Private All you need to do, is knock.

[Karl Von Strauss]

The corridors outside of the Exarch’s office were quiet, predictably so at this hour. Another late-night session had driven most Prefects and Liasons back to their offices for a brief reprieve before returning to their work. The gears of government never truly stopped turning. Truth be told, Karl preferred this hush far more than the incessant squabbling of Prefects picking apart each other’s arguments like carrion birds. Silence made his mind cleaner. Sharper.

While it was silent, he could still hear the soft echoing footsteps behind him of his attaché, Lt. Moira Thif. She was a few steps behind him, always to his left side, always within reach. His robotic bodyguard, C1RC3, was also present, but with her advanced stealth technologies, Karl often suspected she enjoyed being unfindable.

He was talking to Lt. Thif, nothing of particular note, just observations about the session’s few promising developments. Upon reaching his door, he took out a code cylinder from a pocket in his tunic and placed it into the receiver. Before entering the passcode, his gaze paused on the keypad. The fifth button sat flush with the others.

He turned to Lt. Thif, a sorry smile on his face, ”I hate to send you off the moment we arrive, Lieutenant, but could you fetch some of that tea I adore from the south wing commissary? I find myself quite parched. A lively debate will do that.”

She looked mildly disappointed, but defiance was not in her nature. “Of course, Exarch. I will fetch it right away.”

”Thank you, Lieutenant.”

As she walked off, whatever faint hint of a smile Karl had worn vanished completely. That fifth button was never flush. He kept it purposefully depressed; it was an old habit, a quiet alarm. Someone had entered his office while it was locked. He exhaled through his nose, set his jaw, and entered the passcode. The panel chimed; he withdrew the cylinder and stepped inside.

The office was quaint by Exarchal standards. He’d passed on the oversized corner suite offered to him upon his elevation, preferring this smaller, cozier room nearer to the COMECI chambers. Wooden furniture, leather-cushioned seating, the faint scent of polished varnish. As he closed the door, the lights hummed on, bathing the room in a soft, welcoming warmth.

He crossed the floor to his desk, unhurriedly, setting down a trio of datapads in a neat stack. The moment they touched the surface, his posture straightened, his weathered hands folding behind him as he spoke to the office.

”You do know,” he said evenly, but with a colder demeanor, ”that people generally make an appointment if they wish to speak with me.”

He stepped toward a small wooden globe of New Alderaan, positioned to the left of his desk. The globe opened cleanly beneath his touch, revealing a selection of liquors in crystal decanters. ”I am aware an invitation was given to speak with me through my address, but I don’t believe that breaking and entering were part of it.”

He lifted a decanter, swirling the amber liquid inside with practiced familiarity. Two crystal glasses came next, placed on a nearby side table. He filled one. ”Ordinarily, I don’t offer interlopers anything short of a blaster bolt to the chest.” He paused. A faint tilt of his head, the closest thing he allowed himself to amusement. ”But, a supposed colleague can be afforded a nightcap.”

He gestured lightly to the empty glass. ”I have still or sparkling water as well, should you not drink. After all, there is remarkably little information available about you, even to me…” He turned slightly, eyes narrowing with measured curiosity.

”...Warden Primus. Though I imagine that, ultimately, is the point, isn’t it?”

Her​

 

[Ella Nova]

---

---

New Alderaan, Outer Rim systems;
The Establishment for the Commission of Civilian Interests, C.O.M.E.C.I.
Tags: Karl Von Strauss

---

"...In the interests of the IMPERIAL PEOPLE, in accordance with the treaties made to form our CONFEDERATION, thereby unifying the IMPERIAL REMNANTS under LIRAETH DESCHART'S REIGN AS 'HER MAJESTY OF ALL IMPERIAL KIND' christening the 'SECOND IMPERIAL OCCUPATION' of these OUTER RIM SYSTEMS, the IMPERIAL CORRECTION DIRECTORATE [I.C.D] now formerly declares it's investigation into the legitimacy of STRAUSS' decision..."
-- Excepts of the Imperial Corrections Directorate's statement regarding their intent to investigate Karl Von Strauss .

---

"...Warden Primus. Though I imagine that, ultimately, is the point, isn't it?"

Out of the corner of Strauss' eye a well manicured hand places something upon his desk, just beside the New Alderaan globe. As Karl turns to look at what she has just put down, Her turns to admire the office and replies: "Not thirsty."

The woman offers no further comment about the alledged breaking or entering nor the blatant disregard for decorum and protocol. Not even a polite 'thank you' for the offering of a beverage from the personal collection of one of the Confederation's most powerful men, and a war hero to boot. We remember the past, but we do not respect it. Things matter very little compared to perfection, Ayra had taught.

