector responded.

‘And are you a military commander?’ Janus said and smiled.

‘Well, no, but that’s not really my point, is it?’ Hector said as he straightened his jacket.

‘But those old military commanders who had mistresses were also usually cruel, weren’t they?’ Hector’s father asked but he didn’t wait for the reply. He continued: ‘War makes you shed your humanity and that’s why you need a family to come home to. They help you maintain a shred of human decency in all that madness. Mistresses cannot offer the same unconditional love like a family can. That’s why men who go to war and only have a mistress to come back to turn out to be cruel men and I won’t let that happen to you. You’re a Viralte and we pride ourselves on our gentlemanly conduct of war. A Viralte has never, in all the years we have served the Republic in war, never been accused of a war crime. Not even our enemies have managed to hold anything against us and that’s because of our healthy lifestyle,’ he concluded proudly.

‘So, in essence, you want me to get a girl?’ Hector asked.

‘A woman, my boy, a woman,’ came the answer. ‘Find someone that is your equal. Find someone that completes you,’

‘That sounds easy,’ Hector said sarcastically.

‘Like that friend of yours,’ Janus went on, ignoring the sarcasm. ‘What’s her name? Belena? A Praji I believe,’

‘Belle?’ Hector said sceptically. ‘We’re just friends and that’s that. She’d slap me for suggesting anything like that,’

‘Sounds like exactly the kind of woman you need,’ Janus smiled. ‘Besides, you’re 23 already. Soon you’ll be going out to war and before you know it, you’re old enough to start a family. Plan ahead, boy, so that you’ve got something to look forward to when you’re on leave,’

‘Thanks, father. I’ll think about it,’ Hector said as put on his officer’s recruit hat and took a good look at himself in the mirror. ‘How do I look?’

‘Good,’ Janus answered. ‘But I would prefer it if you had a rank badge and some medals to go with that uniform. Now, let’s get some breakfast,’

****

‘Are you nervous?’ Janus asked as they walked through the garage towards his speeder.

‘A little, yes,’ Hector said.

‘Good,’ his father smiled. ‘It will keep you on the edge. That’s a good thing,’

‘As long as I can keep my breakfast down,’

‘Now that’s too much nervousness,’ the greying man pointed out. ‘You need to find a balance where it makes you think clearly but not where it muddles your mind,’ the two men jumped into the speeder. ‘If you’d like, I can quiz you,’

The engines revved up and the speeder sped out of the garage.

‘No thank you,’ Hector politely declined. ‘Just keep your eyes on the air-lanes,’

‘Anyone else I know coming? How about Roderick or Fulton?’

‘No, Brock and Holler got another time. I actually don’t know any of the men that are going to be there today too well,’ Hector smiled slightly. ‘I guess that takes another load of my mind. I wouldn’t want to embarrass myself in front of my friends,’

‘But friends are important,’ Hector’s father said, turning to Hector who indicated forcefully out towards the air-lanes and was forced to turn back. ‘Service would’ve been a hell of a lot harder if I didn’t have my good friends’ serving alongside me,’ his eyes went all misty as he reminisced.

‘Father! The air-lanes! Seriously!’ Hector shouted.

‘I know what I’m doing. I had to evacuate my ship in a LAAT gunship during the battle of Coruscant, I’ll have you know and I didn’t have the luxury of air-lanes, might I add, but I made it out in one piece’ Janus huffed.

‘Yes, we’ve all heard that story plenty of times,’ Hector sighed.

‘Then what’s your complaining all about?’ Janus asked. ‘I do hope you’ll manage this so you have something to tell at the dinner table. I’m getting tired of hearing of your mother’s favourite artists and it doesn’t help that all you can talk about is your arty friends,’

Having reached the vast, grey slab of building that was COMPNOR’s training facility in the industrial area, Janus parked the speeder and the both of them disembarked from it and walked into the gigantic entrance hall. Young men in impeccable uniforms were moving to and fro in a hasty manner whilst more seasoned men languished more calmly. Here and there stood some stormtroopers silently erect.

‘What now?’ Janus asked.

‘I’m going to report myself in and then it starts, I guess,’

‘Good,’ Janus said and found a seat. ‘I’ll be waiting here. Good luck,’

‘Thanks,’ Hector smiled and shook his father’s hand before walking up to the desk where a young female receptionist wearing a tight-fitting uniform was sitting.

‘Hi,’ she smiled. ‘Are you here for the officer’s aptitude test with CompForce?’

‘Yes, with Captain Ulgo,’

‘It’s on subfloor 7, but you’re a little early. Why don’t you stick around for a while?’ she smiled, revealing two rows of flawlessly straight, sparkling white teeth.

‘I’d love to. But my father…’ Hector indicated with his thumb towards his father who was talking sternly to some young recruits. ‘…and I had a chat concerning this and I’d get another talking to if he saw me hanging around here,’

‘Oh,’ the receptionist pouted. ‘Well, good luck with the test,’

‘Thanks,’ Hector said and started walking off when a thought struck him and he turned back quickly to receptionist. ‘You know, we could always meet some other time. Here’s my name and how you can contact me,’ he reached for a pen and paper and scribbled his name down down. ‘Maybe I’ll hear from you?’

‘Maybe you will,’ she smiled again and her deep blue eyes sparkled. As Hector walked away towards the repulsorlift, he could hear her giggle slightly.

****

Despite his father’s belief that he was a womanizer, nothing could be further from the truth. It just seemed that Janus Viralte had an almost supernatural knack for stumbling upon Hector when he was or had been with a woman. So Hector was always surprised when he did actually manage to garner the attention of a woman, especially such a cute one like the receptionist out there. To exemplify Hector’s poor grasp of women, the woman Hector spent last night with had apparently left as quickly and quietly as possible. She must’ve realised that last night had been a spice-related mistake.

Hector couldn’t even clearly remember last night, at least not after Tarman broke out the spice. He always tended do go over the top when it came to spice. It was fun for the moment but Hector never liked the feeling of big gaping holes in his recollection of the night or the subsequent bad trips that was a constant side effect of his spice use.

Last night’s trip had been particularly vivid and ominous. So much so that Hector almost considered giving up spice.

Almost.

****

The repulsorlift descended quickly and smoothly to the seventh floor below ground level. As the doors hissed open, Hector stood and gazed upon himself in the mirrors on the wall trying to decide exactly what the receptionist had seen in him.

‘Must’ve been the uniform,’ he concluded as he slapped his pale cheek and flattened his hair before putting on his hat. He stepped into the waiting room where four other recruits were standing because there were no places to sit. They casually acknowledged Hector’s presence with a slight nod of the head.

Since the recruits didn’t seem all too chatty, Hector looked around the room but there wasn’t much to see. The walls were steel-grey with no paintings, holo-images or anything else adorning them. There was just one large black banner with the silver Imperial insignia on it hanging above a door. Despite agreeing with its principals, Hector thought that the Imperial architectural philosophy left a lot to be desired.

Slowly but surely, more recruits trickled in until they were 20 fresh faced men standing silently in the room. On the hour, the door under the large banner opened and in strode the tall figure of Captain Ulgo. Without a word being uttered, the recruits hurried up to the Captain and formed two straight lines in front of him consisting of ten men each. Hector stood in the middle of the first row, right opposite Captain Ulgo.

‘Welcome recruits,’ the Captain said in a baritone voice. No one responded to the welcome. ‘Years of training with CompForce will come to fruition here. You will be tested physically and mentally to see if you can stand up to the rigours of being an Officer in the Imperial Army and a defender the New Order!’ he paced in front of the front row, staring into the eyes of every recruit who was keeping a steady gaze straight forward. After a few minutes, Captain Ulgo went on: ‘But before I get started, I will give a role-call. Respond when you hear your name being called,’

Hector stood perfectly still as the 19 other names were called out. When it came to his, Ulgo moved in front of him and eyed him curiously: ‘Viralte, Hector,’ he said slowly.

‘Present,’ Hector responded clearly.

‘This will be interesting,’ Ulgo said, half to himself, half to Hector before taking a few steps back and looking at all the recruits. ‘Very well, the test starts now. Good luck everyone. Follow me,’

And everyone followed Ulgo through the door under the large black banner. They all piled into a big repulsorlift that descended further into the bowels of the building. Only the humming of the engines could be heard as the recruits looked around silently, measuring each other up. Hector avoided the scrutinizing gazes of the others and looked determinedly up towards the ceiling or alternatively the back of Ulgo’s big, bald head. The repulsorlift suddenly stopped and the doors opened revealing a long and barren corridor.

‘Follow me,’ Ulgo said as everyone poured out of the lift.

‘How far down are we?’ a nervous looking recruit asked.

‘Far enough,’ Ulgo said, turning his head around and smiling slightly. ‘Now, you will start with a psychological evaluation before testing your cognitive-skills. After that comes the physical part. Then another test of your cognitive-skills and a final psychological examination. Any questions?’

They had reached a large door in front of which Ulgo now stood. None of the recruits seemed to have any questions.

‘Good,’ Ulgo said and looked upon them sternly. ‘Abrams,’ he announced suddenly and nervous recruit jumped at the announcement of his name. ‘Yes, you,’ Ulgo said impatiently. ‘You’re up first. Get in there,’

****

‘State your full name,’ the drab and bespectacled psychological examiner droned as he examined Hector’s brainwaves on his data-pad.

‘Hector Janus Lasar Viralte,’

A small readout.

‘Why do you want to serve the Empire?’

‘I believe it is my duty as an Imperial citizen and I want to follow in the footsteps of the other Viraltes,’

Another small readout.

‘Mmm… How do you feel about the growing rebellion?’

‘It should be crushed. They’re terrorists who are murdering innocent civilians and the Empire shouldn’t tolerate it,’

A spike, but a good one.

‘You advocate confrontation?’

‘Yes,’

Another good spike.

‘How do you feel about non-humans?’

‘I don’t know. Haven’t really met one to be honest,’

‘Aha,’ the examiner said slowly.

Hector hesitated. ‘But they tried to topple the Republic during the Clone Wars so I guess they deserve what ever has been coming to them. It is, after all, the burden of man to civilise the aliens,’

‘Let’s change tracks,’ the examiner suggested and made a failed attempt at smiling. ‘Tell me about your childhood,’ Hector rolled his eyes. He wanted to talk about history and politics, not about his life. This was going to be a boring session and the examiner wasn’t exactly making things better.

A spike appeared on the screen of the data-pad. A bad one.

****

With the psychological examination finally out of the way, it was time to test their cognitive-skills. All 20 recruits sat huddled around their own screen and looked down upon the various questions that popped up. Hector had not come to a good start.

‘Which number should come next? 144 121 100 81 64?’ was one of the questions.

‘I’ll answer that later,’ Hector thought and skipped the question.

Several geometric shapes appeared and the question was: ‘Which one doesn’t fit in?’ Hector groaned inwardly. This wasn’t his strong point.

Next question.

‘Your defensive line is breached in three places. At your immediate disposal are five grenadiers and one repeater blaster. Your medics and anti-tank units are stuck behind…’ and so it went on and on, ending finally with the question: ‘What should you do?’

Hector rubbed his temples. He started getting the distinct feeling that he should’ve spent last night studying rather than partying.


 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Meredith_Kenobi  2228 posts
Registered: Jul '05
14879_Sabé
Date Posted: 2/5/08 8:52pm Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 5/2
Poor guy, he's got not only a name to live up to (the Captain recognized his last name) but also a legacy. That's gotta be tough.

His father is clearly a military man. I wonder what he would say if he knew his son was abusing spice? raised_brow

‘Which number should come next? 144 121 100 81 64?’ was one of the questions.

49! Dude should've studied more. If he doesn't make it in....boy, oh boy, would that be a disappointment to his father. shame_on_you

This is really good so far! PM list? praying

 

-----signature-----
Proud to be ZaraValinor's Padawan grin
Delighted to be brodiew's Master peace
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 2/12/08 2:53pm Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 5/2
Meredith_Kenobi: Thanks and keep on wondering. You might find out soon wink And yes, one could quite accurately guess that math wasn't Hector's favourite subject.

I was hoping to do regular updates once a week but I've got a lot going on right now so that won't happen. Hopefully I'll get an update in before the end of the week. So yes, I'll keep a PM list and I recommend that people sign up for PM's if they want to keep track of the story. Thanks for your patience happy

 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 2/18/08 6:30am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 5/2 - Date Edited: 2/18/08 6:30am (1 edits total) Edited By: yodas_waiter
Finally an update! I can't believe it's almost gone two weeks since the last one. I feel a little ashamed actually. blush

Anyhoo, here it is. Hope people find it enjoyable


---------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2
Blaster City

‘Now it’s time to get physical,’ Captain Ulgo smiled as a set of blast doors slid open and revealed nothing but darkness. Hector felt mentally spent, the test had not gone well at all and he wasn’t looking forward to the physical test despite it being his strong point. All the men stepped into the void and stood in the darkness for several minutes.

‘What’s going on?’ someone asked but Ulgo didn’t respond. It seemed like Ulgo had disappeared all together. The recruits started to shift uncomfortably when suddenly lights started to blaze all around them. All the recruits were temporarily blinded and then Ulgo’s voice pierced the light.

