Delaney Solani

Delaney paced the floor, stopping every few moments to check her chrono.  "We're going to be late, we should leave without him," she said angrily.  Her mother replied from an adjacent room, “He promised he would be here...  I’m sorry, dear."  Trying not to show the disappointment she felt, she straightened herself up and headed out the door with only one parent at her side, as usual.  Delaney knew the reason her father didn’t come; he always showed dissatisfaction in the fact she was not going to be a true "naval officer".  Upon her decision to go into the medical profession he commented, "You have so much more talent then that, you are doing a job a droid can do!"  From that day hence, she had resented her father and droids also.  She decided to prove to him that a human was better than a droid, any day.  However, despite her views, droids were a major part of her career, she worked beside them in her training as well as after her graduation.

Delaney was assigned as a medical technician aboard the Carrack Light Cruiser Disruptor.  With the abundance of droids to handle the mundane duties she found her secondary role of counselor to be most rewarding, there was always a new problem to solve and even the highest level droids cannot understand the human psyche.  Some of her favorite cases were unraveling the nightmares of various crewmen.  One in particular had a nightmare about being attacked by a ferocious creature in his bunk.  After a few sessions with him she noticed a witness on his arm, purplish-blue in color.  The ensign couldn't remember anything to cause the mark and that prompted her to investigate it further.  She discovered that the vent shaft in the ensign's quarters was bent back and the vent shaft was covered with strange scrapings.  On her own initiative she sent an MSE-10 to patrol the man's room.  During the night an odd, pudgy creature covered with overlapping plates crept out of the vent and went nosing about the room eating scraps of food in the garbage, but generally being neat about it.  It then nosed itself right into the ensign's bunk and began eating the crumbs from a late night snack.  She had discovered a Borcatu, and barely half matured at that.  The ship had recently been at port and a half-dozen of the vermin had stowed away aboard.  It took two sweeps with a scanning team to rout them all out and exterminate them.  That was the apex of excitement aboard the Disruptor.  Occasionally it would take damage in battle and there would be a few hours of frantic action when the sick bay would be full of patients.  However the relative calm would not last long, after the Battle of Endor all hell broke loose.

With the Imperial navy in disarray and the rebels growing bolder by the day, Imperial capital ships often found themselves under fire from enemy warships.  In one such engagement a few months after Endor the Disruptor had taken a particularly heavy hit.  Alarms blared and the Sick Bay comlink went wild with calls for help.  Delaney grabbed her medkit and rushed down the corridor without a second thought for her own safety.  Upon reaching the damaged section, Delaney saw the gruesome scene.  A turbolaser had been hit and the resulting explosion had destroyed the interior bulkhead.  When she pushed her way past a twisted girder she could see three bodies, one of them was still burning.  She pulled a blanket from her kit and threw it on the man, rolling him up in it to extinguish the fire.  The injuries were severe, but she managed to stabilize them and bring one back from the brink of death.  Her uniform torn and she was covered in patches of black soot and smudges of dried blood by the time the damage control party managed to cut the bulkhead away to allow the droids to follow.  They took them to Sick Bay and immersed them in bacta, but it brought her satisfaction to know that had it not been for her valiant efforts the droids would have been carrying corpses to the morgue.

