The Plot is Afoot

Posted on Wed Jul 13th, 2022 @ 1:57pm by Thane & Bomoor Thort & Amare & Mentis & Valavai Tarses

3,472 words; about a 17 minute read

Chapter: Chapter VI: The Last Bastion
Location: Conference Room, BSD Praetor (Under Construction), Bastion
Timeline: Late Evening (Day Three, Week Four)

OLD

“Apologies for our hasty appearance, Grand Moff, but my companion and I were instructed to seek evidence of a secret project involving Mandalorian iron,” he gestured backwards towards Rex, “And we believe we have found just that. It seemed worth seeking an audience.”

"Obviously," Thane inserted, in spite of Mentis' decision to address Tarses, although he did not inwardly challenge that choice - the Grand Moff was the senior figure, but he was not going to neglect his role and responsibility towards the Rattataki or smuggler. For his own part, he decided to overlook Rex as he continued addressing the subject. "And what have you learned - something of note, to arrive so promptly?"

“Skilled Beskar workers are being head-hunted to work outside Bastion space refining the metal for a secret project,” Mentis revealed as prompted by Thane, “They are recruiting great numbers but all under the radar, being promised a hefty salary so long as they don’t have many questions about where they are going to.”

He then added with additional gravitas, “Grand Moff, unless you are aware of this secret recruiting, I believe your fears of a conspiracy involving GalactaWerks and members of your government are all too real.”

NEW

The conference room within the bridge levels of the so-called Supreme Star Destroyer was one of the most-completed sections of the gargantuan vessel. An elongated table, all obsidian-blacks and startling-whites - the colour scheme of the severely-designed ship - that bore six sides of different but symmetrical lengths, rest in the middle of the surprisingly well-lit chamber, with swivelling chairs dotted at appropriate junctures around it.

However, like many of the corridors and other rooms that the visitors had sighted on their short journey to their destination, there were still missing panels and some exposed circuitry, as the primary focus was given to ensuring the power distribution systems and magnificent propulsion equipment was working as required. As far as was known, no vessel of this calibre, affixed with weapons of great destructive capacity, had ever been constructed - and certainly not through the use of any conventional equipment. Frustrations and failures were inevitable.

With them all sitting about the table, Grand Moff Tarses and Thane had listened intently to Mentis and Rex's account of their time in the capital city, of what they had learned from the workers enjoying their recreational time during the Empire Day parade. The information Mentis had uncovered from them, with each of them seemingly experienced and capable metallurgists and artisanal miners, lined up with the intelligence that had been provided by Theon; skilled workers were being brought together from across Bastion space to work on the coveted and rare Mandalorian ion - beskar - but entirely without Tarses' knowledge or any official sanction.

Despite that, the recruitment drives and organisation were clearly being undertaken by unknown but influential Bastion elements - the ones in league with GalactaWerks.

"Beskar," Thane began from his position to the side of Tarses, who had taken up the head position at the table, "is chiefly known to the Republic and Jedi for its ability to deflect not only the blaster fire from smalls arms, but also the blades of lightsabers." He looked between Mentis and Tarses as he spoke. Rex had departed for the Raptor, under guidance of some stormtroopers, whilst the others discussed their options. "I know it's extremely rare outside of this region of the galaxy; whatever aided in its formation during the earliest years of stellar formation seems to have been fairly localised - only you and the Mandalorians have any claim over whatever deposits are left. It's almost a myth in the Third Republic." Thane had brought his hands together on the sleek table as he concluded his thoughts. "A war being planned against Jedi?" He narrowed his eyes as the consideration developed. "A war being planned by GalactaWerks."

“I would hesitate to speculate too wildly,” Mentis added, cautious of entering his opinion to the room, “But GalactaWerks could make a lot more than just weapons and armour with this scale of operation. If they control the supply chain, they could be making practically anything. I know they are renowned for their many robotics acquisitions: could they be making droids out of Beskar?”

Thane nodded at Mentis' suggestion, rather than being dismissive or taking any opportunity to deride or criticise the Rattataki's input to the conversation. Whilst the young Sith had not vocalised any support or satisfaction of Mentis and Rex for their efforts, his manner was far more receptive. Satisfaction with the former cultist, perhaps?