‘Gentlemen!’ he announced pompously. ‘Welcome to Blaster City!’

Hector rubbed his eyes and as he regained his sight, he heard a collective gasp from all of the recruits. Hector too gasped at the sight that met his eyes. Sprawled out in front of him was one vast city with streets and several-storied buildings.

‘Amazing,’ Hector said in awe.

‘It is, isn’t it?’ Ulgo said proudly. ‘It is a testament to how committed the Empire is to giving its officers the right training,’

‘What are we supposed to do?’ a large, muscular recruit asked.

‘I’m getting there, Bradek,’ Ulgo said, his eyes still firmly fixed towards Blaster City. A few more seconds ticked away before he turned his attention towards the recruits. ‘Being officers, you will have to lead your men into a battle at some point. Instead of having you handle a scenario on a holo-board, we opted to use this,’ Ulgo pointed out towards Blaster City. ‘Gentlemen, Blaster City is the largest combat simulator in the galaxy,’

‘So, us twenty recruits are going to simulate a whole battle across this city?’ a recruit asked sceptically.

‘No, no. It’s not at all like that,’ Ulgo said and shook his big head. ‘You are officer recruits and here’s your chance to act as one,’ Ulgo walked over to some controls that stood to the side of the balcony on which they were standing and pushed a button. A three-dimensional map of the city floated in the air in front of the recruits. Ulgo walked up to it.

‘I will divide you into two sides consisting of ten men each. Each side will have 60 troops at their disposal meaning that each of you has command over five troops. The Battle of Blaster City…’ Ulgo couldn’t help but smile over this. ‘…will be over once one of the sides captures the centre of the city and eliminates the enemy. Any questions?’

A recruit raised his hand and asked: ‘How long will this go on for?’

‘As long as it takes before someone wins. Yes?’ Ulgo said and pointed to another recruit.

‘How are we armed?’

‘Standard Imperial BlasTech E-11 blaster rifle and a sidearm, though only with stun setting,’

‘Who are these men we are going to lead?’ Hector asked.

‘You will see,’ Ulgo said slyly and led the recruit on.

****

The troops turned out to be clones that were finishing off their training before going into service. They all looked the same, tall with short-cut blonde hair, bright blue eyes, broad jaws and muscular necks. One of the clones Hector was to lead had a gruesome scar across his face whilst another had been severely burned on the side of his face. Hector felt very small next to them and doubted that they would ever accept orders from him.

‘I’m Hector Viralte,’ Hector said, introducing himself. ‘What can I call you?’

‘I’m GE-231,’ the clone with the scar answered. ‘That is FJ-262, IW-105, PW-949 and AP-615,’ he said as he pointed to the other clones. They nodded in acknowledgment.

‘Oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to remember that,’ Hector said. ‘So let’s do it this way. I’ll call you Scar,’ he pointed towards the scarred clone before rounding on the one with the burn. ‘You I’ll call Burn,’ he then looked at the three identical clones that remained. ‘I’ll simply call you One, Two and Three. This will make it much easier for me,’

Ulgo announced loudly that the recruits were to follow him and don their armour. As Hector walked out, Two whispered to Three: ‘He doesn’t seem to be that imaginative,’

****

Before Hector knew it, he was sitting in an air transport over Blaster City, preparing to be dropped off and start the “battle”. The transport landed and everyone disembarked.

Hector moved heavily in his stormtrooper armour. The earlier training version he had worn was nothing like the field-kit. Straightening himself, Hector gazed at the city. It was even more impressive at ground-level. Buildings, some of them merely piles of rubble to give the correct feeling of a battlefield, towered above him block after block, broad streets stretched onwards and there even was a mag-rail running through the city.

‘You there, Viralte, come on,’ one of the recruits, said, snapping Hector out his reveries and gestured him to join the group of recruits huddled around each other.

‘So, we are here,’ one of the recruits, with the tag of Kreck on his shoulder, said and pointed towards a red dot on the holo-map of the city which hung in front of his face. ‘We have no idea where the enemy is but we do know that they have the same objective as us, which is to catch the city-centre, catch our base and eliminate us,’

‘We should leave some to guard the base,’ a recruit butted in eagerly. ‘How many? I think 15 men will do fine,’

‘15? At the least 20 men. If anything goes wrong, we should be able to make a break-out attempt,’ Kreck answered back.

‘Nothing will go wrong,’ Bradek growled, tall and menacing in his stormtrooper armour. ‘Leave one group, six men and the rest push on for the city-centre,’

‘What’s that for idiotic tactic?’ Kreck said.

‘One that guarantees a swift victory,’ Bradek said and squared up to Kreck, towering over him.

‘Stop it!’ Hector shouted and walked in between the two. ‘We are supposed to be in war and we have no time for bickering amongst ourselves,’

‘Have you got any suggestions then?’ the Bradek asked.

‘Yes, I do,’ Hector said. ‘We need to cover this base from all possible routes. We’ve got streets going into this base here, here and here,’ he grabbed the holo-map out of the palm of Kreck and pointed at the different streets. ‘These all lead into the base. If we take three groups of men and place them in the buildings there, there and there,’ he pointed towards the buildings in their sight. ‘Then we got sufficient cover of the base. Besides, we’ve got turrets too, so this won’t be a problem. It seems unnecessary holding back more than 18 men to defend the base,’

Hector’s proposal was met with a silence that stretched on for several seconds before Kreck said: ‘Very well. That sounds reasonable. Now let’s decide on our attack plan,’

‘I have a suggestion,’ another recruit said tentatively and looked at the other nine. When no one said anything, he went on: ‘That we send in only one group towards the centre with everyone else taking up the rear,’

‘What will that achieve by doing that, Hazalion?’ Bradek asked brusquely.

‘We will pull out the enemy,’ Hazalion answered back, gaining confidence.

‘Good idea,’ Hector said.

‘I agree,’ Kreck said. ‘But I think we should move in a pincer movement instead. One group up front, with two tailing behind it. Two more groups out to the left and out to the right. Sounds good?’

Once more, Bradek made a move to object but turret fire from far off could be heard, effectively ending all discussion.

‘Move out!’ Kreck shouted and started ordering people were to go. The defence formed up as Hector had suggested whilst he moved out to the left to make the pincer movement.

‘On me,’ he said to his men before turning to the other recruit which had joined him. ‘Viralte,’ Hector said and pointed to himself. ‘What is your name?’

‘Staxon,’ he answered before ordering: ‘Stay behind me,’

‘Sure,’ Hector answered, slowing down his pace alongside his men.

‘What’s going on, sir?’ Three asked.

‘We’re covering the group up ahead,’ Hector answered. ‘Wouldn’t like all of us to get cut down at once,’

But Hector took on this role grudgingly. How could he showcase himself if he was staying back all the time? The men trudged on quickly over rubble that had been laid out and which shifted treacherously under their feet. Having nothing better to do, Hector flicked his intercom and intercepted the conversations of the other recruits but nothing seemed to happen there either.

‘Sir!’ Burn said and pointed forwards. Staxon had stopped.

‘Come on,’ Hector said and moved up to Staxon. ‘What is going on?’

‘Where are we?’ Staxon said and showed the holo-map. ‘I can’t see us,’

‘Here we are,’ Hector said impatiently and pointed out their position on the map. ‘You’ve lead us too far up. We’re likely in enemy territory now. It’s lucky we haven’t been spotted. We should turn back,’

‘What?!’ Staxon exclaimed. ‘And lose time and ruin the pincer movement? The others will have our heads!’

‘We are already far off as it is,’ Hector said. ‘If we continue moving in on enemy territory, which we are doing right now, we might encounter something and ruin the pincer movement,’

‘We are the Empire,’ Staxon said and pounded his chest-plate. ‘We never turn back. Onwards men!’

Before Hector could point out that the enemy was also the Empire, Staxon and his men moved up and over the pile of rubble. Hector followed behind but as he reached the top, an odd sensation took hold of him.

‘Sir,’ Scar said. ‘We should move,’

‘Get down men,’ Hector said, himself surprised at hearing these words coming out of his mouth and him pushing Scar gently down the pile of rubble. ‘Something is wrong,’

‘What is it?’ One said, sounding confused. ‘What are you doing?’

‘Just follow my orders,’ Hector said and held out a finger warningly. Another stormtrooper appeared at the top of the pile, framed against the artificial lights hanging high above in the ceiling.

‘Officer Staxon wonders what you are doing,’ the clone said.

‘We must move back, something is wrong,’ Hector said.

‘Viralte, what are you playing at?’ Staxon said angrily as he appeared next to the clone.

‘Look…Get down!’ he shouted and grabbed hold of Staxon, pulling him down as a barrage of bolts started flying from a building opposite them. The clone fell down to the ground, stunned.

‘What the…?’ Staxon shouted.

‘I told you we should’ve turned back!’ Hector shouted back. ‘One, Two, return fire. The rest of you, follow me,’ Hector said, pulling Staxon up to his feet.

‘What about my group?’ Staxon asked.

‘They are gone, Staxon,’ Hector said. ‘You’re under my command now,’

They climbed up another pile of rubble into a shell of a building.

‘Down the stairs,’ Hector said. ‘We try and attack them from the rear,’

‘Yes sir,’ Scar said, leading the way down the stairs.

‘You think this will actually work?’ Staxon said sceptically.

‘Well, can’t be any worse than what happened to you,’ Hector retorted.

Although he could not see it, Hector sensed the Staxon fuming beneath his helmet. As the reached the bottom of the stairs, Scar held up his hand.

‘Sir,’ he hissed and Hector moved up to him. Scar pointed out the window and Hector followed the direction with his gaze. In the building opposite them, Hector could see two barrels sticking out from a window two floors up. Scar then pointed to the right and Hector could see four other stormtroopers standing by the corner of the house and firing upon the pile of rubble where One and Two were.

‘That’s one group,’ Scar said. ‘Do you think that’s all?’

‘I hope so,’ Hector answered before turning back to Three, Burn and Staxon. He held out four fingers and pointed towards the corner of the street opposite them. He then made the sign for firing. ‘On my command,’ he hissed. The three soldiers nodded and took up positions by the other window. Hector moved in next to Scar and the two trained their weapons up onto the windows opposite them. He held up his hand and counted to three in his mind before clenching the hand and pulling it down.

Blaster fire erupted onto the unsuspecting stormtroopers and within 15 seconds, all had been stunned. One and Two emerged cautiously from the pile of rubble. Hector emerged from the ruin and ordered One and Two to investigate the second floor. Burn, Scar, Three and Staxon were inspecting the stunned stormtroopers on the street corner.

‘Ha!’ Staxon laughed harshly, kneeling down next to a fallen stormtrooper. ‘We got Brallock! He’ll never hear the end of it!’

Hector ignored Staxon and waited anxiously for One and Two to re-emerge from the building, which they did a few minutes later.

‘Got them good, sir,’ Two said, sounding pleased.

‘Good,’ Hector and activated the holo-map. He could see that some of the groups had already reached the city centre. He turned on his intercom and heard shouting. ‘The fighting has already started,’ he said hurriedly. ‘We must get moving!’

Hector lead them back the way the came and ignored the complaints of Staxon. He knew he was moving carelessly through a war zone and could stumble upon the enemy at any moment but he knew that it would not look good if he didn’t reach the city centre. Climbing up and down piles of rubble, the sound of battle grew louder around them. They rounded a corner and there was the city centre, a vast square with a towering silver statue of the Emperor in the middle of it. Blue bolts were flying across it.

‘The cavalry arrives,’ Hector smiled.

They moved in closer and saw that the enemy was gaining the upper hand and that their own were slowly retreating in the face of the fierce volleys of blaster bolts raining down upon them. Some stunned stormtroopers lay strewn across the square.

‘Let’s go,’ Hector shouted and before anyone could say anything else, he ran right out into the battle. Through the haze, Hector homed in on the statue. But it seemed like his legs lived a life of their own as they took him in different directions or making small leaps, always managing to barely avoid a stun bolt flashing past. The other men had trouble keeping up and Two got stunned.

Despite seemingly not being able to control his legs, Hector still managed to maintain a steady pace and his balance and he reached the statue without any problem. The others moved more clumsily but all, except Two, reached the statue.

‘What now then?’ Staxon asked. Hector looked around the square, trying to get his bearings. The fighting was raging on behind them, which meant that they penetrated the enemy’s line and were situated in a kind of no man’s land between the enemy’s attack and the enemy’s defences.

‘Tricky,’ Hector said slowly.

‘Well?’ Staxon said impatiently.

Hector was about to answer when One peeped around the corner.

‘No!’ Hector shouted, turning away from Staxon and grasping after One but it was too late, One got hit in the head and fell limply to the ground.

‘Not good,’ Hector said as he lay across Scar and Burn.

‘So, what are we going to do?’ Staxon said.

‘Shoot them,’ Hector answered and pointed forwards. ‘In the back. There’s no point in moving so let’s do some damage before they take us out. Not you, Scar,’ he said and held out his hand. ‘You hold your fire. You’re my support,’

‘For what?’ Scar asked.

