Hades kicked the end of his bed in boredom. Two days. Two ENTIRE days he'd been here without assignment. He knew for a fact that they needed good fighter pilots in the Navy and was keen to be one of them.. but still he was unassigned. Two days out of basic training and he had nothing to do but do simulations, study, and exercise. He wanted to be out there making a difference.

Piloting wasn't his first choice when it came to the Naval careers, but it wasn't a bad occupation. Or at least it wouldn't be, if he actually could say he was an active pilot. His first selection had been bridge officer – his dream was to Captain an Imperial Star Destroyer, a symbol of the Empire's power. But of course, all dreams took time to realise, and this was no exception. Hades sighed again, and sat up. He checked the datapad sitting by his bed.. nothing new. He grimaced and shook his head slightly.

He'd been at the Naval Academy for 5 days now and he was loving it. He might have been bored by his lack of assignments and standing orders, but he was thoroughly enjoying his experience. He wanted to help in whatever way possible and if the Empire needed him to be an unassigned crewman, then he'd be an unassigned crewman for as long as it was necessary. That did not mean he liked it, but he would do it anyway. His thoughts drifted back to the simulator, and he came to a resolution – he wanted to do it again. He would do it again and again until High Command assigned him. He wanted his skills to be razor-sharp once they actually assigned him.

Hades stood up, smoothing out his uniform. He pressed a key on the door, and it slid open with a quiet hiss. Hades shook his head – he still hadn't got used to these sliding doors. He stepped out into the corridor, his boots clicking against the polished floors as he strode down the hallway.  Hades slowed as he saw two Trainees talking in hushed tones in the doorway of one room, their expressions conspiratorial. The trainees had heard Hades approach, and fell silent, but not before he had heard the words “Cheat on the simulation”. Hades kept his gaze straight as he walked by them, and they waited for him to get out of hearing distance. As soon as they looked away, Hades stowed himself in another doorway, hiding himself from their vision, but being just within earshot. The sound of their voices drifted down the normally busy corridor – it was late, so not many people were about.

“...did he hear us?” Hades heard the voice of one of the Trainees

“Impossible.. we fell silent before he got within earshot” The second responded slowly.

“But can we afford to take the risk?” The first asked nervously.

“What else could we do, kill a member of the Naval Academy?!” came the voice of the second, in a hushed but exaggerated tone. The first was silent for a few minutes, and obviously the look on his face said enough.

“You're seriously thinking about it?!” The second snapped again.

“No..” The first began, unsure. “No.” He repeated, this time more firmly. The second seemed satisfied at his answer.

“Alright. So you'll distract the engineer while I walk up to the panel and hack into the mainframe?” He queried.

“How would you do that?” The first answered a question with a question, which obviously frustrated the second.

“I've told you already, Kol,” he began “I have already cracked the access code by accessing the remote network on my modified datapad. Using said access codes, I would then enter the system and change the odds, a little. I'll put a code in so it reverts to default settings afterward, and no-one would know anything was up.”

“You sound sure..” The one obviously known as Kol responded unsurely.

“I am. I've done this before! You know what I was before I came here?” The second asked.

“I thought you were a HoloNet Technician for GNN?” Kol answered.

“No, stupid! That's what I put on my recruitment form. I falsified my records!” the second began earnestly “the Vast Empire does not take professional slicers into their employ.. especially those who've stolen from the Empire before.”

“Y-you what?!” Trainee Kol responded, astonished.

“Yeah, I hit one of their bank establishments a year ago.. it was an easy job. Cyber-robbery is so easy” The second said, his tone wistful. “But we're getting off-topic here. You distract the engineer, I'll access the mainframe and change the difficulty factor. Clear?” The first must have nodded, because the second seemed satisfied. “Alright then, I'll meet you at-”

The clicking of boots down the hall silenced them, as the quartermaster strode down the corridor. Hades heard him stop and exchange greetings with the two trainees, heard two repetitions of “evening Sergeant” coming from the trainees.

“What on earth do you think you're doing?!” The voice of the sergeant bellowed. Hades felt as if his heart had stopped, and he froze – he had been discovered. He prepared to step out when he heard the first trainee –Kol– respond.

“It's just a little hot is all, Sergeant.” Hades released the breath he had been holding, silently, when he realised the Sergeant was not addressing him.

“The dress code does not change to suit your comforts, Trainee! I don't care if you were floating through space, with skin as blue as Grand Admiral Thrawn himself from lack of oxygen, you would still be dressed properly, am I clear?!” The sergeant bellowed. The first trainee responded with a whimper, and must have changed his dress code accordingly because the sergeant let out a satisfied

“Mhm!”

Hades breathed out a quiet sigh of relief, until he came to the realisation that the Sergeant would pass him and inadvertently reveal him to the conspirators. Hades gritted his teeth and pocketed his datapad, which he had been using to record the conversation. He pressed the release button for the doorway he had been hiding in and hoped the room would be empty.. the door slid open silently, revealing – a storage room. Hades exhaled inaudibly and slipped inside the room, sealing the door behind him.

He leant against the door, listening carefully for the clicking of the Sergeant's boots. He heard them coming down the corridor, holding his breath as the Sergeant passed the storage room. The Sergeant's footsteps were suddenly level with the door, and then passed it without so much as a second's pause. Hades exhaled again, and waited for the Trainees' steps to pass.

He heard both sets pass, and then opened the door, peering out of the darkened storage room. Nobody around. Hades sighed audibly and made his way back to his room. Who could he turn to? Hades had no idea.. so he submitted a copy of the recording to the person he submitted his reports.. Wyl 'Trick' Trykon. Hades knew that voice-identification software would easily ID the two voices. Even if not, how many trainees called 'Kol' could there be?

Hades let his heart pound in his chest for several minutes more, before making sure his door was secured against any intruders – except the inspection officer whom he knew would come in the morning. Hades shed his uniform and boots, crawling into bed. So his skills at espionage, faute de mieux, were actually of use to the Empire in some small capacity. A smile spread across Hades' face as he closed his eyes, falling asleep quickly.

OOC:

Word Count: 1,304. Just another character development story for Hades. Comments are appreciated