"The only benefit to fighting the Mandalorians for GalactaWerks is winning over Bastion, I believe," he said, glancing back to Tarses. "But they could use the beskar to fight the Rift Jedi - or even the Reborn. The number of proxy conflicts since the Second Outer Rim Conflict with the Company waging petty wars is not really known, but Bomoor and I saw one first hand on Onderon a few years ago." He then addressed the room more directly. "But how much beskar would they need to make this sustainable - how much do they already have?"

“I’m afraid it would be hard to say,” the Rattataki shrugged slightly, “The recruited metalworkers know little of where they are going or what the operation is like, but they have been recruiting for some time and are still in need. It sounded like they ship a small transport of workers out every week or so, which means they have enough already stockpiled not to exhaust the talent they already have.”

He carried on as though expected of him to come up with the next stage of the plan, “I have the details of the next transport out. I suppose I could continue posing as a worker, but I may not stand up to closer scrutiny from GalactaWerks.”

"I do not think we have that sort of time," Thane opined, glancing again to Tarses before looking back to Mentis, with some meaning in his expression. Whilst there was no love lost between the former cultist and the ascendant Sith, there was, at least, a grudging acceptance and expectance. "If you were taken, if the ploy went too far, there is no guarantee that we could bring you back, or of what would even happen to you."

“I suppose that is true, but how else should we proceed?” Mentis frowned, apparently not used to being involved in the strategizing part of a plan, usually just being told what to do or simply doing it, “Do we honestly know how far GalactaWerks support extends?”

He turned to Tarses in particular, “If we put all our cards on the table and declare war on the company and their conspirators, we might find out we have fewer allies than we think.”

Tarses wished his son, Symon, had a vision or prophecy to guide him on this, but he had been warned that upon the return of the Sith, the visions would stop, and destiny would be in the hands of the Dark Lords. He had only his experience and his trust in these powerful young men to carry on now. One wrong choice could spell disaster for Bastion. Was continuing centuries of caution and conservative strategies the right way to go, or was it time to end the charade with GW and risk everything on the direct approach?

"Pushing on with a little more skullduggery would seem to be the wiser choice," Tarses said with a heavy burden weighing on his voice, staring at the table before glancing at his new allies. "But, given what we know, I am making this official. No disguises. No intrigues. We will investigate the transport directly."

“That may not be necessary,” came a low but slightly strained voice from the doorway.

The assembled turned to observe a weathered-looking Bomoor, with his synfleece shirt and trousers stained with mud and torn in several places. However, it was his stern narrowed gaze that told a story of the trials he had faced.

Close behind him was a Junior Lieutenant who seemed desperately concerned with getting in front of the towering Ithorian. As Bomoor stopped, he managed to just about push past.

“I’m sorry, Grand Moff,” he looked to Tarses with wide eyes, “But the Commissar here was insistent on leaving the Med Bay and coming straight here.”

“I told your medic that I suffered no major bodily injury,” Bomoor turned slightly to the younger Human, “And what I have to say here is of greater urgency than patching up some bumps and bruises.”

Thane had not immediately queried his friend's arrival or enquired after his welfare, although concern creased his pale features as he examined the battered Ithorian. Instead, he had elected to watch Bomoor carefully, examining his injuries and detecting his state carefully through the Force. There was exhaustion, but an exhaustion beyond the usual sense of physical fatigue, not being entirely born by his numerous surface injuries.

"Is Amare receiving treatment?" He asked softly but simply, a dark eyebrow rising as he queried the state of his apprentice.

Steadying himself from his rushed entry into the meeting room, Bomoor moved towards the table and clasped the back of a chair with two hands, his root-like fingers slipping down the black shiny upholstery.

"Amare has received some injuries, yes," he nodded towards Thane, "A missile hit our transport ship and we crashed in a woodland outside of the city. She has a small fracture and some nasty scrapes but nothing she will not recover from. It did not stop her joining myself and Reave in fending off a squad of GalactaWerks droids."

Thane nodded, satisfied. He was dismayed that he had not detected more of whatever had happened to his friend and pupil during their journey to meet the Grand Moff's son, but he was nevertheless pleased that all parties were still alive and capable. However, whilst he had not quite appreciated whatever circumstances had led to Bomoor's current state, there was a dark undercurrent to his presence, like a fresh wound within the Force that usually flowed so smoothly through the former Jedi Consular.