Hector sighed, he was in no mood to explain. ‘Just wait and see,’ he said and turned back to the others. ‘Open fire!’

They started firing at the enemy which was taken by surprise by the sudden onslaught from behind them. Their attacked stopped and they were forced to find protection as they looked around for their attackers.

‘How long will this last?’ Staxon asked between bursts. Their position had been spotted and their fire was being returned. There wasn’t much protection around the base of the statue.

‘Let’s just hope our friends’ spring into action soon,’ Hector responded. He moved next to Scar and pushed himself against the hard durasteel material of which the statue consisted of. Scar was shifting uncomfortably.

‘Hold out,’ Hector said. The others kept on firing inexhaustibly, but the laser bolts were bouncing around them, closing in. Suddenly, Hector felt a creeping ominous feeling and he stood up, half crouching.

‘What the…?’ Staxon exclaimed but Hector shushed him. He let go of his blaster rifle and reached for his blaster as he grabbed the edge of the base slowly. He indicated towards Scar to do the same and taking a deep breath, Hector heaved himself up onto the base, surprising the stormtrooper standing there. Hector gunned him down quickly and saw that the enemy was closing in on their position.

‘Break-up! Break-up!’ he ordered as Scar reached him and they both took up positions by the legs of the statue, firing on the oncoming enemy. The others offered support but they were being attacked from all sides and soon all fell, Burn, Three and Staxon. Scar couldn’t hold out for much longer and he soon to collapsed and fell off the base, stunned.

Seeing everything was lost, Hector let go of all his precautions and jumped down from his position and charged the enemy lines, gunning down the remaining stormtroopers that were advancing on him. Once again, his legs took control and he dodged all incoming bolts and he reached the enemy’s line. He jumped behind their cover and with a flurry shots and punches, he managed to stun them all.

Hector stood breathing slowly as he looked at three fallen enemy stormtroopers by his feet. He could not understand what he had done or how he had done it and has he tried to comprehend his actions, he felt the numbing sting of a stun bolt and he fell into darkness.



 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Meredith_Kenobi  2228 posts
Registered: Jul '05
14879_Sabé
Date Posted: 2/21/08 8:31pm Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 18/2
Ah, so this is where he discovers his Force-sensitivity. mischief

That was a very cool battle scene! The part that most stuck out in my mind was when Scar pointed out the troopers hiding in the building.

Hector really proved his leadership skills. He seemed to know what he was doing far more than Staxon.

‘We are the Empire,’ Staxon said and pounded his chest-plate. ‘We never turn back. Onwards men!’

rolling_eyes

‘Oh, I don’t think I’ll be able to remember that,’ Hector said. ‘So let’s do it this way. I’ll call you Scar,’ he pointed towards the scarred clone before rounding on the one with the burn. ‘You I’ll call Burn,’ he then looked at the three identical clones that remained. ‘I’ll simply call you One, Two and Three. This will make it much easier for me,’

Ulgo announced loudly that the recruits were to follow him and don their armour. As Hector walked out, Two whispered to Three: ‘He doesn’t seem to be that imaginative,’

laugh Nice.

Looking forward to reading more! peace

 

-----signature-----
Proud to be ZaraValinor's Padawan grin
Delighted to be brodiew's Master peace
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 2/26/08 7:04am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 18/2
Meredith_Kenobi: Thanks! I'm a huge Band of Brothers fan, so all battle scenes are very much inspired by the mini-series. And yes, keep rolling your eyes at Staxon. He's your typical chauvinistic, narrow-minded Imperial which of course means he's going places wink Glad you enjoyed the update! happy

Here's the next part and I just want to notify that there's depictions of substance abuse in this chapter. However, I've talked to the mods about this and its got the mod's seal of approval. Still, I find it prudent to givbe a little heads-up. Enjoy!


-------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 3
The Start of a New Life

Having been roused at the end of the battle, Hector had to still face another test of his cognitive-skills and another psychological examination. A pounding headache and stiff muscles from the stun bolts made sure that Hector fared even worse this time around. It was with a great relief and fear that Hector realised that the day was nearing its end. Soon he would know if he had passed the test. The battered and weary recruits had been gathered in a small, undecorated grey room not unlike the one they had been gathered in earlier, eager and nervous for the upcoming test. The recruits were called in one by one through some heavy steel doors and didn’t return. It went alphabetically and Hector was last. His footfalls echoed between the walls as he paced nervously back and forth as he waited his turn. It had been a while since the last recruit had left the room.

Suddenly, the green light flashed which signalled that Hector could enter. He took a deep breath and strode towards the doors which slid apart and revealed a dark corridor. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest and he felt his apprehension growing the further down the corridor he strode. He quickened his pace as he saw lights at the end of the corridor and he soon entered a brightly lit room. This room was undecorated as well and there was nothing in it, save a platform on which Captain Ulgo stood with several other Imperial officers, one of them being the drab psychologist. Hector gathered his wits about and stood at attention, saluting the men on the platform.

‘At ease,’ Ulgo said, returning the salute. He was handed a data-pad and read aloud: ‘Hector Janus Lasar Viralte, COMPNOR recruit, after having viewed your psychological examination, your cognitive test-scores and your performance in the battle simulation, we have come to the conclusion that you are…unfit for serving the Empire in the capacity of an officer in the Imperial army,’

Hector slumped. Impossible! This couldn’t be happening. He had been nervous, sure, but he had never had any doubt in his mind that he would actually pass the test. He felt sick. He was a Viralte, it was a given that he would serve the army. How would he face his father and mother and all his friends? He was falling and he had lost all purpose in life.

‘Why?’ Hector blurted defiantly. The Captain was taken aback by the question but his features softened as he looked at Hector, whose facial expression was a mix of confusion and desperation.

‘The results of your examination and test were mediocre, bordering on poor. You had the one of the highest scores from the battle simulation and if it had been on physical prowess alone, there would’ve been no question about it,’ Ulgo explained. ‘But you made some questionable decisions during the battle, most notably the one where you lead your men to the statue in the middle of the square, leading to the “deaths” of you all, when you could’ve instead lead them around the outskirts of the battle or even bolstered the defences,’

‘Oh…’ Hector said hollowly.

‘But your conduct on the battlefield shows that you are a born soldier, although rough around the edges,’ Ulgo went on. ‘I would recommend you to serve in the stormtrooper corps to gain experience and I could lay in a good word for you. Give it time and I see you having no problem climbing the ranks, but for now, you’re not ready to handle that kind of responsibility. You are dismissed,’ Ulgo saluted once again and Hector saluted too, although very half-heartedly.

****

Hector did not know how he got there, but the next thing he knew, he was standing in front of his father who had a look of eagerness on his face.

‘Well, boy?’ he asked, barely containing himself anymore. ‘How did it go?’
The question rolled around in Hector’s head. How did it go? Hector thought it seemed obvious since he wasn’t exactly bouncing around in joy. Or was he? Hector felt so detached from himself.

‘Is something wrong?’ Janus asked, laying his hands on Hector’s shoulders. Hector snapped to attention and looked into the blue eyes of his father.

‘I didn’t pass,’ Hector said hoarsely.

‘Pardon?’ Janus said and leaned in closer towards Hector. ‘It seemed like you said that you didn’t pass, boy,’

‘I didn’t…’ Hector said more clearly.

‘H-how…’ Janus stammered and rubbed his temples.

‘I don’t want to talk about. Not here,’ Hector said, surprisingly firmly. ‘Take me home,’

Janus looked past Hector and rubbed his chin, before swallowing and breathing more slowly. ‘Yes, home. Let’s go home…’

****

‘Hector, dear!’ his mother, Corinna said happily as he entered his parent’s apartment. ‘How are you? Are you an officer now?’

‘No he’s not!’ Janus said loudly as he stormed up to his wife. ‘He failed, spectacularly,’ Corinna moved away from the embrace and looked at her son worryingly.

‘Hector, is this true?’ she asked.

‘Of course it is!’ Janus said as he paced up and down the living room. ‘Would I lie about something like this?’

‘Janus! Shoosh!’ Corinna said. ‘Now Hector, tell me what happened,’

‘What is there to tell?’ Hector shrugged. ‘I failed. I failed the psychological examination and the test of my cognitive skills,’

‘What?’ Janus shouted. ‘Those are the easy parts! Refresh my memory, but you have read combat theory at university right?’

‘Uh-huh,’ Hector said cautiously.

‘So how did you fail the cognitive test!?’ Janus exploded. ‘And the psychological examination, how the frak did that happen?!’

‘Janus, language,’ Corinna said sternly. Hector’s father threw up his arms exasperatedly.

‘I need a drink,’ he sighed and disappeared into the kitchen.

The experience was all very odd to Hector. It seemed to him that he was 15 again and his parents had just found him drunk on the living-room floor alongside Tarman and several others. Simply listening to the telling off he was getting from his father, one would not believe that there was a 23 year old Imperial recruit on the receiving end of it. The only thing that was missing now was his big sister standing in the background, looking smug.

‘But I did pass the physical,’ Hector said, hoping to salvage some respect from his father. ‘Captain Ulgo said he would recommend me to the stormtrooper corps,’

‘But that’s good,’ Corinna said and smiled reassuringly. ‘Did you hear that Janus?’

‘I did,’ Janus said, reappearing from the kitchen holding a bottle of Corellian whisky. ‘And you better accept that offer. You might not start out as an officer but at least you’ll serve,’

‘I will take him up on the offer,’

‘Good,’ Janus said gruffly. ‘But until then, you’re grounded,’

‘What?!’ Hector exclaimed. ‘Grounded in my own apartment?’

‘Yes, we pay your rent,’ Janus pointed out as he poured up a glass of whisky. ‘And I’m no fool, “studying with friends”, ha! You had a party yesterday which made you fail today. Well, I’m putting an end to that!’

‘Father!’

‘Janus!’

‘He needs it, Corinna,’ Janus said defensively. ‘Have you seen his apartment? It’s a mess. It’s time for him to clean up his act,’

‘Be kind, Janus. Punishing him will not help anything. He’s not fifteen anymore,’ Corinna said softly.

‘But we should keep an eye on him,’ Janus said and took a sip of his whisky.

‘Let’s send A-3LO down to him. He can keep an eye on Hector,’ Corinna suggested.

‘Al? That would be great,’ Hector said.

‘Don’t call it that. Don’t encourage it,’ Janus said. ‘Sure. Hector seems to need A-3LO more than we do,’

‘Good,’ Corinna smiled. ‘Now, I think you should go home and take a rest,’

‘Sure, mother…but am I still grounded?’ Hector asked.

‘Seems like that got vetoed,’ Janus said and downed the last of his whisky. ‘But still, I hope you’ve learnt something from this experience,’

‘I have,’ Hector said.

****

‘Drinks for everyone!’ Hector shouted and held up finely crafted bottles of Aquilean wine. All the partygoers, roughly 50 of them, cheered.

‘Hector, this is incredible! A party yesterday and one today, you’re on a roll!’ a man in a vivid red poncho said more loudly and enthusiastically than necessary as he gratefully accepted the wine.

‘What can I say, Bayo?’ Hector smiled. ‘It keeps me happy,’ Hector felt someone tug at his shirt and he turned around to face them. ‘Wine?’ he asked automatically but was met by the stern gaze of Belena Praji. ‘Belle!’ Hector exclaimed. ‘You made it this time! Here, have some wine,’

Belle accepted the glass of wine but her gaze did not soften.

‘Yes, I made it,’ she said. ‘Especially after what I heard had happened yesterday,’

‘What? Oh, Tarman brought in some crazy new spices and we all got…well…’

‘I don’t want to know,’ Belle said dismissively. ‘Besides, I guess this is the party celebrating your new position as officer so I felt obliged to come and congratulate you,’

‘Yeah…well…’ Hector mumbled. Belle took a close look at all the party guests as she took a sip of her wine.

‘Where’s Holler and Brock? I thought you’d be shoving your new rank in their faces at this point,’ Belle looked around again and said, losing the sternness and sounding surprised: ‘Wait, these are all your arty friends. Where are the people from the university and COMPNOR?’

‘Oh, I had some cancellations…’ Hector said and looked deeply into his wineglass.

‘Hector…’ she said and gave him one of her trademark piercing looks with her vivid green eyes. ‘You didn’t pass the test did you?’

‘Please Belle, not so loud,’ Hector said and pulled her into his bedroom. ‘Get out!’ he said to the couple lying in his bed.

‘Give me…a few more minutes Hector,’ the man said as the girl giggled under the covers. ‘You understand…’

‘No,’ Hector said and pushed the man off the bed and tore off the covers. ‘Out. Now!’

‘Geez Hector, why did you have to bring out the COMPNOR persona now for?’ the man sulked as he and his girl staggered out of the room.

‘Why do I hang around these people?’ Hector sighed.

‘I wonder that too,’ Belle said sternly. ‘These are the same people that were here at the party yesterday, right? The day before you failed your aptitude test?’

‘Yes,’ Hector said, turning his back to Belle and rearranging his bed sheets.

‘Why are you with these people? They’re a bad influence on you. They were the ones that got you into alcohol and spice,’ Belle said, leaning forward to grab Hector by the shoulder and turn him around to face her.

