Obedience

*Champion of the Empawre* • All Chapters Here

Up in the pilot's cabin of *Nightwing*, Jaxson often went deep into his own thoughts. Though the noises from the crew often filled the ship with white noise, the pilot's cabin was usually quiet. It allowed Jaxson to contemplate things in peace without interruption, with the occasional visit from the Darth or another crew member curious about how the ship worked.

*"Don't be daft, boy!"* Jaxson recalled the gruesome days of agent training, when he was still a mere boy. The academy showed no mercy to any of its pupils, regardless of age, rank, discipline, anything. *"Maybe Hutta scum like you aren't fit to be Imperial Agents..."'* All the years of studying hard and going through rigorous training, almost even to the brink of death at points, still imprinted themselves into Jaxson's mind. He was better off that way, for his former work was very daring and dangerous, but the numerous scars he held along with those memories would forever remain.

Jaxson sighed. It was horribly boring gazing out into the window of stars streaming past *Nightwing* as it flew in hyperspace to the Imperial Fleet. There was a bit of a wait to be had and Jaxson found that all his tasks were finished. Dawdling around was the last thing he wanted to do, as former training had instilled that standing around meant uselessness and useless people needed to be discarded.

*You can't keep thinking about that. You're assigned to a Lord of the Sith now, not to Keeper, not to Imperial Intelligence.* Jaxson kept telling himself, almost letting his thoughts get the best of him.

The overbearing silence immediately scrambled into far corners of the cabin as the sound of boots entered the small space. Jaxson noted they were light, yet calculated. He recognized who it was from the sound of the boots and of the person's walk.

"Agent." Darth Sofi appeared in the doorway of the pilot's cabin that went back toward the center of *Nightwing*. Sofi stood tall, despite being shorter than Jaxson, and crossed her arms. She had the knack to be more intimidating than her appearance provided. Jaxson immediately turned and stood at attention, looking in Sofi's general direction but not *directly* at Sofi. He made it a point to not make eye contact with Lords of the Sith unless they instructed him to.

"It's okay, Jax... There's no need to be so formal around me," Sofi mused. "Even if I *am* a Sith Lord..."

Sofi chuckled to herself, closing the pilot's cabin door lock behind her. It slammed shut with a firm sounding thud. Jaxson figured it was most likely sealed by the sound. Despite the feelings of uncertainty, he remained at attention. Sofi walked up to Jaxson, eyeing him up and down briefly before coming short of him.

"I see the Academy taught you well in respecting higher command," Sofi said. "But really, Jax, you are free to express yourself freely around me in private. That's an order."

Jaxson knew very well he couldn't read Sofi's mind but he could see something very different in her eyes. They twinkled in a way that Jaxson couldn't quite explain. It was something he hadn't studied before in human behavioral patterns. Despite his uncertainties, Jaxson eased up his stiff stance and focused his gaze now on Darth Sofi, who was actually closer to him than he thought.

"Very good, Agent." Sofi smiled, turning toward *Nightwing's* navcomputer and the mashed up swirling of stars that seemed to be a never ending loop called hyperspace.

Jaxson watched Sofi with a respectful, yet watchful eye. If she touched any of the wrong controls, certain death waited for the entire crew. Jaxson trusted Sofi knew how to fly her own ship, though, and remained at certain ease. Sofi seemed to look over the navcomputer controls with an interested eye, inspecting all the light up buttons and thruster controls.

"The Imperial Fleet, huh?" Sofi asked. "I don't remember telling you to fly to the Imperial Fleet. It's on the other end of the galaxy."

"Spooks and Raksha requested that we travel to the Imperial Fleet, as we are no longer on an important mission. Spooks requires some upgrades to her cybernetics and Raksha needs to upgrade some of her gear." Jaxson almost immediately responded in a clear, concise tone. It was almost droid like.

"I see... As long as it helps them become better and more useful to the team, then I will allow it."

Though Jaxson had eased up, he stood frozen in the same position since Darth Sofi had come into the pilot's cabin. She often made Jaxson feel certain things when she was in his presence. It was not the fear that most got when around a Sith Lord, but Jaxson almost felt embarrassed and confused about what he was exactly feeling. Sofi was intoxicating, but Jaxson couldn't say or express that. It was against his orderly conduct, not to mention what would happen when Sofi found out.

The first day Jaxson saw Darth Sofi was after he had come back from a successful sabotage operation on Coruscant. She had come to observe his work and was highly impressed with his ability. Though Keeper was resistant in letting Darth Sofi reassign Jaxson, one of the better agents, to her own crew, there was no disobeying a Sith Lord if it meant preventing one's own death. Jaxson figured that Darth Sofi would've looked and acted a bit... scarier based on her preceding reputation of stopping entire wars, single-handeedly crushing rebellions, and shaping the galaxy into the Empire's favor. She was one of the Empire's greatest Sith Lords, after all. All Jaxson saw was a short girl, pale with the usual Dark Side vein markings on her cheeks, and blonde hair.

Sofi immediately sensed Jaxson's deep contemplation and turned toward him after a few brief moments of silence. Jaxson knew she could probably read his thoughts and was unsure if it was a good or bad thing.

"Do you know why I had you reassigned, Jaxson?" Sofi asked, turning to Jaxson again. She could clearly read minds.

"I do not, m'lord."

Sofi paused to consider her word choice. Jaxson noticed the twinkle in her eyes again and her smile. Feelings of embarrassment filled Jaxson's mind again.