Behind William, in the transports passenger compartment sat the person he was in charge of guarding. Lirenn Vasall, a twenty-three-year-old daughter of a rich businessman. That businessman in question held the title of Lord in the Imperium. A Lord was a generic lesser nobility title that was widely used for influential people who contribute a great deal to the economy, served in the Imperium's armed forces, and other great contributions.
However, this title did not get passed down to their children but had to be earned. This was what separated the lesser nobility with the Mid-Tier Nobility, and the High Imperial Nobility.
Lirenn may not be of nobility, but she was a citizen travelling in an active war zone which warranted some protection. And that wasn't the only reason as the city they were going to was one of the next targets the Imperium wanted to gather intel on.
It was recently conquered a year ago by the Sith and has since been controlled by them for that time. The Imperial Intelligence Directorate had not expanded into the city yet and they wanted to use this chance to see what life was like in the city.
"Thirty seconds to landing zone," the pilot said over the internal comm.
"We're going to land and move quickly," William said without turning around. "You stay within two meters of me at all times. If I tell you to get down, you get down without questioning me. If I tell you to run, you run in the direction I point to."
"My sister's clinic is only four blocks from the landing zone," Lirenn said. She thought that William was exaggerating about how dangerous it was. If her sister had lived here for 10 years, then she didn't think there was anything dangerous, especially with William being her guard.
"Four blocks is a long way," William replied. "I've read reports about people dying because they underestimated how far they had to walk to their destination."
Lirenn had no response as the transport shuttle descended through the clouds. Through the viewport, the city of Veth Kaan could be seen below. He could see the varying states of decay that was present throughout the city and the various military buildings from the Sith occupation.
Imperial Sith banners hung from buildings that still had scorch marks from the bombardments that took place during the ground assault a year ago.
"You've been here before?" Lirenn asked.
"No."
"Then how do you know what it's like?"
"Because it looks the same as every other city that's been under Sith control for a year." He turned and looked at her, causing her to turn away. She found it difficult to keep arguing with William.
A few moments later, the transport landed on a landing platform that had been cleared by the Sith garrison as a designated civilian arrival point. It was the only landing zone in the city where transports from the Olaris region was permitted to land.
William stood and checked the equipment he carried. He had a gas mask on his face, nero toxin bombs, thermal grenades, flash bangs, medical kit, lightsaber, plasma gun, and on his back was his backpack which carried his gatling gun.
This may seem like a lot, but this was the type of equipment he always ran around with during any mission which put him into hostile territory. It was also perks to being in the biochemical warfare division as he got to test some pretty nice weapons on.
"Stay close," he said, and walked to the transport's exit ramp.
Two Sith Imperial soldiers stood at the edge of the platform, not blocking the exit but positioned in a way that made their presence impossible to ignore. They were young, which William noted because young Sith soldiers tended to be either more aggressive or more uncertain than older ones.
"Imperial escort," William said holding up an Imperial ID badge. "Civilian transit to the Vasall medical clinic. Cleared under the Olaris corridor arrangement."
The taller of the two soldiers looked at the badge, then at William, then at Lirenn behind him. His gaze lingered on William's equipment for a moment wondering what all of this was.
"You're carrying a lot for a civilian escort," the soldier said.
"What I'm carrying is important for my mission and is none of your concern, so I suggest you let us be on our way." said William waving his hand in front of their faces.
"We will let you be on your way." repeated the Sith soldiers as they moved out of the way allowing the two through.
Veth Kaan smelled like every other city that had been fought over and then occupied. Burnt durasteel, chemical sealant from emergency repairs, recycled air from overtaxed atmospheric processors, and low civilian activity.
The streets were not empty but they were quiet in the way that occupied places became after changing governments. People moved with a purpose and generally avoided eye contact with them.
"It's different than I expected," Lirenn said quietly.
"Different how?"
"I thought it would be more..." She searched for the word. "Visible. The war, I mean. I thought it would look more like a war."
"The fighting stopped a year ago. What you're seeing now is what comes after." William explained. "Wars look like wars while they're happening. After that they look like this." Lirenn didn't understand since in the Imperium, conquered places generally saw some improvement after a year.
Two blocks in, they passed a building that had been converted into a Sith administrative office. The banner above the entrance was new and recently hung. Outside stood four Sith soldiers in full armor, watching each person on the street that walked by.
They walked past avoiding any contact with them. A few minutes later after some silence Lirenn spoke. "My sister said the clinic has been operating continuously since before the Sith took the city," She started talking because the silence made her nervous, which William understood.
"She stayed when everyone else left."