‘So you think I should spend time with Brock and Holler and the rest, being ridiculed all the time?’ Hector asked.

‘At least they’re not your friends to seek out favours from you,’ Belle retorted.

‘Huh?’ Hector grunted and dropped the bed sheets. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Come on Hector, look at them and look at you. Look at how you dress and how you look,’ she tugged at his stiff grey jacket, clearly reminiscent of the uniforms of Imperial officers and she ruffled his short cut brown-blonde hair which only had some hints of being curly.

‘Stop that,’ Hector said and pulled away from Belle.

‘I’m just saying, they are really only your friends because they want you to be the same kind of generous patron of the arts that your mother is,’

‘Please…’ Hector snorted.

‘Hector, you have to stop this balancing act. Are you military man or a patron of the arts? What happened today shows that you can’t be both,’

‘I am a Viralte, Belle,’ Hector said proudly. ‘Why do you even ask? I am to join the stormtrooper corps and I will be an enforcer of the Emperor’s will, for the greater good of the galaxy,’

‘But doesn’t this party send mixed messages?’ Belle went on. ‘You’re in the company of people who might question the will of the Emperor,’

‘These people aren’t dissidents,’ Hector said dismissively.

‘They are the closest thing we’ve got to dissidents,’ Belle insisted.

‘Please Belle, stop bothering me. I’ve had an awful day and I just want to blow off some steam with some friends. I don’t need a lecture from you,’ Hector said, looking very annoyed. ‘Now, I’m being a very poor host so I’m going back out there,’ Hector turned to leave the bedroom but Belle grabbed his arm and with a sigh, he turned around to face her. ‘What is it now?’

‘Hector, haven’t you listened to anything I’ve said? Out there is alcohol and spice, the exact thing that made you fail today. If you want to be taken seriously as an Imperial enforcer, why are you committing the same mistakes?’

‘I don’t need to answer that,’ Hector said. He turned around and left the bedroom quickly, leaving Belle alone with the half-made bed.

****

‘Hey Hector! There you are!’

Hector recognised that voice and cheered up instantly.

‘Tarman! You scoundrel!’ he ran up and hugged the scruffy artisan. ‘I’ve been waiting for you. Where have you been?’

‘It takes time to secure the good stuff,’ Tarman said and pulled down his hood, dropping the sack he was carrying on the sofa and pouring out steel canisters onto it. Everyone at the party looked with great interest at the canisters on the sofa. They, just like Hector, had been waiting for the arrival of Tarman.

‘So, what have you got?’

‘Same crazy stuff you liked so much last night,’ Tarman smiled.

‘And how much will it cost me?’ Hector asked.

‘Seeing as you’re hosting two parties two days in a row, this one’s on me,’ he threw the canister to Hector who caught it with ease. He pulled up a chair and sat down, opening the canister and sniffing the sweet aroma of the spice. Already it seemed to alleviate all the worries, disappointments, aches and pains of the day.

‘Sprinkle some of that in this,’ Tarman said and handed Hector a glass of bright green liquor. ‘It’s a blast, quite literally,’

‘Sure,’ Hector said, taking a pinch of spice and sprinkling it over his drink. It started to bubble and fizzle.

‘Don’t worry. It’s supposed to do that,’ Tarman said. ‘Now, give me some,’ Tarman took a pinch of spice and sprinkled it over his drink, smiling as the drink started to bubble. ‘Well, bottoms up, old boy,’

Hector and Tarman took a swig at the same time, downing the content at once. Both recoiled from the stinging sensation in their throats. Tarman shook it off and moved forward to stop other guests from clawing at his sack for the spice canisters whilst Hector collapsed into a chair.

‘That was excellent, Tarman,’ he sighed happily as his head started to spin.

‘Thanks,’ Tarman said, seemingly unfazed. He grabbed Hector’s glass from his limb hands and poured up more liquor. ‘Take another one,’

Through the haze, Hector caught a fleeting glance of Belle, but she quickly disappeared behind the other guests and Hector said: ‘Sure, top her up,’

They two of them downed the spiked drink again and Hector once again felt the pang in his throat. Tarman said something and laughed his rumbling laugh but Hector heard nothing. His head was spinning at an incredible speed and his whole body felt incredibly heavy, as if the gravitational pull on Coruscant had been altered completely. It felt like he was sinking into his chair and through the floor. Suddenly, Hector felt a tightness in his chest and throat.

‘I can’t breathe,’ Hector said and he forced himself to his feet, staggering towards the balcony. He pulled aside the door and stepped out into the fresh air. He took several deep breaths and felt the knot in his chest and throat get untied. The fog in Hector’s mind cleared up and he felt his forehead, it was very wet.

‘Charming, I’m reeking of sweat,’ he thought. Not that it mattered to everyone else in there, they were probably too spiced up to notice but Hector did not like feeling so unclean. He started to shiver and it was not because it was cold outside, it was actually quite temperate, but it was because of how dirty he felt. He decided to stay out for a few minutes more before going in for more. ‘Maybe not the crazy stuff, though. Tarman can accommodate every taste,’ he thought.

There were two other people on the balcony, a holo-drama actor named Strafford dressed in a bastardised Imperial officer’s uniform, the sight of which grated Hector. He was talking to a beautiful woman who was wearing a bright blue dress. She was tall and had long, chestnut coloured hair. Hector stared at her, wondering if it was worth to go up and present himself whilst she was in the presence of Strafford, the womaniser. Hector decided it was no use, none of them had even acknowledged that he too was on the balcony and he moved towards the door when everything suddenly went black before his eyes.

When he regained sight, he was standing next to Strafford and the woman, but they made no indication that they had noticed him. Both of them were leaning heavily on the railing and Hector could hear it creak ominously. Cracks appeared and he couldn’t understand how the two did not notice anything. He tried to say something but nothing came out of his mouth. Hector couldn’t understand what was going on and tried to grab both Strafford and the woman, but he only grasped at nothing. Strafford smiled, said something and stroked the woman’s cheek before moving away from the railing.

The sudden shift of weight was too much for the railing and it broke and the woman toppled over the edge with a scream. Hector ran up alongside Strafford and looked on in horror as the woman in her light blue dress disappeared into the dark depths of Coruscant.

****

And then Hector was back. He looked around and saw Strafford and the woman standing by the railing. He wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but a heavy feeling in his chest forced him to walk up to them. He then saw Strafford say something and stroke the woman’s cheek, just like in the vision and Hector increased his pace. Strafford took his weight off the railing and Hector saw, almost in slow-motion, how it crumbled beneath the woman.

He spurted the last few metres and managed to catch the woman’s hand as she started to tumble over the edge. She balanced precariously on her heels, with one hand waving free as Hector tried to shift his weight backwards and pull her to safety. Slowly, he managed and the woman collapsed onto the balcony, breathing quickly.

‘Are you alright?’ Hector asked, kneeling down beside her.

‘Yes,’ she said slowly and then looked up at Hector with deep-brown eyes. ‘Thank you,’

‘Don’t mention it,’ Hector smiled and extended a hand. ‘I’m Hector by the way,’

‘The host,’ she smiled. ‘Pleased to meet you. I’m Cass,’

‘How did you do that?’ Strafford blurted out, finally letting go of the shock and surprise.

‘I don’t know,’ Hector said, looking up at the actor. ‘Maybe it is my military training…’



 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
JediMindTrick000  972 posts
Registered: Dec '04
7405_Obi-Wan Kenobi
Date Posted: 2/26/08 7:53pm Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 26/2
I just wanted to say that since I'm catching up reading all these great stories, I've only read your prologue, but as a fellow lover of OC's, I wanted to say what I've read so far is fantastic. It has a very "Moses and the Burning Bush" feel to it, so I very much look forward to reading on to see where this goes. Keep up the good work, my friend, and as always, MTFBWY.

 

-----signature-----
World Builder Society - New Challenge 2/26!
http://boards.theforce.net/fan_fiction_resource/b10304/22112407/
My latest attempt at literary excellence...
Delusions of Grandeur - http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28113194/
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Meredith_Kenobi  2228 posts
Registered: Jul '05
14879_Sabé
Date Posted: 3/2/08 8:43pm Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 26/2
Maaaan, he really screwed up this time. I think the only thing he did right was saving that lady from falling.

Unless, deep down, he doesn't really WANT to be a military man? Perhaps...he failed on purpose?

I guess we'll find out.

I'm really enjoying this story. applause More soon, yes?

 

-----signature-----
Proud to be ZaraValinor's Padawan grin
Delighted to be brodiew's Master peace
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 3/7/08 5:37am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 7/3 - Date Edited: 3/7/08 2:40pm (1 edits total) Edited By: yodas_waiter
JediMindTrick000: Thank you. happy I am glad you found the prologue interesting. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the rest of the story too

Meredith_Kenobi: Failed on purpose and face the ire of his father? Nah, I think Hector is very sincere in his wishes, but you're right in noting the two conflicting sides of his personality. Thanks for reading and commenting happy

Update is a little late but I've had one hectic week. This chapter contains once again drug abuse. Just thought I should notify. But apart from that, I hope everyone enjoys the next installment!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 4
Overdose

‘I recognise this view,’ Hector said slowly as he looked upon Coruscant burning. But he wasn’t allowed to see much more as the view suddenly disappeared from his sight and everything turned to black. The dark seemed incredibly oppressive and it was closing in on Hector quickly. He held up his hands to fend it off, but they too disappeared into it.

Suddenly, there was a flash and Hector found himself staring at his own reflection. ‘Hey there, handsome,’ he said but that failed to even cheer himself up. The mirror then turned into liquid before reshaping itself again, but this time, Hector wasn’t looking at himself, but instead at figure wearing a helmet with a golden visor.

‘Who are you?’ Hector asked the reflection.

‘I am You,’ the reflection answered.

‘Not this again,’ Hector sighed.

‘Listen,’ the Gold-face said and strangely enough, Hector snapped to attention. ‘It is happening,’

‘What is happening? What? Tell me!’ Hector shouted, grabbing the edge of the mirror and shaking it violently.

‘Your potential can no longer be tamed. It will break out. Be prepared,’ Gold-face said.

‘How can I be prepared if I don’t know what’s coming?’ Hector said wearily.

‘Stay calm and think,’ Gold-face said.

‘Think? What are you implying? Hector said, slightly offended.

‘I know how you, I, are’ Gold-face replied. ‘You are carrying a great power. Do not waste it, do not use it frivolously,’

‘You, or I, are mistaken,’ Hector laughed slightly. ‘I have no real power. Not anymore at least,’

‘Don’t you?’ Gold-face asked mysteriously.

‘What do you…?’ but Hector’s question was cut short as he felt his veins boiling, just like the last time and he collapsed to the floor in pain.

‘What…is this?’ Hector shouted.

‘Embrace it, become a part of it,’ Gold-face urged Hector. ‘Symbiosis,’ it added significantly.

‘I can’t!’ Hector shouted, rolling around and tugging at his skin. ‘I can’t!’

‘You will,’ Gold-face said calmly. ‘In time,’

Hector could not respond, he was in too much pain. The pain was so overpowering that he could not breathe. It felt like his whole body was collapsing into itself.

‘I can’t…’ Hector said hoarsely and he couldn’t muster the strength to say anything more.

‘Give in,’ Gold-face said. ‘Don’t fight it, accept it,’

And though Hector had the distinct feeling that Gold-face was smiling behind his visor, he did what Gold-face told him and gave in to the pain.

‘Good,’ Hector heard Gold-face say before the dark enveloped him and everything disappeared.

****

Hector woke with a start and found himself lying sprawled on his sofa, empty canisters and glasses strewn around him. He had a pounding headache and he felt the distinct taste of vomit in his mouth.

‘Oooooh,’ was all he managed to say as he sat up slowly, rubbing his head. His clothes were all skew-whiff and Hector laboured to straighten them out. He looked around the apartment, Belle would stay behind time to time if the party got out of hand, but she wasn’t there now.

‘Good,’ Hector thought as he stood up and stretched himself. He did not want a lecture at this moment.

‘Good morning, sir,’ a metallic voice said from behind Hector, causing him to jump.

‘Who the…?’ Hector said, turning around and he faced the silver-blue protocol droid he recognised all too well. ‘Al!’ he exclaimed and cracked a smile.

‘Al? Oh yes, that’s what you used to call me. I haven’t heard that name in a while,’ A-3LO said softly.

‘What are you doing here?’ Hector asked.

‘Your parents sent me. They were of the mind that you couldn’t handle yourself,’ the droid responded. ‘I let myself in and took the liberty of cleaning up some of the mess,’

‘Very good Al, thank you,’ Hector smiled. ‘But do you think you could fix me some breakfast?’

‘Certainly, sir. I take it that you’re still partial to waffles?’

‘Indeed I am, Al. It was years ago I had your special waffles!’

‘What have you been up to lately, sir?’ Al asked as he walked into the kitchen and got out the various kitchen-utensils, bowls and ingredients needed.