Indeed, the more you look into this woman, the more you discover she isn't like the Imperials that she calls associate or comrade. Imperial in name, yes, and the head of a clandestine operation dubbed Project Tion that was designed, in essence, for the revival of Imperialism along the Outer Rim systems, but she is not of you. Maybe that was why they lost at Brosi. Don't let the uniform fool you though. Yeah, Kilran liked the oddities in the galaxy, von Strauss knew, and this one is a leftover from the past that had been brought into the new. Karl had to deal with them often in the old regime. So, what kind of mind games was this Warden Primus playing with the old Exarch, on this most audacious of nights, by placing the old Emperor's emblem on the table?

A reminder of where she came from, and how this stranger had made their bed in the Imperial Sector Authority in the first place?

That they were still old comrades in spite of present circumstances?

As Her explores von Strauss' office she learns more about the man. Somethings she knew already, and others that she did not. It is a small space and unpretentious looking unlike most of the offices she has seen or been too in this quadrant of the galaxy. They share a little bit in common as well. Beyond the theatrics, Her's office atop the Neyrix is small too, minus the mesmeric effect of feeling like you are underwater up there above dark Liann caste skies. Perhaps von Strauss will pay a visit at the pyramid one day soon. To arrest, or kill her, when this was all said and done, maybe.

This office is close to the entrance of the halls of the Establishment of the Commission for Civilian Interests, where politicians and corpos masquerading as prefects or liaisons pretend to care about the Imperial Confederation. It is efficient. To the point. Close enough to get the job done right. This is the way von Strauss is. No time for games, or foreplay. A distinctive Imperial, in spite of the many faces that come and go through these regimes of the Imperial remnants. There is something to be said about an old man in this game. This guy has survived wars. Was that why he thought he would survive her?

As for the offices of the C.O.M.E.C.I, Her recognised some of the rats as she passed through the hallways of the commission. Delegates from overseas offices sent by way of Saleucami as they worked to procure new lines inquiries and business on behalf of the Santhe Corporation. Others from the N&Z Umbrella Corporation selling their wares and technology to the highest bidders. Dignitaries from across a dozen star systems, encompassing half-a-dozen star sectors, turned supplicants while the Imperial Confederation tries to succeed where others fail. To restore peace, order and security, was what Deschart had proclaimed. Now look at her.

They share other things in common too. One works on the Board of Directors for Umbrella, when he isn't leading and overseeing the civilian interests as Exach. The other is in the shadows of it's secretive Section C branch. Things have a way of being convoluted, and murky. Do you wonder what the Man-Behind-The-Curtain thinks about this investigation? Umbrella corp have opened headquarters both on Mahporeem and Lianna recently. Their influence is beginning to be felt everywhere, all across Imperial space. If you dig deep enough you will find a name that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand-up.

There is an irony at work here. That two out of the five namely responsible for their corporate growth (out here in these occupied Outer Rim systems) are in this office tonight as adversaries. They are, together, Lost-Imperial expats. ISA associates. TIC comrades. N&Z colleagues. Co-conspirators in Project Tion, if you want to take it that far, and yet, at this time, they are nevertheless political adversaries. A fine line has been drawn, and one or the other threatens to topple over into that red space where they become the enemy. No doubt about that. Is it too late to stop the fall?

A gun was fired up in the air announcing ones arrival, and the other shot back up in kind to say, 'I am here too'. These things have a way of stringing out of control. Gotta be careful in these times. Good guys are dying aplenty nowadays. Just look at the Core. It is easy to lose perspective on what is good for you, and what isn't, when you dress it up right. Remember that Kilran spoke a big game during his time, and all it took was one good shot to take him out forever at Lothal. The revival of the Galactic Empire, the Eggman had proclaimed loudly, to his supplicants on that night in Lianna City, in the dying embers of the Voland administration. Don't forget Aculia. Dreams can get lost in the dark.

If only Velran's ability to orate had carried into the other arenas of leadership.

Then, perhaps, they would be the ones to own the Core, and not the remnants of his bastard, Lost Empire.

"The last of the old guard," Her comments, and Karl should know what she means. Try as he might to move on in service to this Imperial Confederation, the past still finds a way to sneak up on you, such as tonight. What do they have to do with this?

"Kilran. Mecetti. Tane. DuPorcelen. Ugaiya. Drey..."

The last name has to be deliberate. TRAITOR.

Is it me, or is it you?

Her?

Both of us?