As time went on, the Empire was driven further and further into a chaotic state.  The Disruptor had participated in many battles and Delaney herself had saved many lives.  Her captain, Sheridan, had promoted her to chief medical officer.  However, the constant hounding of the New Republic made any personal victory seem insignificant.  They had just taken Coruscant and their growing fleets were on the offensive in all regions of the galaxy.  Bacta was growing short and many smaller ships were out of it completely, including the Disruptor, but they continued to fight vigilantly.  The Disruptor had just arrived in a backwater star system to answer a distress call from a line of warships that had fallen under attack.  Fortunately the Imperial forces had managed to fight off the New Republic in this engagement, but they had lost several warships and debris littered the area.  The Disruptor began to tow escape pods into its tiny hanger and the sick bay swelled with patients.  In particular there was a young pilot who had been brought in with terrible lacerations across his face, but even past the blood and torn flesh Delaney could tell he had been a handsome man.  The pilot was in shock, mumbling about how he was unable to make it to his craft before the enemy attack.  Blinded by his injuries, one of his shipmates must have helped him into an escape pod before the ship fell apart.  He was crying, obviously upset at the loss of his vision.  She consoled him, "You are going to be fine.  We'll have you fixed up and back into the cockpit before you know it."  But it didn't seem to help as he remained hysterical, convinced he would never fly again.  She attached an ultrasonic sight enhancer to his forehead so he could sense his surroundings somewhat and later when things had quieted down she went to see the captain.  "Captain Sheridan?" she said as she stepped up behind him on the bridge, "Sir, we are badly in need of bacta and we have a highly decorated pilot down there who has been badly injured and has lost his sight.  Is there any way we could get some, or at the very least transfer him to a larger ship."   The captain looked discouraged, he knew the poor state of affairs in the Imperial navy.  But he nodded, "Yes, I believe the Victory Star Destroyer Crusader recently obtained some bacta from a transport near Thyferra.  I'll send word, the captain owes me a favor anyway... and now you owe me one too."  Delaney smiled and saluted and then ran back to sick bay with the good news.  To her horror she discovered that the pilot had died a droid stood nearby, tending to another patient.  She grabbed him on his cold metal shoulder and turned him around, pointing to the corpse in the next bed, "What happened!?"  The droid, in his lifeless mechanical voice replied, "He expired.  He was raving about how he would never be able to fly a starfighter again.  I informed him that there were many other duties he could perform adequately given his new physical limitations."  Delaney turned away in disgust, for half an hour she attempted to revive the dead pilot, but there was nothing she could do.

That wasn't the first time one of her patients had died, but it could have been the first time that it was due to the negligence of a droid... her droid.  It wouldn't be the last of the hardships she had to endure either.  The long time XO had been killed in another attack, his head literally bashed in when a panel exploded nearby.  The officer ranks had been thinned out by the years of fighting, but Grand Admiral Thrawn had returned and things were starting to look up again.  Bacta and other medical supplies became more readily available and the Disruptor was brought in for a refit, the first it had received since the Emperor perished.  It also took on some replacement crew, including a new XO, Commander Stakol.  Immediately after their first encounter, Delaney developed an loathing of him.  He came to Sick Bay only two days after he had been aboard and feigned an illness that would have required a "thorough" examination to verify.  Delaney brushed it off and refused to go any further.  It became a battle to avoid his advances and it made her sick to think about his twisted behavior.  Instead of confronting him though, she sought to simply avoid him.  It was several months before she finally said anything to Captain Sheridan and then it was only because she felt in danger.  She had just been informed of an emergency, one of the recon fighters had crashed and needed immediate medical assistance.  Commander Stakol had requested her to come with him planetside.  Sheridan was concerned, but he felt it would be best to deal with the situation later, when there was not a medical emergency.  To help her feel safe, Sheridan assigned two Navy Troopers to take the shuttle down with her and the commander.  Once they had landed at the crash site Stakol ordered the Navy Troopers to scout out the area to the west for enemy movements.  Delaney was afraid, but there was nothing she could do about it, before she knew what had happened she had been overpowered by Stakol.