‘Didn’t you hear?’ Hector said, seating himself by the kitchen table. ‘I failed my officer’s aptitude test,’

‘Ah, your father did mention it, briefly,’ the droid said as he started to mix the dough. ‘What will you do now?’

‘They recommended that I’d join the stormtrooper corps, so I guess that’s what I’ll do,’ Hector walked over the sink, poured some water into a glass and grabbed a pill against his headache from the cabinet above.

‘That’s not too bad,’ Al said, mixing the dough at a breakneck speed before pouring some of it on the iron. ‘If I recall correctly, many great commanders in history have started out among the ranks of regular men,’

‘True,’ Hector said, dropping the pill into the glass and downing its content in one go. ‘Drovo Pezta, the hero of Vaynai and the Core campaign during the Great Sith War is noted to have started out as a grunt,’

‘See?’ the droid said. ‘I’m sure you can still make your mark on history,’

‘Thanks, Al. You always now what to say to cheer me up,’

‘Do I?’ the droid said, sounding surprised. ‘That’s not a part of my programming,’ if the droid could wink it would have. Al was done with the first batch of waffles and served them to Hector. The droids receptors focused curiously on the visage of Hector.

‘Sir, you look worn,’ the droid said.

‘Yeah,’ Hector said, between mouthfuls of waffle. ‘I’ve been sleeping pretty badly lately’

‘Oh,’ the droid said before turning back to the waffle-mix. Sleep was something he did not comprehend.

****

After breakfast, Hector did his usual training regime with his vibroblade. He extended the session because of the previous night. He wanted to expunge everything bad from his system.

After that, Hector hit the shower and threw his clothes that were stale with sweat into the wash-basket. Only after the hot water started to trickle down his body, did Hector feel completely relaxed and it felt good pulling on a clean set of everything. He stood in front of the mirror, fixing his hair when he noticed the worn look that Al had asked him about. His usually sparkling blue-green eyes seemed somewhat matted and there were bags under them. His skin was also paler than usual, making him look sickly.

A small part of his mind prodded him, saying that it was his lifestyle that was starting to show. But Hector wafted that notion away quickly. It was preposterous! He kept himself active with his training and he was careful with what he ate. He was still very sociable and met often with his friends. But most importantly, Hector still managed to look good. Most addicts were bums who could not take care of themselves, who had no friends and looked horrible, almost alien. He was no addict, there was nothing to worry about. The problem was simply a lack of sleep.

‘What is on the agenda today, sir?’ Al asked as Hector emerged into the living room. Hector didn’t answer straight away, but instead sat himself down in the now uncluttered sofa and thought the question over.

‘I don’t actually know, Al,’ he said slowly. ‘I have no more COMPNOR to go to and my university courses are all but over. All of my friends are working…I don’t know,’ Hector said, surprised over all the free time he had. ‘Maybe I will go down to the casino for a while…’

‘Still into gambling, I take it?’ Al asked politely.

‘Now and then,’ Hector said. ‘Though, it’s been a while. But I don’t think I will go now, only the real hopeless are there during the daytime. If I should go, it should be in the evening and it’s a good few hours before then…’

‘Perhaps you could catch up on some sleep, sir?’ the droid suggested.

‘No, I get these nightmares when I sleep. Some of them are very vivid, especially…’ Hector paused for awhile before going on, sounding slightly guilty: ‘…especially when I’ve been having…fun,’

‘I see,’ the droid responded. ‘At least as far as my programming allows me too. Dreams and hallucinations are beyond the comprehension of droids,’

‘Oh no, these are not mere dreams or hallucinations,’ Hector said. ‘There’s a deeper feel to them, it’s more realistic and ominous. It’s like…a foretelling,’

‘A foretelling?’ Al sounded amused. ‘Do you think you can see the future, sir?’

‘Of course not,’ Hector scoffed at the notion and made a dismissive gesture with his hand, but then he stopped and turned and looked at Al. ‘They aren’t dreams or hallucinations. I don’t want to believe it, but foretelling is the most suitable word for what is happening to me,’

‘If you say so, sir,’ Al said and turned around to continue with his chores.

‘Consider this,’ Hector said, surprised that he wanted to continue the discussion. ‘Yesterday, at the aptitude test, I could feel what was right. I somehow sensed the movement of the enemy and I could properly counteract them. I even sensed an ambush!’

‘But that is just your excellent training, sir! Surely!’ the droid said.

‘And at the party yesterday, I actually saw the railing break and a woman fall before it even happened. I managed to go up and save here!’

Al said nothing. He stood perfectly still and looked curiously at Hector through his golden receptors.

‘Are you sure that this wasn’t a dream, sir?’ he asked tentatively.

‘No, it really happened,’ Hector insisted. Hector gaze suddenly seemed to focus on something far away and his green-blue eyes seemed to turn misty. Al watched on curiously for a few seconds before Hector snapped back to life. ‘I guess I can see the future. Yes, it sounds strange but that is the conclusion I reach. I can’t explain it otherwise,’

‘If you say so, sir,’ Al said. ‘In that case, what can you see now?’

‘It doesn’t work like that,’

‘Then, how does it work?’

‘The real ones come when I’m spiced up,’ Hector explained.

‘Oh?’ the droid sounded sceptical.

‘It’s not a trip!’ Hector said, annoyed. ‘Or if it is, it must be the worst kind. A kind I’ve never heard of,’

A silence grew between the two as Hector fumed at the droid’s insistence that what had happened to him was in some way not real. He had to prove it to Al, because if Al didn’t understand him, who would? But how could he prove it? How? And then it struck him. Hector flew off the sofa and ran into his bedroom.

‘Sir?’ the droid said questioningly but Hector said nothing as he disappeared into the room and didn’t emerge for several minutes. Al could hear draws being opened and content being thrown around until Hector cried in triumph and emerged holding several canisters.

‘Good old Tarman! Always filling up my stock!’ Hector smiled.

‘Sir, what exactly are you planning on doing?’

‘I’m going to prove to you that I can see the future,’

‘How?’

‘I’ll take the same spice I did yesterday when I had this clear vision of the woman falling,’ Hector explained. ‘I’ll surely get another one of those and you will see,’

‘But sir, this doesn’t make sense!’ the droid said desperately. ‘Think about it! You couldn’t have been high on spice during your aptitude test yet you still claim to have seen the future!’

‘To be honest Al,’ Hector said, pouring up a drink and sprinkling some spice into it, just like he had done the previous evening. ‘I kind of felt the aftershocks of it,’

‘Sir!’ Al started to protest but Hector ignored him and downed the content in the glass in one go. He recoiled only slightly from the stinging sensation in his throat because this time he was prepared for it and he quickly poured up another glass, following the exact same procedure as the night before.

Al said something, but Hector could not hear it as his head was spinning so much. He downed the second drink, barely registering the stinging in his throat. Then came the expected tightness in his chest and throat and Hector sat himself down slowly onto the sofa, breathing shallowly. Al moved towards him but Hector held up a hand, shakily.

‘It’ll pass,’ he said hoarsely as he sat and stared out into nothingness, waiting for the vision to come. By his reckoning, it couldn’t have gone more than 10 minutes until the vision of the woman, Cass, falling had struck him. He waited impatiently, rocking backwards and forwards, trying to, and sometimes failing at, focusing on the chrono above his holo-screen. Al stood nervously by his side all the time. 10 minutes came and went and nothing happened. All Hector could see was the world spinning before his very eyes.

‘I need more,’ he grunted and stood up, almost loosing his balance. Al protested but once again but Hector only grew angry and annoyed at his fussiness.

‘Stop fussing and take it easy,’ Hector said, pouring up two more drinks and downing them quickly. He noticed that he could no longer feel his legs and he swayed back and forth as he leaned heavily against the back of the sofa. He tried to look at the chrono but his eyes were to unfocused and strange colours and shapes were now appearing.

‘Damn it!’ he swore loudly, pouring up more drinks sloppily and sprinkling them with more spice than necessary. ‘I’ll just do this until something happens!’ he grabbed a glass forcefully but it was too delicate and shattered in his hand, cutting him all over his palm. He swore once again, but he ignored the pain and wiped the blood off his hand on his shirt. He slobbered the other drink down his front. Hector was finding it increasingly hard to stand up and he fell to the floor and lay there on his back.

‘I’m alright,’ he said to Al.

Hector could no longer see the chrono and had to instead countdown the 10 minutes. He tried counting to 60 ten times but he kept losing count. Hector was unaware of how much time had passed and reasoned that he needed more alcohol and spice to prompt a vision. He reached clumsily for the tray on the table above him but he pulled it all down, spilling alcohol and spice all over him.

‘I’m a mess,’ Hector said pitifully before everything went black before his eyes.


 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Meredith_Kenobi  2228 posts
Registered: Jul '05
14879_Sabé
Date Posted: 3/14/08 5:54pm Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 26/2
doh! He just HAD to prove it, didn't he? rolling_eyes I think he was trying to prove it to himself, as much as to the droid.

I like Al. He's got a kind of pretentious butler/mother hen thing going on. tongue

applause Wow, great update.

 

-----signature-----
Proud to be ZaraValinor's Padawan grin
Delighted to be brodiew's Master peace
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 3/21/08 3:23am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 26/2
Quick thanks Meredith and I will get back to you later. My absence and the lack of updates have been because I have had problems loading up the site and I still do. First I thought it was a server crash but apparently not. I'll try to get this fixed as quickly as possible and get this story back on track.

Thanks for your patience

 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 3/31/08 5:18am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 7/3
Meredith_Kenobi: Once again, thanks and yes, Hector did take it a bit too far. I'm glad you like Al. He's a fun character to work with and a nice counter-weight to Hector happy

Ok, update time after finally gaining access to the site. Hector is really down in the dumps and it's about to get worse for him...well...relatively speaking. I hope you find this chapter enjoyable! happy


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5
Intensive Care

‘Look, he’s stirring! I think he’s coming back!’ a familiar voice said through the dark as Hector was slowly regaining consciousness. Somewhere close to him, Hector could hear some beeping growing louder and faster.

‘He is,’ an unfamiliar voice said. ‘Keep an eye on the patient, Emdee, whilst I fetch doctor Haral,’

‘Yes, nurse Kalla,’ a mechanical voice, most likely a medical droid, answered. Hector felt himself drifting away into the haze again and the sounds around him start to disappear into the background.

‘Hector?’ a kind voice cut right through the haze. Hector couldn’t be bothered to respond. ‘Hector, wake up!’ the voice urged again and Hector didn’t want too. It felt too arduous. Suddenly, Hector felt something invigorating coursing through his veins and the haze dissipated. He opened his eyes slowly and he found himself lying in a hard bed, staring up at a brightly lit white ceiling.

‘Where am I?’ Hector asked, surprised at how weak his voice sounded.

‘You’re in a med-station,’ the kind voice said and Hector turned his head to the left to face it. It belonged to a short, balding man with a round face which had a reassuring smile on it.

‘Who are you?’

‘I’m Doctor Haral,’

‘Why am I here?’ Hector asked as he tried to sit up, but the medical droid extended its metallic arms and pushed Hector gently back again. Hector had no strength to resist.

‘You had a spice overdose,’ Haral started to explain. ‘Had your servant droid not been so quick to alert us, you would’ve died,’

‘Died?!’ Hector exclaimed hoarsely. He tried to remember what he had done but his last memory was eating breakfast with Al.

‘Yes, died, you numbskull!’ Janus Viralte said angrily as he pushed his way past the doctor and leaned in threateningly close to Hector.

‘General Viralte! Please,’ Doctor Haral said as he tugged helplessly. ‘Restrain yourself. Let your son rest!’

‘I’m his father! I’ll decide when he can rest,’ Janus said, glaring at the doctor before turning his attention back to his son. ‘Where the hell did you get your hands on that spice?’

‘I…’ Hector was unable to find the right words with his father fuming just inches from his face.

‘Answer the question!’ Janus shouted, thumping the bed with both his fists and showering Hector with spittle.

‘Janus! Really!’ Corinna said crossly as she leaned in from the right across Hector’s bed and slapped Janus. Janus stopped in his tracks, straightened his collar and rose slowly from the bed.

‘Fine,’ he said and gave his wife a cold stare before turning back to Hector. ‘But this isn’t over. I am going to find out what the hell you were doing. Doctor?’

‘Yes sir?’ the man said timidly, emerging from behind Janus.

‘See to it that my son recuperates quickly so that I can give him a stern talking to as soon as possible,’

‘Will do sir,’ Doctor Haral said hesitantly.

‘Corinna, come. Let’s not disturb Hector any further,’ Janus said and swept out of the room.

‘Bye, dear,’ his mother said and kissed him on the forehead. ‘We’ll be back soon and I’ll make sure your father goes easy on you, even though you do have some explaining to do,’ she gave him a comforting smile before leaving the room.

‘Now,’ Doctor Haral said, breathing a sigh of relief as Corinna disappeared through the doorway. ‘Time for healing,’ Emdee, the medical droid, approached Doctor Haral holding a tray and from it he picked up a large and particularly sharp looking syringe. Hector winced. Upon seeing his reaction, Haral said reassuringly: ‘It’s not as bad as it looks. It won’t sting…too much,’

****

A day later, Hector was making excellent progress and was almost restored back to health, so much so that he was starting to get restless as he wasn’t allowed to leave bed. His parents arrived after lunch and at first, Hector tried to feign sickness but nothing could fool the doctor nor the equipment.