As von Strauss pours his drink, with the names of old colleagues and associates tossed up seemingly randomly-- some dead, some out there, elsewhere-- Her stops looking around beside one of those leathers seats, and without asking first, takes one for herself. One leg raises up to fold itself over the others knee (after she sits down), and with her hands, Her smooths out the recesses in her uniform before looking up expectantly at the Exarch. She is self-aware despite evidence to the contrary. There is only so much von Strauss will put up with after a long day of working with the rats outside. Patience will be on thin-ice, and if Her were honest, it was a testimony to the man that she wasn't being held in one of the Imperial Prison Factories right now. You know the ones that she set-up. For the stunt that Her pulled which began this mess in the first place.

I do hear it is nice on Tion at this time of year.

"I should inform you that I was contacted by a journalist after the directorate released it's statement," Her lies. "Joran Kael? He has released some interesting stuff on the G.N.N. Naturally, I have a transcript of the interview for you to read. I cannot comment on their timeframe, for when it will be broadcasted, but it should be any day now."

Thin-ice threatens to break rapidly. The tension in the room goes up a notch.

Firstly, she had the audacity to declare an investigation into the legitimacy of von Strauss' special measure 'EX-42A' via a public statement for every eye and ear in the galaxy to see. The markets have been turbulent ever since. Nothing shakes them more than political upheaval, and turmoil. If Karl were honest then he would acknowledge his part to play as well. Deschart was removed by his hand, after all, but nevertheless the pressure has been mounting daily for von Strauss to fix it. He knows first had what happens when a fragile economy breaks overnight. How quick it is to lose everything you've built up from scratch; and how these civilized people out there in the streets can turn to the rioting, the pillaging, and the feasting upon the scraps of a ruined civilization toppled by great lies.

I heard it is also nice on Bastion as well. Do you think von Strauss thinks about the garden, and the Phantom Empress that should have been?

Secondly, this bold confrontation, where the past is dredged up like a ghoul feasting upon the bone. The names of mad-man playing Emperor, and of an exile forced out of the Tapani sector, a former Alliance-Senator, no less, who was turned into an Imperial expat and was now playing Chancellor among the Diarchs. The other was the name of a dear comrade, perhaps a friend, if afforded the luxury, who was missing in action, and assumed dead. The same was true for a warrior who was more machine than woman the last time they had saw her, and then the name of a cloned daughter of a clone, shot dead in the Pellaeon Gardens before it was meant to be her time.

But Drey? Karl knows that story only too well, or, at least, he thinks he does. Strangled to death by someone. The list of suspects are numerous. Tsis'Kaar assassins. Tingel Arm rebels. Jedi conspiratorialists if you ever read the Trigonus Report. Nobody has been caught yet, and Her knows von Strauss believes no-one ever will be. The Fifth Wing had something to do with it, somehow; and the only witness tying it together was pronounced KIA on Brosi.

It must be maddening how often the Director keeps popping up in the most odd places. The Kowakian that won't get off your back. Like a ghost haunting you from beyond the ether.

The Ghost of Kalist was a myth told to children as they were raised to be Jedi, and it feels all too real to be a legend now.

Lastly, the circumvention of the Imperial propaganda machine, who would have undoubtedly censored such a publication of the interview from getting out into the public hemisphere. But the Galactic News Network was beyond their reach and scope. Well played, no? Whatever this woman wanted to say was going to get out now. One way, or the other. Perhaps she has really have found something wrong here, and the institutions in place are really corrupt as it was implied. Her certainly thinks so. Two years of conspiring among the Imperial remnants have made her a first hand witness to the corruption in this system. Does von Strauss really think he is above toiling in the dirt with the rest of them?

Reaching into a satchel hanging around her neck, Her takes it off and opens it up to produce a datapad. A hand nonchalantly holds it out for Karl to take and read the transcript loaded on there. As he does, Her averts her gaze to the side, and stares into nothing, as a cunning mind takes the moment to seek solace and refuge from all of this tension to remember times that fill her with a sense of nostalgia, and melancholy.

They were better times than this.

---

 

[Karl Von Strauss]

Karl’s gaze drifted to the emblem. His eyes didn’t widen in surprise; they contracted, sharpening into cold pinpoints in his pale blue-grey irises. He was aware, of course, that the Confederation still housed its fair share of Lost-Imperials, but seeing this particular emblem, an older one, unmistakably authentic, laid upon his desk was confirmation that there were still far more of them lurking in the shadows than he knew.

His attention shifted back to the figure pacing his office.

The past seemed determined to shove itself into his night in droves. As the Warden spoke of the so-called “old guard,” the names she invoked were ghosts: Lost Imperials long believed dead, vanished, or buried in irrelevance. Yet her cadence, her precision, made the list feel intentional, pointed. A distraction, perhaps, one meant to obscure a deeper implication. Was she likening herself to that old guard? Positioning herself among them? Or hinting that she and he shared more history than he realized?

