The Imperial Base Inspector:- File 03 Aldhani:- A Star Wars USB Tale

[Stormtrooper1990]

I think I know where you're heading with Cora and Satine...

Not much to say this time - it's a pretty straightforward story, and I don't have much to add that I didn't say in File 02 when it comes to lore or atmosphere or character development.

Or maybe one thing. I mentioned I found Satine a compelling protagonist, but I also like Cora too. She has this laid-back attitude and fondness for nicknames.

Hurray for Thrawn's cameo (well, sort of)!

Two interesting details that felt like a nice change of pace: First, there is Satine actually pulling Mabel's panties up to cover her modesty. I'm not a fan at all of nudity or "bathroom break description", shall I say, but it was an interesting detail. Usually, uniform thieves pull the clothes off. Though joke aside, it's a good detail to show Satine's more caring side - she clearly cares about her Imperial comrades, no matter how incompetent they can be sometimes. Second, the most obvious one, it's the fact her infiltration actually ends up in failure. Failed infiltrations are actually quite rare. But it fits the premise of her saga - some people are bound to PASS her tests. Her goal isn't to infiltrate the place, but to see how well it responds to actual security breach.

Now I imagine a scenario in which a rebel infiltrator is spotted while in disguise, then bluffs her way through by pretending to be conducting an inspection to see how the base would respond to infiltration... Cue Satine's facepalm in the epilogue when she hears of the incident.

Yep, you know me far too well my friend. You have to admit Satine and Cora would make a cute couple. The difference with this particular romance is that it's a slow burn; I wanted it to be a natural progression so Satine and Cora would become friends before the flirting on both sides. But you'll notice that it was Cora who began their flirtation.


Thanks for liking Cora, she's pretty fun to write. She's the foil to Satine's coolness and ruthless demeanour, but they both share the same informal attitude in their downtime. Cora's fondness for nicknames is by her own admission a callback from her days as a speeder gang girl on Pantora, they didn’t use their given names and instead used aliases, with Cora's being 'Yetta'. I wanted Cora to be an inspirational figure; a gang girl who escaped a life of poverty and made her name for herself in the Imperial Navy as an ace pilot, against all odds. She's brash, flirty, and something of a maverick hence the laid back attitude that should get her court marshalled long ago but it doesn't because she's a damn good pilot.


Yeah, it was fun to picture the look on Thrawn's face when Cora called him "Ol' Red Eyes' . Although Cora will reveal later how she got his holocard. But has a fellow non-human in the Empire, it felt right that he was her inspiration.


Indeed, Satine's care and compassion towards her fellow Imperials ( particularly women) stems from her harrowing experiences on Jedha. As I may have alluded to in Satine's flashback, Jan was treated very cruelly by the rebels holding her because of her beauty and once her mind was gone, thanks to the borgullet, they took advantage of that broken mind. Satine had to make her decent before ending it for her.


I think failed infiltrations are too much overlooked when it comes to USB scenes. Especially in Satine's case where she was just plain unlucky, since the soldier she replaced was known to Lieutenant Taggart. Couple that with the base actually beefing up security in the wake of Andor's visit then Satine came upon the situation where the Garrison actually passed her inspection and responded very well to a security breach. Although to Satine, being a perfectionist, she would view this as a bittersweet moment; yes the Garrison passed muster successfully but yet she failed to infiltrate.


I think I could picture Satine berating those guards saying. "Why didn't you ask for her badge, name and clearance level, trooper? It's anti-infiltration 101!" She will then order them to attend her anti infiltration lessons for a refresher course, first lesson - not to fall for a pretty face.

[rufusluciusivan]

Yeah, it was fun to picture the look on Thrawn's face when Cora called him "Ol' Red Eyes' . Although Cora will reveal later how she got his holocard. But has a fellow non-human in the Empire, it felt right that he was her inspiration.

I can perfectly picture the last part of the saga taking place during what I call the "Thrawn Era", basically after Palpatine's death, with them helping a more pragmatic (or less cartoonishly evil ) Imperial leader build the Empire as a credible alternative to Rebellion / New Republic.

Yep, you know me far too well my friend. You have to admit Satine and Cora would make a cute couple. The difference with this particular romance is that it's a slow burn; I wanted it to be a natural progression so Satine and Cora would become friends before the flirting on both sides. But you'll notice that it was Cora who began their flirtation.

Well, now that makes me want to ask the elephant in the room: How long will the saga be? Do you already have an idea (or an estimation) of the number of chapters?

(And I could have been asking that question in my answer in File 02, but that way my inner-OCD will be satisfied since it means File 03 will be above File 02 in the Section. )