‘Quit fooling around,’ his father growled. ‘We have some questions to ask you,’

‘We’ve spoken to A-3LO,’ his mother said softly. ‘And he told us that you had found the spice in your apartment. Is that true?’

‘Yes,’

‘So, I wonder,’ Janus said, suppressing an undercurrent of rage in his voice. ‘What was the spice doing in your apartment in the first place?’

Now Hector had to choose his words carefully. In no way could he let on that he had been on spice since the age of 16. However, he had also promised his parents that there would be no more parties and he had broken that promise instantly. He couldn’t hide both facts at once. One had to be revealed so that the other remained hidden. Hector had to choose which truth would give him the least grief.

‘I had a party yesterday,’ Hector said, trying his utmost to sound repentant. ‘Some of the guests must’ve brought spice and left it behind. I found it and, foolishly, started to experiment,’

‘Some guests, eh?’ Janus said, raising his eyebrows. ‘I’ll bet all my medals that that no do-gooder Selaz Tarman was involved,’

‘Can’t be sure,’ Hector said. ‘There were a lot of people there,’

‘So, what you are saying is that you weren’t sure what you were doing?’ Corinna asked.

‘I knew it was spice, so on some level, I knew what I was doing,’ Hector said. ‘But let me put it this way, had I known my way around spice, would I have overdosed?’

‘True. What you did doesn’t make much sense,’ Corinna agreed but Janus didn’t seem to buy it.

‘I know that I cannot prove it, but I hardly believe that this was your first time,’ his father growled as he paced back and forth in front of the bed, stroking his neatly trimmed grey beard. ‘It’s like that time we found you drunk, you’d been doing it behind our backs all the time,’

‘Father!’ Hector exclaimed, sounding perhaps a bit overly dramatic. ‘That’s a very serious accusation you’re making,’

‘Janus, you can’t punish him for something you can’t prove,’ Hector’s mother said. ‘For all we know, this might’ve been a stupid mistake,’

‘Then perhaps we should make sure that this doesn’t happen again,’ Janus said. ‘I suggest that we forbid Hector from attending or hosting anymore parties without us being present,’

‘Father!’ this time, Hector’s dramatic exclamation was genuine as was his look of surprise. ‘You can’t stifle me like that. Mother, he can’t do that!’

‘I don’t know,’ Corinna said slowly. ‘It does sound reasonable, even coming from your father. I think it’s best if we do it that way, until it’s clear that you won’t end up in any trouble,’

‘Mother!’

‘Now, now, boy,’ Janus said, smirking. ‘Take it easy, you’re not fully recovered yet,’

‘But…!’ Hector started to protest but was interrupted as nurse Kalla came in.

‘I heard some shouting, is there a problem here?’

‘Oh no,’ Janus said and shook his head. ‘Hector’s doing fine. We were just getting ready to leave actually. Corinna?’

‘Bye Hector,’ his mother said and kissed him on the forehead. ‘I know you don’t like this plan but it is all for the better. Just hold out for a month or so…’

‘A month?!’ Hector’s jaw dropped.

‘Bye, son. We’ll come back later,’ Janus said and led Corinna out of the room whilst nurse Kalla checked the readouts on the different screens.

‘Everything seems fine,’ Kalla said to Hector and smiled.

‘Yes, so it seems,’ he said surly.

****

The hours in the med-station seemed to pass excruciatingly slow. Hector grew increasingly restless, even though the staff had been most obliged to keep him entertained and had given him plenty of holos to watch or to read. He needed to get out, he needed to move! But any such attempt was discouraged by the doctor and if Hector tried to get out of bed, a small alarm would sound and the medical droid would force him back into bed. Apparently, they felt they could not trust Hector because of his “little incident”. So, after spending some time with his holos, all Hector could to take a nap which made him feel really old.

Since the overdose, Hector had not had any troubling visions at all, probably because his mind was almost fried. He was a bit disappointed, but at the same time relieved that he no longer needed to be haunted by those visions and their cryptic messages. He had also spent some time thinking about his perceived ability to see into the future and had come to the conclusion that his mind had not been right during the party or after it. Al had been right all along.

****

Hector woke up slowly and took a look at the illuminated chrono on the wall. It was early in the morning. His frequent napping was altering his sleeping rhythm which meant that he woke up earlier in the morning. Within minutes, Hector was wide awake and couldn’t possibly get back to sleep.

‘Might as well do some reading,’ Hector grunted as he sat up. He looked around for the holos which he had strewn across his bed but he could not see them. He looked around the room and saw the holos stacked on the windowsill. Apparently and rightly so, they thought Hector was done for the day and moved all the holos off his bed lest he would squash them in his sleep.

The unfortunate thing was that the windowsill was barely out of Hector’s reach and if he left the bed, the alarm would go off and Hector would have to deal with the fussy medical droid.

‘Frak,’ Hector swore softly as he stretched out his arm as much as he could but to no effect. He moved closer to the edge of the bed and stretched out again, getting tantalizingly close but Hector was dangerously close from slipping off the bed and therefore he had to move back and think about his next move.

But since his options were very limited, he basically made the same move again and again, moving close to the edge of the bed and stretching out his arm until his muscles burned or he was close to fall off the bed. He repeated this procedure for a while, growing weary in the process.

‘At this rate, I might just fall asleep soon,’ Hector though as he stretched himself once again. He reached out and barely touched the edge of the windowsill with the tips of his fingers. Hector closed his eyes and focused with all his of his might on reaching the holos. Suddenly, he felt the small, flat screen of a holo in his palm and he clasped it.

‘Yes!’ Hector said, feeling very pleased that his perseverance had paid of. He activated the holo and on the screen flashed the title: “The Illustrated History Of The Empire,” and with the subtitle of: “Holo 2: Betrayal: How the Ancient Protectors Of The Republic Turned On It And How They were Defeated.”

‘Oh, I’ve already read this one twice!’ Hector groaned. He leaned over to put the holo back by the windowsill, but once again, he couldn’t reach it. ‘Strange,’ he mumbled and stretched out again, to no avail. If he had managed to reach it before, surely he could reach it again. The holo wasn’t weighing him down that bad. After two more attempts, Hector gave up and threw the holo to the end of the bed. He made another attempt at reaching the pile of holos on the windowsill.

‘This is getting ridiculous,’ Hector muttered. How could he not reach the holos again? Once again, he focused with all his might on the holos in front of him. He edged ever closer but seemed never to reach any further than the edge of the windowsill.

Still, Hector kept his focus when suddenly, he thought he saw one of the holos floating. Hector blinked in surprise and the holo fell to the floor with a clatter. Surely, it must’ve been the dark playing trick with his eyes? But still, he hadn’t even reached the pile of holos so he couldn’t have dropped that one holo to the ground. Hector looked at the windows to see if they were open and if a draught had blown to holo down to the floor but it seemed to him, through the gloom, that all the windows were shut and sealed tightly. Strange... Hector decided to once again reach for another holo to see what would happen and just like last time, he focused very hard on the pile of holos and stretched out as far as he could.

Nothing seemed to happen for several long seconds but then suddenly, yes, Hector saw clearly the top holo on the pile hovering ever so slightly. As he saw this, his concentration broke and the holo fell to the ground, close to the one that had floated earlier. So he was having effect on them! He eagerly stretched out again and focused on the next holo and within a few short seconds, it started to hover ever so slightly. Hector managed to keep his concentration and saw that the holo remained floating only a few centimetres above the pile. He then had an idea. Could he possibly move the holo? But how could he do that?

‘Bah,’ Hector thought after some quick brain-storming, all the while managing to keep the holo afloat. ‘As if there’s some scientific method to this,’

He then tried concentrating on moving the holo towards him but it stayed in its place. He kept at this for a few minutes before trying another approach. He decided to move his arm, which had been outstretched all the time, towards him and he did this slowly, as if he was reeling the holo in. At first, nothing seemed to happen but then Hector saw the holo twitch slightly and it started to move ever so slowly towards him.

‘Wow,’ Hector said as he saw the holo floating towards him and a sense of excitement started to course through him. It broke his concentration and the holo fell to the floor. But heartened by what he had seen, Hector tried again and two holos later, he had managed to make one to float to his lap.

‘Incredible,’ he said as he inspected the holo and looked at the others scattered across the floor. Hector was feeling a rush of excitement and he wanted to do more! He looked around the room and his eyes settled on a chair that was pushed up against the far wall. It was bigger and heavier than a holo, could he move it? Hector focused intently on the chair but it didn’t float, not at all. He kept trying for several minutes before giving up. That chair was going nowhere. He then thought that it could possibly be moved along the floor without floating.

‘Why not? It’s worth an attempt,’ Hector shrugged mentally before concentrating on the chair and after a few second, pointing at it with his hand and motioning it back towards him. Nothing seemed to happen first but then the chair jerked and slowly but surely, it moved towards the bed as if an invisible hand was dragging it there. As the chair settled next to the bed,

Hector cast a glance at the chrono and saw that he had been awake for three and a half hours! Had he really been this for so long? He felt tired all of a sudden and the excitement he felt got slowly replaced by weariness. Hector wanted to continue but his body wanted something else and it seemed like the side-effects medication he was on started to kick in, making him feel even more tired. He reluctantly settled back and closed his heavy eye-lids.

His last mental image was of him in his bed, surrounded by holos orbiting around him like planets orbiting around a sun.



 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 4/13/08 2:57am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 31/3 - Date Edited: 4/13/08 3:01am (1 edits total) Edited By: yodas_waiter
Ok, new update.

I'm actually dragging my feet a little to these updates since interest in this story seems to be non-existant. Please, if you're lurking, just drop a comment. It is really frustrating to see a story which I spend so much of my very limited free time on sink so quickly. Please, help a fellow writer out here.


------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 6
Grounded

When Hector woke up the next morning, he found that the holos were all neatly stacked on the windowsill and the chair was pushed up against the far wall.

‘Excuse me nurse,’ he said as nurse Kalla checked his stats. ‘Did you happen to move those holos?’

‘Aha,’ nurse Kalla responded, not tearing her eyes away from the equipment.

‘From the floor?’ Hector elaborated.

‘Nope. From your bed. I was afraid you might roll over and ruin them,’

‘And the chair?’

‘What about the chair?’ Kalla looked up at Hector.

‘Nothing,’ Hector shook his head.

‘Anyway,’ Kalla said, turning back to the equipment. ‘Your stats are good, very good. You’ve made a surprisingly quick recovery from such a serious overdose,’

‘Mmm…’ Hector mumbled absent-mindedly.

‘Or were you perhaps expecting better news?’ Kalla asked, raising her eyebrows and eyeing Hector curiously.

‘Oh no,’ Hector said quickly, snapping out of his reveries. ‘It’s just been a lot to take in lately, you know…’

‘Sure,’

‘When am I going to be discharged?’

‘I’m going to show this to the doctor first but if everything turns out alright, perhaps later today,’ Kalla smiled.

‘Thanks,’ Hector said and the nurse left the room.

Once again, Hector looked at the chair and stack of holos. What had happened last night was still clear in his mind but it had the air of a dream about it. Could it have been a dream? It must’ve been, how else could he explain the fact that he moved objects with his mind? It defied all scientific conventions. He must’ve gotten carried away, just like when he thought he could foretell the future. Still, maybe he could try it again, just to be sure.

‘I feel stupid,’ Hector thought as he stretched out towards the holos and focused on them.

‘May I be of service?’ a metallic voice said, breaking Hector’s concentration. Emdee, the medical droid, rolled up to the windowsill and looked between Hector and the holos. ‘Do you care to read one?’

‘Not anymore,’ Hector said sourly, letting his arm fall limply to his side.

****

Hector wasn’t given any more chances to check if it had only been a dream because of a constant stream of people in his room. The doctor would come several times, either to amaze at his condition or administer some medicine, the nurse and the medical droid would constantly drop in to see if he was comfortable and then his parents came.

‘We’ve heard that you’re doing much better!’ his mother smiled as she hugged him. ‘They told us that you might be discharged soon,’

‘That’s the good old Viralte genes working, dear,’ Janus said and thumped his chest lightly. ‘I remember taking a bolt in the shoulder during the battle of Muunilinst. We were out of bacta and short on men so I was forced to fight on. As the day ended, I had completely forgotten my injury and it was only until the medic reminded…’

‘Yes, father, we know,’ Hector rolled his eyes. ‘The medic was dumbfounded,’

‘Anyway, it’s good to see you’re showing at least one of the Viralte traits,’ his father said pointedly.

‘Ignore him,’ Corinna said. ‘We’re both happy that you’re getting out soon and that you’re almost fully recovered,’

‘But what am I getting out to?’

‘That is purely your fault,’ Janus said and pointed his cane at Hector. ‘No point in fussing about it. Take it like a man,’

‘I am a man, father! You can’t do this!’

