Chapter Text
Click.
And with that, Count Vidian's short patience reached its end.
Ever since he had boarded the Ultimatum, a faintly annoying sound had followed him through the Star Destroyer's hallways. He could not yet place where it was coming from, but he suspected someone from his small entourage was fiddling with some metallic object.
People did tend to get slightly nervous in his presence.
The noise went off again, just as he entered the elevator that would lead him to the level of his quarters. He gritted what was left of his jaws, an invisible action due to his synthflesh mask of a face.
It was the only downside to having highly-sensitive hearing implants, he concluded - all the additional useless auditory feeds. He had learned how to filter most of them out, but could not find it within him to shut this particular nuisance out.
He swept an imperious glance around the elevator, quickly analysing its other occupants. Captain Rae Sloane was motionless in front of him, her entire form standing stiffly to attention. Her lackeys quietly conversed behind his back: Chamas the loudmouth and the disturbingly enthusiastic Lieutenant Deltic. Their whispers were nothing that his sensors could not easily detect, but he was not interested in listening in on their long-winded blather.
He turned his head to face the elevator door and then it came again:
Click.
It was coming from himself, Vidian realised with an unpleasant jolt. There was something wrong with one of his prosthetic devices.
Damn it, not now.
He willed himself to just ignore it for the time being. He would soon be writing additional reports to the Emperor's aides. His full attention should be on that matter. However, his mind now kept coming back to one worrying thought: just what had broken inside his body?
Whatever it was, he blamed the infiltrators.
The gunslinger human, the Twi'lek female and their bizarre little helpers. Seemingly a ragtag formation, but he knew better.
These were worthy opponents who had obviously been trained well enough to continue thwarting all his efforts. They had fought and overpowered him in his own personal headquarters, for goodness sake. They'd somehow found sensitive data about him - a security disgrace in itself. Had even fed Captain Sloane snippets of what he was planning, in such insidious ways that portrayed him as a potential threat to the Empire.
It was only luck that she had been naïve enough to retell Vidian all that she had heard. It had given him a saving chance to coax her into continued compliance. Promises of a quick military promotion worked on any power-hungry officer and Sloane would surely be no exception.
A quick, efficient fix to a sensitive problem. His expertise.
However, this all did not bode well, despite it being an isolated case of personal weakness. From now on, he would have to anticipate what the blasted scum would plot against him next.
Click.
He felt a sickening rage rise in his chest.
They could have done anything they wanted to him, he fretted anew. He had been out cold and helpless: they might have removed parts of his bodywork, or sabotaged his various memory and sensory systems. How could he know what was happening inside his body at this very moment?
His prosthetic fists tightened into a grip that could break bones, their gears softly whirring. If there was one thing Vidian despised from the bottom of his heart, it was to lose control over his own body.
He felt more than humiliated, he felt violated.
Thankfully, he reminded himself, he was already so very close to victory. But if he did not act with extreme cunning in the near future, he might become close to total failure. Dangerously close.
He would not let them win. He would cut off with surgical precision even the mere possibility of further disturbances.
What he would foremost need to do was -
'Count Vidian?'
'Yes?' He demanded, whirling around to face the intruder who had dared to break his thought process. It was the captain.
'I merely asked if there were any more tasks you required to be done before we leave', Sloane repeated with patience.
'Nothing else', he told her brusquely, returning to his musings.
She inclined her head in acceptance and kept silent for the duration of the elevator trip downwards.
Vidian remembered, too late, that lulling her into a sense of full trust should be a continuous process. She had already been rewarded, yes, but he did not want her holding on to even a snippet of suspicion - for his own safety.
Besides which, Sloane would in the near future make a fine scapegoat for the consequences of his plans. Downtrodding her with his irritable reactions would hardly be helpful to his cause.
Unfortunately, neither politesse nor social graces came naturally to the count.
'Your efforts have been commendably punctual thus far, captain', he tried to amend. 'There is nothing to speed up. We may even arrive ahead of our schedule.'
'it is highly possible, sir', she gave a brief smile.
He nodded in approval and felt a sensation of pain shiver down his spine in reply to the motion. He discreetly made his torso perform an experimental twist to the side.
Click.
Yes, there it was, definitely some mechanical issue - originating in a tiny spot within the area of the neck, he assumed. So. He must get that fixed when he had the time.
He had already decided that setting the next step of his plans into motion was more important right now.
He used his cybernetic connections to forward segments of security data for Sloane's staff to follow, then addressed the imperial officers surrounding him.
'Once we reach our next station point, I will be leaving to board the Forager.'
'And soon we'll be blowing up a moon!' Deltic remarked happily, rubbing her gloved hands together. 'Exciting times.'
'Will we be waiting for your return from the Forager?' Chamas inquired, after shooting a dirty warning look at Deltic.
Sloane gazed pensively at the cyborg for a moment, but kept her silence.
'No, I will remain there for the next duration of the journey.'
I'm quite certain my absence will be a relief to some of you, Vidian mentally added.
'We will all meet on the bridge once I am ready', he said instead, 'For a final briefing.'
'Yes, sir!' The lower-ranking officers replied in unison, not unlike schoolchildren eager to impress a strict teacher. Vidian was almost amused.
The elevator slowed to a halt. Vidian pushed past the officers and was already at the door as it opened.
'I have just sent down minor instructions for your staff, Captain', he proclaimed.
'Prepare what I have noted down', he pointed a finger in the direction of Deltic and Chamas. 'And be quick about it.'
He strode briskly forward, leaving the captain and her gaggle of inept crew members behind.
Click. Click. Click.
It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the mechanical malfunctioning. Both his left shoulder and his back were now aching and tense.
The captain must have noticed the sound, too. As soon she caught up with his long steps, she asked:
'Do you need us to stop?'
He waved his hand dismissively and continued walking at a brisker pace.
Click click clickclickclick.
It did hurt him, in a dull sort of way, but that at least he could easily take in stride.
He had long ago gotten used to living in varying degrees of pain. What bothered him instead was how much this one tiny physical issue had lessened his focus. Well, Count Vidian would just keeping moving, as always. He'd deal with the problem himself. Mind over matter, and all that.
He passed a gaggle of stormtroopers until he finally reached the door of his room. He punched in the code to open it with impatience.
'Wait here', he ordered Sloane. He entered his quarters, the door behind him sliding back into its locked position.
Alone now in the chamber, he caught himself and thought: Had that been too, what was the word - rash? Rude, even?
The door reopened and Vidian peered out.
'Thank you', he told a surprised Sloane, just in case.
The door closed after he vanished back into the room, slamming shut right in front of her nose.
'Incredible', Sloane muttered, to no one in particular.