"What have you done, Bomoor?"

His friend turned away from him as though avoiding Thane's gaze, "I also was able to... procure classified GalactaWerks information from the Intendant that proves an alliance between certain Moffs and the company as well as information on their plans for a military coup."

The revealing information prompted an almost wide-eyed expression from Thane as he did not take his gaze from Bomoor. "An intendant?" He repeated the Ithorian's words, entirely engaged with the account being provided. "One with knowledge of this beskar plot?"

Bomoor continued as Thane's stare continued to weigh upon him, "It was Thendleton, Thane. Thendleton was the Intendant that shot us down, killing the innocent pilot, and it was Thendleton leading the droids trying to finish the job."

His eyes suddenly shot back to the fledgling Sith, meeting the Human's golden-swirled blue eyes with his own deep, dark pupils, "He did not even remember me. He just hurled the same old xenophobic tripe at me and proceeded to gun us down like animals. When I caught up to him, I was so angry. But I did not kill him."

He lowered his voice and seemed to repeat to himself, "I did not kill him."

There was unmistakable scepticism in Thane's eyes. It was not a judgement, certainly.

Tarses maintained an aloof, almost detatched stone-faced concealment on his face, his eyes shifting between Thane and Bomoor. He was scrutinizing them carefully and was not once keeping his guard down. His trust in them was almost entirely predicated on his son's Force-driven visions. Previous visions had given Tarses key advantages over his political rivals which confirmed their accuracies and inspired a level of faith in the supernatural that he never had prior to Symon's birth. But there was something knawing at him all of a sudden. A strange gut feeling that he may have made a critical error in taking his trust in these ex-Jedi so far. It was entirely out of character for him, a man that always valued the tightest security possible. Maybe it was true what his rivals were saying...he was getting too old for this. Perhaps he was indeed losing his grip on reality. The diagnosis from six months earlier...he tried to forget about it, but it was haunting him again.

It was clear to him that the Bastion rank-and-file were extremely uncomfortable around the Red Raptor crew. Even with Bastion uniforms and provisional ranks, every guard and officer in the building were on edge when seeing those lightsabers dangling from those belts. Through the surveillance system, whilst Lady Amare was incarcerated, he overheard one of the brig guards say how creepy the Nautolan female's eyes were, and that while looking at her, he thought he was going crazy by thinking he could hear his dead parents talking to him again. Another guard said the same about his late brother. With the Jedi, Mentis, and the others, such occurrences including the men that were killed by Amare during her escape from the lab were only contributing to the subtle, yet noticeable decline in troop morale. It was only a matter of time before one of them leaked all the details to the other Moffs in spite of the high-level classification of the guests' presence. This blasted situation with Thendleton would only amplify the likelihood of such a leak even further.

Whatever Thane thought of the revelation of Marius Thendleton's presence on Bastion, he suppressed any outward expression to focus on the situation at hand, adopting a professional mien. He briefly glanced to Tarses, perhaps curious as to the man's silence, but he quickly returned his gaze to the Ithorian.

"What are the specifics, Bomoor?"

The Ithorian began to settle slightly, his breathing becoming steadier. He clarified the situation to Tarses, “Grand Moff, I should start by saying that this information was not recovered in the conventional sense. You are most likely aware of Force Telepathy, perhaps in the form of the well-known ‘Jedi Mind Trick’.”

Tarses gave him a nod of understanding and invitation to proceed.

“So, the development of that basic misdirection of the mind is a deeper breach below the surface thoughts and into a person’s memories,” the Ithorian’s tone dipped a little again but he maintained his composure, “It was by this method, utilising the Intendant’s mind, that I was able to see details of GalactaWerk’s plans. Initially just a glimpse at a meeting between some company officials and a Moff I had yet to identify, but then, with additional ‘effort’, I was able to learn names, strategies and even some clearance codes.”

A hint of urgency entered the echoic voice of the former Jedi as he continued, “The Moff I saw in the meeting was Anthark; he was meeting with Executive Morthart along with Thendleton and his superior, Superintendent Mosquith. The company’s plan was to lend support to a coup attempt by Anthark, promising fleet and troop support when the time came. In return, your rebel Moff was to lay the groundwork for the export of Mandalorian Iron to the company, although I did not learn what this was for or how it was being organised. I do know, however, that GalactaWerks has been working with Anthark and his allies for several years now, with secret bases established on Bastion itself as well as your other worlds. Perhaps most concerning, however, is their building fleet presence in systems bordering your space, with Anthark ensuring their presence goes unnoticed. If they choose to launch an attack, it would be with very little warning.”