‘I can do whatever I damn please,’ Janus growled and advanced on Hector. ‘Do you know how many credits I’ve had to shell out so to keep this off your record and actually give you a chance to join the Imperial Army? You owe me, a lot, and you might as well start repaying that debt by doing as I say without any question. Understood?’

Doctor Haral entered the room before Hector could retort and his presence broke the tension. Janus moved slowly away from the side of the bed, straightening his uniform.

‘Good to see you doctor!’ Corinna said quickly, looking relieved. ‘Have you got news for us?’

‘In fact, yes,’ Haral said as he took a quick glance at the readouts. ‘I have shown your stats to my colleagues and they all agree with me that your recovery has been most remarkable and like me, they think it is safe to discharge you at this time,’

‘That is great news!’ Corinna beamed, squeezing Hector happily on the shoulder.

‘Is there any explanation as to why I’ve recovered so quickly?’ Hector asked.

‘No,’ Haral said and shook his head. ‘It happens from time to time that we get people with incredible healing capabilities and it amazes me every time. I can’t explain it in any other way than that some people have got some really strong genes,’

‘Just what I said, doctor,’ Janus said, tapping his cane on the floor.

‘So, I’m free to leave?’

‘Yes,’ Haral smiled. ‘We’ll just fetch your clothes…don’t worry, they’ve been cleaned,’ he added. ‘And you can leave whenever you want,’

Hector nodded slowly. ‘Thanks for all, doctor,’

‘Just doing my job,’ Haral said. ‘But I do hope I never see you here again. It such a waste seeing young people in a similar state that you were in,’

****

It was strange coming back to the apartment. Everything was so clean and tidy and there was nothing to suggest what had happened there only a few days ago.

‘Sir!’ Al said as happily as his vocoder could manage. ‘I’m so glad to see you back so soon. How are you feeling?’

‘Much better,’ Hector smiled and patted Al on his metallic shoulder. ‘You saved my life. I owe you,’

‘No you don’t. He was doing his job,’ Janus said brusquely. ‘Has everything been calm here A-3LO?’

‘Yes sir, nothing to report,’

‘Good. Now, boy, come over here,’ Janus said and indicated towards the door. ‘Just to make sure that you’re not to up to any funny business now, I’ve installed some sensors,’ Janus pointed to two small, black boxes the size of a hand on either side of the door. ‘They will sense who leaves or enters this apartment and will sound an alarm. Only someone carrying this…’ Janus brought up a small, flat, black chip from his pocket and held it in front of Hector’s face. ‘…can enter or leave without sounding the alarm. Me or your mother will drop in once a day to check up on you. Understood?’

‘Yes father,’

‘Good,’ Janus said and put the chip back in his pocket. ‘And don’t try to take these down. I will notice,’ Janus held his finger up warningly.

‘I understand,’ Hector sighed.

‘Good,’ Janus said again. ‘Now, I must go. A-L3O?’

‘Yes sir?’

‘Keep an eye on the boy, will you?’ Janus said and pointed towards Hector.

‘Certainly sir,’

‘Good,’ Janus opened the door. ‘No funny business, remember? I’ll see you tomorrow,’

The door closed behind Janus and Hector sighed and almost slumped together.

‘Once again, it is good to see you, sir,’ Al said.

‘Thank you, Al’

‘Can I do anything for you?’

‘No, everything is fine. Resume what you were doing before,’ Hector said.

‘Certainly, sir,’ Al said and went back into the kitchen.

Hector walked over the sofa and sat himself down slowly in it. He sighed and rubbed his temples. Grounded. Just like a little kid. What could he do? What could he possibly do to relieve him of his boredom? Sure, he had just about managed to cheat death but he had been taking it easy in the med-station. If anything, he was supposed to go and resume his life once again, but his father had swiftly and effectively killed that idea.

Hector turned around and looked at the small black boxes by the door with utter contempt but that was all he could do to them. He wasn’t going to try and remove them. He wasn’t even going to entertain the notion. Hector’s father never lied and things would only get worse if Hector tried anything that went against what he had been ordered. Hector looked away from the door, he could not take the sight for much longer and instead turned his gaze towards the living room. He could watch some holo-movies but that would only alleviate his boredom for a little while. Hector pummelled some pillows in frustration but stopped as he felt his muscles getting stretched. Rubbing his upper left arm, he realised that he would not be doing any training today. This only made him even more frustrated but he refrained from anymore punching.

Then it struck him.

He could try levitating objects again. Yes, he had effectively rejected the whole idea by this point but there was still some part of him that wanted to know for sure. Now was the perfect time to and he was alone, except for Al. But seeing as Al had managed not to reveal Hector’s true intentions behind the overdose, Hector felt that Al could be trusted even if something strange would happen. Hector looked around to find anything that would be suitable and his eyes settled on the stack of holos on the table in front of him.

‘Why not?’ he said aloud and shrugged. He could might as well recreate the same conditions just to be sure. He walked over to the shelf and picked out some more holos and put them on top of the pile. He then sat down on the sofa again and looked at them, unblinkingly, for a while. Then he stretched out his hand and concentrated on the topmost holo. Nothing seemed to happen and Hector leaned back, exhaling slowly. He had been right but he did not feel triumphant which he usually did when he was right. No, instead, he felt considerably hollow inside. Despite all his rationality, he could not escape the feeling of excitement he had felt during the night, even though it seemed like it had been a dream. Nothing had happened and usually when proven right, Hector would drop the issue completely, but not this time. Something made him linger as he looked upon the pile of holos.

Without thinking, Hector extended his arm slowly and focused upon the topmost holo again. He held his concentration for much longer, even when his arm started to ache. Slowly, Hector noticed how the holo rose from the pile and hovered ever so slightly above it. He flicked his finger to the left and the holo flew through the air, landing near the kitchen door. Hector did not feel surprise or triumph. He simply felt awe as he stood up slowly and examined the holo lying on the floor. He then looked back on the pile and focused on it again. However, this time it went much quicker and within seconds, a holo was floating over the pile and once again, Hector flicked with his finger towards him and the holo landed by his feet. Hector repeated the same move in a quicker and quicker pace and he had the whole pile of holos scattered around his feet within only a few minutes.

‘Wow,’ he said in awe and then a thought struck him. Could he make all the holos hover at the same time? He held out both his arms in front of him and sprawled his fingers, imagining himself casting out a net from his fingers. He tried concentrating on all the holos on the ground but he found it hard and his concentration slipped several times. He tried harder and harder which caused his breathing to grow shallower and his body to shake. Hector opened his eyes, calmed himself down and took a couple of deep breaths.

He then simply lifted both his hands slowly and he saw how all of the holos rose simultaneously around him. Suddenly, from the doorway, Hector heard a woman say: ‘Hector! Surprised? I heard from your mother that you were back and she gave me this chip…Hector!? What is going on?’

Hector turned around sharply and saw Belle, holding a finely crafted vase, staring at him in disbelief. Somehow, the holos were still floating around him.

‘Oh no!’ Hector shouted in disbelief and as he did that, the holos fell to the ground.

‘How did you do that?’ Belle asked, placing the vase on the floor and moving towards Hector. ‘With the holos? How did you make them float around you?’

‘I…I don’t know what you mean…’ Hector stammered, shuffling the holos under the sofa with his foot.

‘Why did you shout: “Oh no”? What are you up to?’ she asked, giving him that familiar scrutinizing gaze with those harsh, green eyes.

‘Nothing!’ Hector said, his voice unusually high-pitched. ‘I’m up to nothing,’

‘Of course you are,’ Belle said with a brusque tone which would’ve put his father to shame. ‘You’re acting that way you usually are when you’ve done something you’re not supposed too. What is going on Hector?!’ She squared up against him, despite being half a head shorter than him.

‘Nothing,’

‘I saw something. Tell me!’ Belle demanded.

‘Belle!’ Hector said loudly and waved his hands fervently in front of him. ‘You didn’t see anything!’

Suddenly, Belle’s expression turned completely blank and she said in a monotone voice: ‘I didn’t see anything,’

‘What?’ Hector said in surprise.

‘What?’ Belle echoed, having seemingly shaken off whatever had possessed her.

‘What did you just say?’ Hector asked slowly.

‘I was saying…’ Belle started impatiently. ‘…that I heard from your mother that you were back and I wanted to give you this vase as a present…’ Belle held up her arms, still believing that she was holding the vase. ‘Where is it?’ she asked in surprise as she saw her empty arms. Hector pointed behind her and she turned around and saw the vase standing on the floor, right where she had placed it only a few minutes ago. ‘How did it get there?’ she said as she moved to pick the vase up.

‘I don’t know,’ Hector shrugged.

‘Strange…’ Belle said and handed Hector the vase and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Happy to see you up and about again even though I’m half of the mind that you’re almost too stupid to live. Feel any different?’

‘A little, yes…’ Hector said serenely as he felt the spot on the cheek where Belle had kissed him.

****

The week passed on slowly as Hector remained a prisoner in his own apartment. Since the little episode with Belle, Hector had resigned himself to his bedroom to practice on his new abilities and to ensure complete privacy. Al could be trusted, but Hector preferred to keep the number of people that were aware of his abilities down to none. During the morning, he would try manipulating objects before taking a break to read and after that, doing some physical training. He would end the day by manipulating more objects which grew bigger and heavier as the days wore on.

But his earlier enthusiasm for these strange powers had been dulled since the episode with Belle. Hector felt more and more as if he was experimenting with something vastly more powerful than he could understand yet at the same time, he could not stifle his curiosity. Hector also started to feel grudgingly thankful for his father’s decisions to keep him grounded, it had given Hector time to focus on himself and the result was that he had never felt this fit or mentally sharp in a long time.

Janus too started to notice this with his daily visits and it pleased him greatly. So much so that a week into Hector’s house-arrest, he said: ‘Boy, I’m pleased with the progress you seem to be making. I approve of the fact that you have taken it on yourself to keep fit and I believe it will only be a matter of time before you can apply to the stormtrooper corps and be accepted. But before that, I want to give you a reward,’

‘A reward?’ Hector said in surprise as he loosened his battle stance, placed his vibro-blade carefully on the sofa and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat off his face. ‘What can that be?’

‘We’re going to a party,’

‘A party?!’ Hector said in even more surprise

‘Seeing as you’ve been locked in here for some time, it’s understandable that you’ve been out of the loop,’ Janus said as he paced back and forth slowly.

‘Alright, you’ve made me curious,’ Hector said. ‘What is the occasion?’

‘Roderick Brock passed the aptitude test. He is now and officer of the New Order,’ Janus said. ‘I thought it would be a fitting venue to take you to. Don’t you?’

‘Yeah,’ Hector said, not sounding overly enthusiastic. ‘Thank you, father,’

‘I thought you’d like that,’ Janus smiled and moved towards to the door and said before he left: ‘As you were,’

As the door hissed shut, Hector walked into the kitchen and sighed audibly.

‘Anything wrong, sir? Al asked as he was cleaning the kitchen.

‘Roderick Brock has passed his aptitude test and I’m invited to the party,’ Hector said as he sat down by the dinner table.

‘Well, isn’t that good? Finally you can get out and move a little,’

‘I suppose but Brock is going to rub his promotion in my face,’ Hector said. ‘I don’t need that on my first day out,’

‘Still, it would be nice to get out instead of…doing whatever you’ve done all this week,’ Al said and gave Hector a good a significant look a droid could pull off. ‘I’m curious, what is it you have done this past week?’

‘Oh…nothing…’ Hector said.

‘Awful lot of time you’re in your room doing nothing,’ Al said. ‘If I didn’t know you better, I could swear that you were doing something…illegal…’

‘It’s nothing illegal, I think,’ Hector said before shaking his head. ‘It’s nothing Al, nothing,’

‘It must be something sir,’ the droid said. ‘You’ve mostly been in your room and on the few times you’ve been out of it, you’ve been in a silent and brooding mood. It must be something,’

Hector gave Al a long look before sighing once again. He couldn't keep this in himself anymore. He had to tell someone!

‘You’re right Al, it is something,’

‘Can I enquire as to what is troubling you?’ the droid asked, ceasing with his cleaning.

Hector took a deep breath and thought carefully about what he was about to say next. But he could not find the right words and instead focused on a bowl that stood on a table in front of him, making it float in front of him and then up to Al before setting it back on the table.

‘Was that you sir?’ the droid asked. Hector nodded. ‘If droids could hallucinate, I would say that what I just saw was a hallucination but since…’

‘Something is happening to me Al and I can’t understand it,’ Hector started. The droid moved in closer to listen. ‘It started with these bad dreams, these visions but…’

‘Your visions of the future?’ Al asked, unable to cover up the scepticism in his voice.

‘Yes, but it has turned into something much more. I know now that I can see things before they happen, no doubt about it. But this is where it gets strange: I can manipulate objects,’

‘I saw that,’ Al nodded slightly.

‘But not only objects, Al,’ and Hector leaned forward and grabbed the droid by its shoulder. ‘And this is what scares me: I can manipulate the minds of people,’

‘Of people?!’ the droid said in disbelief.

‘I did it, yesterday, to Belle,’

‘How? Why?’

‘I don’t know,’ Hector said with a hint of distress in his voice.