When her eyes opened she saw the olive tunic of an Imperial uniform and almost thought Stakol had not finished with her, but looking up she saw another man.  He looked somewhat familiar, but she was in no state to remember who it was.  His face was grim and stern, with jet black hair and piercing green eyes.  He definitely didn't look like he was there to help her, but to her surprise he reached out and touched her face lightly.  In a few seconds she felt her pain fade somewhat.  She slipped her legs off the table and stood, still shaking, and looked at her savior.  Immediately she noticed the rank, a Systems Admiral, the highest ranking officer she had ever seen.  She attempted to salute, but almost fell over.  He steadied her and spoke in a deep powerful voice, "My men found you, we were following a distress call.  The pilot is safe, Dr. Solani, we arrived before Commander Stakol could escape, justice will be swift."  With that he turned, leaving her with so many unanswered questions.  For a few days she was kept in a spacious room, lavishly decorated, perhaps more than any room she had ever been in and her meals were exquisite.  An array of books were on the shelves but they did not contain the answers to her questions.  Four days passed before the mystery man returned, he stood in the entrance of her room in his uniform and looked quite dashing.  It was then that she noticed a cylinder hanging from his belt, she had never seen one before but she knew that it was a lightsaber, surely this man was no Jedi.  Delaney smiled, but before she could say anything, the man stepped in and a sleek woman with long raven black hair stepped in and stood beside him.  "My name is Systems Admiral Viktor Mallagant, but Sir will do for the time being," he said, "Allow me to explain.  When my men found you, I recognized you.  Your father was once the commander of the Victory Star Destroyer Raker.  I was a Vice Admiral, and the Raker was my flagship.  I visited your homeworld once, you would have been around 19 or 20, I don't believe we actually met, but I believe I saw you in passing.  I had great respect for him, he was an excellent starship captain.  He spoke of his family often, you in particular.  He was proud of you, even though he wanted you to follow him onto the bridge of a starship.  He was disappointed when I was forced to cancel the leave he had scheduled to attend your graduation, but our duty called.  He served in my squadron for several years, but during one particular battle his ship took several direct hits.  We were able to fight off the attackers and send rescue teams over.  Just before he died he told me that had you been on my ship you could have saved him.  I thought you might want to know."  Delaney stood for a second in shock.  She had heard her father had died in action, but she had no idea he had felt that way.  She looked down, "Thank you, sir."  Viktor Mallagant nodded and then continued, "I have learned a good deal about you.  Captain Sheridan tells me you are an excellent doctor, surgeon and psychiatrist.  You are courageous, willing to put your life on the line for your patients.  You are confident in your abilities concerning your chosen profession, but you lack something, Lieutenant... confidence in yourself. It is true that not everyone is meant to be a fighter, but everyone should have the right to choose whether he or she is the victim or the victor.  This is where she comes in."  He indicates the woman beside him, "Meet Prelicia Vontessar.  Over the next six months you will be assigned to the medical staff here aboard the Colossus and in your off-duty hours when available, Ms. Vontessar will train you in self defense."  He turns and walks out the door, "She's all yours, Prelicia."

The woman approached slowly, almost like a feline predator on the prowl for an easy meal.  Her black body suit accentuated her curves and defined muscles.  She smiled venomously, "I took great pleasure in punishing Commander Stakol, he won't be a further problem.  I guarantee when I am finished with you, no man will lay a finger on you unless you desire it."  She tossed a suit, similar to her own, at Delaney, "Put this on; we've got work to do."  A few minutes later Delaney emerged from the refresher, but she looked down and tried to hide herself with her posture.  Prelicia shook her head, "Why do you hide your body, you have nothing to be ashamed of.  You should show it off... make men drool and then shove their face in the puddle."  Delaney blushed, she couldn't do that.  Prelicia led her out of the room and down the passageway.  Crewmen would turn their head but immediately upon seeing that it was Prelicia they would drop their glances.  Prelicia continued the lesson, "You will learn that most men are cowards.  You probably know this better than I do, with your psycho-babble.  They will leave you alone if they think you can kick their teeth in."

Delaney's lessons were harsh but rewarding.  She learned how to wield a blaster rifle and a vibroblade alike and she learned hand-to-hand combat.  Prelicia taught her other skills too, specifically how to manipulate men.  But Prelicia was not always aboard and she was also required to pull duty in Sick Bay as well, again as Chief Medical Officer.  Grand Admiral Thrawn's campaign pushed the Empire to the brink of victory and there was always wounded to care for.  But victory was short-lived and the Grand Admiral himself fell to traitorous assassins.  She enjoyed her time aboard the ship, although she very rarely saw the admiral, the work and Prelicia's training were more than enough to keep her occupied.  The six months stretched out for two years or more and during that time she was transformed.

It was then that Delaney was summoned to Mallagant's office.  She stood proudly at attention in front of the now Lord Admiral, her uniform now fit the way a woman's uniform should, her hair was pulled up and revealed the curve of her neck.  She had a gleam in her eye and a devious smile.  Prelicia sat on the edge of the Lord Admiral's desk, facing him, but when Delaney walked in she slipped down and stood beside his chair.  Viktor spoke, "I know it has been somewhat longer than six months, but you have done remarkably.  How do you feel?"  Delaney smiled, "Energized, confident, proud, so many good things, my lord.  Prelicia never showed me an ounce of sympathy and she has changed my life forever."  Mallagant nodded, "I have an assignment for you.  I am transferring you to a unit where your services will be even more valuable to the Empire than you have been here.  It will not be an easy assignment, your facilities will be far from the luxury of this Star Destroyer and you will be operating within a unit that will be farther from the supply than usual, but I feel that you would be an excellent choice for the job."  Delaney nodded, "When to I leave?"