Thane looked to Tarses again, steel in his eyes and voice. "Excuse me if I speak out of turn, but we must escalate the plans, Your Excellency, and act now. Moff Anthark will know about the failure to kill Bomoor and Amare; they will move against us. Against you. If we expose what we have discovered to your Council, perhaps we can turn the tide against the dissenters before it is too late." The former Jedi was gesticulating as he spoke, a ferocity growing in his expression as he spoke of GalactaWerks. "The Company will not wait. They will not let their years of work - their years of espionage - go to waste. It would be 'bad business'." He looked once more to Bomoor, who, whilst injured, appeared to share his passion - the passion that had brought them this place in the first place and, to their surprise, to Grand Moff Tarses' side. "We can capture this executive and make an example of her to your empire."

Tarses let his mask of unperturbed serenity fall from Thane's eyes to the table.

"I can't even say I'm surprised at this point," the Grand Moff relented with a slight shake of his head. "If what you say is true, then the situation is far worse than we anticipated. We will, however, require irrefutable evidence to validate your testimony, of course. In the meantime, I will call an assembly of the--"

"Lieutenant Spers to Grand Moff Tarses," came a sudden interruption from the comm system.

Tarses recognized it as being on the emergency internal security channel based on the lit blue button on the console embedded on the table before him. He leaned forward to press and hold that button, "This is Tarses. This better be good, lieutenant."

"Security breach in alpha infirmary, sir," the lieutenant reported, his voice clearly straining to maintain a tone of control under intense pressure. "It is the Nautolan female. She is holding my sergeant hostage with her laser dagger, and has me at blaster-point. Myself and two guards have her in our sights as well. We're in a standoff. All access points have been sealed."

"I will release him if you permit me to report to my lord, Thane, face-to-face!" Amare's voice was heard on the comm, although her words did seem somewhat slurred, as if she were under the influence of some kind of drug. "And don't you dare try to stab me again with your hypos. I will not be treated as a lab experiment!"

Tarses' eyes shot a displeased glare at Thane, perhaps the first true look of fury he ever threw at the rising Sith Lord.

Thane did not baulk at the expression, as he matched the elder man's glare with his own, as if inviting a challenge from the angered solder-cum-statesman. It was not clear if his anger was born from the risk suddenly posed to his Nautolan companion - or if actually directed at her. Either way, he did not shy from Tarses or make any apology to him.

"Casualties?" Tarses asked, holding eye contact with the Caanan.

"Two," Spers answered. "Trooper Cairn is down with a hole in his left shoulder and Doctor Lamelle is unconscious. Orders?"

"If she flinches in the slightest, or harms anyone else, shoot to stun," Tarses decreed, and he heard the soft clicks of the guards' pistols indicating the change in setting. "I shall be there directly with her 'lord'."

"Yes, sir!" Spers acknowledged.

Tarses released the button and continued staring harshly at Thane. "It seems I underestimated your ability to control your apprentice," he said, maintaining his characteristic self-control. "She has already killed several of my men back in the research lab. I let that go and ignored her surly attitude because of the bigger picture and that most of them had disgraceful records to say the least. But this has crossed the line." He rose to his feet and added, "Bomoor may come and assist if you wish, but you wear our uniform now, and as her commanding officer, responsibility for this incident falls on you and you alone. Bastion law requires you to bring order to this chaos immediately. Surely you understand the paramount importance of maintaining order and discipline, yes?"

A shadow had fallen over Thane's expression, his pale, chalky pallor seeming to have grown colder in the preceding moments, and much of the blue in his eyes seemed lost in a thick swirl of unnatural gold. The look of fury that he had offered to match Tarses' own had not dissipated, although he seemed to be looking directly through the grand moff rather than at him. When he finally spoke, his voice carried an arcane timbre. "I bear no responsibility for the actions of a Sith, Grand Moff," he said. "But, she will learn the lessons from this latest failure."

TBC

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