"Why did she stay?" asked William.
"She said the people who needed the clinic the most were the ones who couldn't leave." She paused, shaking her in disappointment. "I told her that was a good way to get killed."
"It is," William agreed. "It's also a good way to help a significant number of people. Both things can be true simultaneously."
Lirenn didn't want to, but she agreed with William.
A few more minutes later and the spotted the clinic which occupied the ground floor of a three-story building that had survived the occupation largely intact. The exterior showed evidence that it was somewhat protected from the conflict. Someone had painted the universal medical symbol across the entire front wall in white, large enough to be visible from a limited distance in the air.
"She painted that herself," Lirenn said. "She told me the Sith soldiers would shoot at anything that moved at night during the first week. So, she climbed up there in the middle of the day and painted it while they watched."
"Did they try to stop her?"
"One of them asked what she was doing. She told him she was making sure that even the Sith knew not to bomb a clinic." Lirenn paused. "He apparently went back to his post and said nothing."
It sounded like a likely story to William. If they bombed a clinic with a Imperial citizen in it, then they would have probably lost control of the world completely.
The clinic's door opened before they reached it. The woman who stepped out was older than Lirenn by what looked to be fifteen years, which placed her somewhere in her late thirties.
"You actually came," she said to Lirenn.
"You actually stayed," Lirenn replied.
The two embraced each other as if they hadn't seen each other face to face in years. William stood at the entrance and looked back down the street. The Sith soldiers two blocks back had not moved and no one on the street had paid any unusual attention to their arrival.
"Doctor Vasall," William called.
"Maren," she corrected. "If you call me Doctor Vasall I'll assume something has gone wrong and start looking for an exit to escape."
"Maren," he repeated. "How many people are in the clinic currently."
"Fourteen patients. Three staff. One of the staff is a Sith soldier with a shrapnel wound who came in yesterday and has been pretending to be unconscious since this morning because he doesn't want to be sent back to his unit."
William turned and looked at her.
"I know," she said. "I've been pretending not to notice. If I discharge him, his officers will want to know why he was here. If he stays unconscious, I don't have to file anything."
William sighed. "How long can you maintain that lie."
"Until his unit starts looking for him, which based on the patrol patterns I've been observing through that window is probably another day and a half."
As she said this, she noticed how much gear he was carrying and became curious. "You're not a standard escort, are you?"
"No." William stated.
"Then, what are you actually here for?" she asked.
"I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that your sister being here gave us a reason to come." He looked at Lirenn, who was watching the exchange. She had just now discovered that she had been used as cover for something she hadn't agreed to be cover for.
"You used me," Lirenn said.
"The Directorate used you," William corrected. "I was assigned after the arrangement was already made. Your father agreed to it."
"My father…." She stopped as the realization hit. "Of course he did."
Maren interrupted the two as they had been standing at the entrance for a few minutes now. "Whatever you're here for," she said, "you should come inside before you have this conversation on the street."
William agreed and they moved inside. From there, Maren went off with Lirenn to see the clinic, while William remained on guard at the entrance. He didn't know why, but something was feeling off about the situation to him. Everything was going too well.
And he was proven right, when the following morning, a group of four Sith soldiers and a Sith Lord approached the entrance of the clinic and walked in.
Maren was already in the lobby and had turned to greet them. But when she noticed the Sith Lord, her face turned into annoyance.
"Doctor, I've come for you." Shouted the Sith Lord.
Maren sighed as this had been happening for several months now. "I already told you I don't like you."
"True." he replied. "But now, I'm not asking anymore. Either you come with me willingly or I take you to prison and shut down this pathetic clinic for spying on Sith soldiers."
William looked at Maren to see if this was true. She didn't even look his way, instead she tried to play dumb. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Hearing this obvious lie, the Sith Lord grew angrier. "Now you're lying to me. Men arrest her." he ordered as two of the soldiers began to walk forward.
But before they got far, William stepped in front of them and raised his ID. "I suggest you guys get out of here." The Sith Lord saw the badge and chuckled.
"Of course. Imperial scum like you, always intervene in our affairs." he stated. "Let's get out of here for now." he ordered as the group left. William turned to Maren who explained to him about the information she had been gathering on Sith patrols, personnel and positions around the clinic in case something happened.
William was shocked that she even had this. But this also made things a little difficult since now they knew she had this information and they would probably be back once he was gone.
Lirenn had walked in from the back of the clinic, unaware of what just happened. William wanted to keep it that way and he could tell that Maren wanted to do the same. So, the both of them said nothing yet knew that something had to be done or the situation would escalate.