‘This is peculiar,’ Al said as he picked up the bowl and inspected it. ‘Most peculiar,’

‘What is happening to me?’ Hector asked, unable to hide his desperation. ‘This is not natural,’ and as he said that, he made the bowl float out of Al’s grip. ‘If people find it, it will destroy me, I can feel it. How can I explain this? How can I start to make sense out of this?’

Al didn’t answer straight away but instead had his gaze firmly fixed on the bowl before slowly looking up at Hector and then back at the bowl again.

‘There is an explanation,’ Al finally said.

‘What is it?’ Hector said frantically. ‘I need to hear it,’

‘You won’t like it,’

‘I don’t care. I need to hear it,’

‘Well,’ Al said. ‘Since you were born right before the outbreak of the Clone Wars and was still very young at the end of the war, you might not remember the ancient protectors of the Republic…’

‘I don’t like where you’re going with this,’ Hector said.

‘Now,’ Al went on, ignoring Hector. ‘The ancient protectors, the Jedi, were said to be in a strong connection to a power called “the Force”, something the believed all life to be connected to and which held the galaxy together. I’m sure you read this in school,’

‘I did,’ Hector said. ‘But debunked beliefs never interested me,’

‘Anyway, this strong connection the Jedi had made them able to accomplish extraordinary feats: super-speed, jumping up several stories in the air, healing, reading minds, manipulating minds, manipulating objects, predicting the future…’ Al lowered his tone significantly when he mentioned the last three feats.

‘I am not a Jedi,’ Hector said firmly. ‘I’m not Force sensitive,’

‘Then how can you explain this?’

‘I don’t know, but I’ll find one eventually,’ Hector said. ‘But what I need to focus on is what I should do with these powers. It will be impossible to hide them!’

‘Use them responsibly and carefully,’ the droid said slowly.

‘Mmm…’ Hector responded, looking deeply at his hands.


 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
yodas_waiter  763 posts
Registered: Oct '06
8144_Yoda
Date Posted: 4/20/08 3:08am Subject: RE: The Enforcer (SW Super-Hero tribute, OCs, Action, 0 BBY) Updated 13/4
I'm kind of disappointed that my plea for help went unheard. I'm sure there are some lurkers out there that could help me out.

Anyhoo, I still would very much appreciate feedback, any feedback at all. All I really want is an indication that someone other than myself is actually reading this story.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 7
The Bet

‘How do I look?’ Hector asked as he examined himself in the mirror, twisting and turning about to get a better look.

‘Fine,’ his father answered without glancing at Hector.

‘I’m all dusty…’ Hector said and started to forcefully wipe his shoulders and front even though the suit seemed to be impeccably black.

‘Stop that,’ Janus said and grabbed Hector by the wrist. ‘Try not to act up and don’t give me anymore reasons not to take you out of your apartment,’

‘No father,’ Hector grumbled and wiped his front silently and with less vigour.

The elevators slowed down and the silvery doors opened up directly into a big and elaborate apartment filled with people.

‘Janus, Hector!’ Roderick Brock came up towards them and stretched out a large, tanned hand in greeting. He was broad, muscular and tall, almost a head taller than Hector. He flashed a charming and flawless smile. ‘So glad you could make it!’

‘Roderick, my boy!’ Janus exclaimed and his expression softened instantly. He grabbed Roderick’s hand firmly and shook it vigorously. ‘I’m so pleased to hear that you’ve passed the test. You will make a fine officer! Is it a lieutenant you are now?’

‘Exactly,’ Brock answered, still keeping the smile. ‘They said that there was no doubt over my ability and that the test was a mere formality,’

‘And Holler, was he with you?’

‘Yes,’ Roderick answered. ‘We took the test at the same time and he passed too,’

‘Excellent, excellent,’ Janus said before asking: ‘Where to now then?’ Roderick gave him a mischievous look and tapped the side of his nose. Janus roared with laughter.

‘But seriously,’ Roderick said in-between laughs. ‘They have not told me yet,’

‘Close to action, hopefully,’ Janus said and winked.

‘I’ll toast to that!’ Roderick said and managed to grab two glasses full of purple sparkle from the tray of a droid that rolled past and handed one to Janus before turning to Hector. ‘I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t pass. I was looking forward to sharing stories with you,’

‘Thanks Roderick,’ Hector said rather flatly. ‘I’m not really happy over how it turned out either,’

‘But no worries!’ Janus said and wrapped an arm around Hector’s shoulders. ‘As soon as we’ve cleared up some business, we’re taking him right down to the recruitment station,’

‘Stormtroopers corps, eh?’ Roderick said and made a small salute with his glass. ‘Perhaps not what you expected but a fight is a fight, right Hector?’

‘A fight is a fight,’ Hector echoed.

‘Is your father around, Roderick?’ Janus asked. ‘I would very much like to speak to him and congratulate him on your success,’

‘He is on the other side of the room,’ Roderick said and pointed Janus in the right direction.

‘Father, I…’ Hector started to say, confused that his father was going to leave him so early. Hector had expected Janus to hang over him all night, watching his every move and anticipating any small misstep.

‘I know what we agreed on beforehand but I don’t want to spend all night with you and you don’t want to spend all night with me,’ Janus said. ‘I trust you with Roderick. Just make sure you find me by the end of the party!’

‘Yes father,’ Hector said and Roderick nodded courteously as Janus walked off.

‘What was that about, Hec?’ Roderick asked as he indicated towards the buffet table and the both of them moved towards it.

‘Personal stuff,’ Hector said. ‘You wouldn’t be interested,’

‘On the contrary, Hec,’ Brock said, grabbing a plate and dishing up various appetisers. ‘We’re friends, so your personal well-being is very important to me,’

‘Can it, Brock. My father is out of ear-shot,’ Hector said, following closely behind Brock along the table without grabbing a plate. ‘And don’t call me Hec,’

Ignoring what Hector just said, Brock went on: ‘Whilst we’re on the subject of personal well-being, sources close to me say that you suffered a spice overdose shortly after failing the test,’

‘How do you know?’ Hector said, stopping dead in his tracks.

‘Please Hector,’ Brock laughed slightly as he picked up a small piece of meat and put it in his mouth. ‘Try as he might, your father can’t simply buy total silence,’

Hector stood by the table and fumed silently. That Brock could simply use what had happened to Hector as a way to make him look better was…Hector could not find the right words to describe his rage. He felt tempted of using his powers to tip the bowl of punch over Roderick but thought better of it.

‘Did it cost you your rank?’ Brock asked. ‘If it did, then rightly so,’

‘Keep on rubbing it in, Brock. You will regret it,’

‘Would you assault a lieutenant of the Imperial army? How low the Viralte’s have sunk,’ Brock laughed harshly. ‘Well, not really. Your sister is still holding the standard high and proud. How is she doing?’

‘Good,’ Hector said through clenched teeth.

‘My father told me that she has impressed some very important people in the navy. Three kills! That’s almost an ace, isn’t it?’

‘I believe it is,’

‘Proud are you?’

‘Yes,’

‘Are you going to clean her apartment and make sure some hot food is standing on the table when she comes back from the war? You’ll look pretty in an apron,’ Brock smiled. Hector had had enough and stepped forward and squared up to Brock.

‘Look here Brock. I’m going to join the stormtroopers corps and I will show you,’

‘You won’t do that,’ Brock said threateningly, dropping his teasing demeanour. ‘You’re a spice and alcohol addict. You hang around intellectual dissidents that are too cowardly to even utter defiance. You’re a delinquent, Hector and not fit for serving the Empire. I won’t allow you to join,’

It was Hector’s turn to laugh. ‘Mighty lot of influence a newly minted lieutenant will have,’

‘I know people that can pull some strings,’ Brock said. ‘And if you decide to serve, I will make sure that you serve under me,’

‘You forget that I too have strings to pull,’ Hector said smugly.

‘After your latest escapade, I believe that most of those have been cut,’ Roderick countered.

‘Some friend you are turning out to be,’ Hector said as he realised the Brock was right.

‘Hector, you’re my friend and I care much for you,’ Brock said warmly and patted Hector on the shoulder. ‘But I care more for the New Order and part of my job now is to keep people like you out of its system,’

‘I can’t believe I’m hearing this!’ Hector said, looking astounded. ‘You’re serious?’

‘Very much so,’ Brock said. ‘Besides, I never really thought of you as military material. You’re too scrawny and, to be honest, a little effeminate,’

‘Effeminate?!’

‘Yes, effeminate,’ Brock repeated. ‘You hang around Belle all the time without even seeming to want to…you know. You’re overly fussy about your clothes…’

‘They attract dust! I hate dust!’ Hector said loudly.

‘And you’re into all this arty stuff just like your mother. You are your mother, Hector and your sister is the soldier your father was. How were you raised?’

‘I’m just as much of a man as you are Brock, perhaps even more so!’

At this, Brock just laughed heartily into the face of Hector. ‘If you’re so much of a man Hector, why don’t you try and woo my cousin over there. She only likes real mean,’

‘Lina,’ Hector gulped and turned around to face where Roderick was pointing. Across the room stood a tall dazzling blonde in a stunning red dress which say tightly to her body and all the men in the room glanced over her at some point. ‘Really?’

‘Go ahead, manly-man,’ Brock smiled.

Hector wasn’t willing to concede and hand over victory to Roderick in this mental battle, so steeling himself and with the forming of an idea in his head, Hector started to walk over slowly towards Lina. She didn’t notice him until he was right up in front of her and said in a shaky voice: ‘Hi…’

‘Oh Hector, it’s you,’ she said with obvious distaste and gave him a hard, piercing stare. ‘What do you want?’

‘I…want to kiss you,’ Hector said. Lina’s look of disinterest disappeared instantly and she did a double-take.

‘Excuse me?’ she laughed harshly, bearing down upon him and making Hector feel tiny. ‘You want to do what?’

‘Now or never,’ Hector thought as he said, with a wave of his hand: ‘I want you to kiss me,’

Lina’s gaze suddenly went blank and it seemed like she was looking right through Hector. Several long seconds passed without anything happening and Hector grew more and more nervous.

‘Lina, are you alr…?’ Hector started to ask but was interrupted in mid-sentence as Lina grabbed hold of him forcefully and pulled him towards her in a long and passionate kiss. Hector’s mind went numb with shock and before he knew it, he was suddenly yanked out of the kiss.

‘We’ve had a talk about this,’ Janus hissed in his ear. ‘You would do well in not drawing unnecessary attention to yourself, especially after you-know-what,’ he pushed Hector forward and gave him a stern look.

‘Sorry father,’ Hector said and straightened his jacket. Janus merely shook his head and walked off. Hector turned around towards a fuming Brock with a wide smile on his face. ‘Any other challenge you’ve got for me?’

‘So what?’ Brock spat. ‘Lina must be drunk and you got lucky. Being able to chat up women doesn’t save you on the battlefield so despite your little victory here, you’re still a loser in the grander scheme of things,’

And Hector realised that Brock was essentially right. Hector had really pulled off a flimsy victory and it wasn’t a victory he was going to get medals of bravery for nor any respect for. However, he had a power that Brock did not know of and he could still draw advantage of it. If he had not had these powers, Hector might have given up on the spot and bowed to Brock’s taunts, but not now, not when he had had a taste of one-upping Brock.

That was why Hector said, without really thinking it through, the following: ‘So it’s bravery you want, huh? Well, since I can’t prove it on the battlefield, thanks to you now, how about we say I spend a day in the lower levels…in my finest gear,’

‘Ha!’ Brock laughed harshly, very much alike his cousin. ‘You’ve never left the upper levels and now you’re going to spend a whole day down there? You are desperate to prove yourself, aren’t you? Sure, this might be interesting but what do I gain to win?’

‘My weapons collection,’ Hector said and winced inwardly.

‘Really?’ Brock raised his eyebrows. ‘You are taking this seriously then. But what do you want in return, granted that you actually do manage to stay a whole day in the lower levels showing off your aristocratic flair?’

‘I gain nothing but admission for my bravery and respect from you and my peers,’

‘I cannot guarantee that,’ Brock said, stifling a laugh before asking: ‘But how will I know that you’ve spent a whole day in the lower levels? I will need a witness,’

‘I can bring my friend Tarman,’

‘Oh no,’ Brock waged his finger in front of Hector’s face. ‘I’m not prepared to trust your junkie friends. I will pick the witness myself,’

‘Sure,’ Hector shrugged. ‘Who are you going to pick?’

‘I find Holler to be most trustworthy,’ Brock said. ‘You will take him with you,’

‘Fine,’ Hector said and extended his open hand which Brock grabbed tightly.

‘So, are you doing this tomorrow?’ Brock asked with a sneer.

‘As soon as I’m not grounded anymore,’ Hector said steadily. Brock simply smiled.


 

-----signature-----
Padawan to Sionnach-Airgid
Author of Chyler databank entry
Nominated Best New Author in Before the Saga 06/07
The Enforcer (SW Super-hero tribute): http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/28028864/p1/?2
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 - Previous | Next | Reload
© 2009 IGN Entertainment, Inc (9.02.17.2300, IGNPRDAPPW64214) 1.016