Karl poured a measure of brandy, swirling the amber liquid before taking a slow sip. Warmth spread through his chest and stomach, familiar and grounding. He hadn’t yet had the chance to unpack the layers of what the Warden had said before she pressed on.

"I should inform you that I was contacted by a journalist after the directorate released it's statement. Joran Kael? He has released some interesting stuff on the G.N.N. Naturally, I have a transcript of the interview for you to read. I cannot comment on their timeframe, for when it will be broadcasted, but it should be any day now."

“Ah,” he murmured, taking another small sip, “Joran Kael. I know him. He interviewed me when the Confederation was still in its infancy. A habit of finding stories before they fully bloom, and an even stronger habit of omitting several of his questions when the final cut airs.”

When she offered him the datapad, he accepted it with his free hand, lowering himself into the seat across from her. Another delicate sip, measured and thoughtful, before he set the glass on a stone coaster. Then he activated the datapad, eyes narrowing slightly as he began reading, absorbing the information line by line, thought by thought.

Karl’s face remained stone-like and cold for the duration of reading through the questions of the Kael reports and the Warden’s answers. Most of it was expected, probing at whether his actions during the special session had crossed into illegality, and to her credit, she had offered little in the way of needless speculation. Efficient. Controlled. He appreciated that.

Still, when he reached the end of the transcript, a quiet chuckle escaped him. ”If you’d like to know where the Empress is, as technically, she is still the Empress, she can be found under guard in the Imperial Palace. She is still enjoying all of the amenities that her position provides her, except access to any vehicles.”

He gingerly placed that datapad onto his desk and stood up from his chair. His steps carried him to a portrait on the wall: a younger Karl and his sister in formal First Order uniforms, their father standing behind them. He didn’t bother looking at the image; instead, he pressed a concealed switch on the back of the frame.

A soft click answered him, and the portrait swung aside to reveal a medium-sized wall safe. He began keying in the passcodes. ”You know,” he said back turned on the Warden, “were I none the wiser, I might assume you, or your I.C.D., felt threatened by my invocation of the emergency measure. Perhaps there’s some political thread tying you to Liraeth.”

The safe unlocked with a muted hiss. Karl retrieved an object wrapped in velvet, leaving the door hanging open as he crossed back to his seat. Settling in, he crossed one leg over the other and held the wrapped item on his knee. ”This,” He said unwrapping the object to reveal an older Lenoi datapad, one not unsimilar to a certain Lieutenant he’d once knew before her death. ”is the Empress’s personal datapad which I have gained custody of through one of my personal… well let’s not mince words: spies.”

He held out the datapad to her, ”On it, you’ll find more than two hundred and fifty hours of correspondence; chat logs with numerous sects and individuals tied to the Risen-Imperials. The pattern is consistent: she was preparing to run. From New Aldera. From the Confederation. From every duty expected of an Empress.” He paused, letting the weight settle. “And likely from more than just those obligations. She intended to do it with help. A former Ruling Council member, the ex-Grand Moff who fled after Brosi. Their plan was straightforward enough: spark riots to mask her disappearance, then coordinate a full withdrawal from the Instrop Sector back into the Unknown Regions. That is why I intervened. That is why the measure was enacted.”

Karl leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped, a small smirk on his face as he continued. ”It has also come to my attention that she kept a secondary Lenoi unit. She continued contacting these Risen-Imperials through it… though she remains blissfully unaware that her secrecy evaporated the moment I broke the cipher on the datapad you’re holding.”

He tilted his head slightly, almost amused. “Once the encryption fell, I was able to trace the metadata; connection pings, routing signatures, fragmentary handshake keys, back into the network her backup Lenoi was using. In short: every message she thought was hidden is no longer hidden from me.”

He paused his explanation. He grabbed his brandy and took a sip from it. Just as she let him digest information, he’d let her do the same.

Her​

 

[Ella Nova]

---

---

New Alderaan, Outer Rim systems;
The Establishment for the Commission of Civilian Interests, C.O.M.E.C.I.
Tag: Karl Von Strauss

---

"Joran Kael. I know him. He interviewed me when the Confederation was still in its infancy. A habit of finding stories before they fully bloom, and an even stronger habit of omitting several of his questions when the final cut airs."

It was one of the few reasons why Her had handpicked Joran Kael . She had lied, of course. Kael hadn't been the one to contact the Warden Primus. It had been the other way around. Her did not underestimate von Strauss or his capabilities. This was a man who had the power and authority to shut down the I.C.D. with a mere memo. He was beholden to nobody. von Strauss was a true authoritarian who had disguised himself as an engineer, politician and decorated war veteran from the Tingel Arm conflicts and whose ties to the Umbrella corporation made him wealthy, powerful and influential. He is worthy adversary when it came to politics in the Imperial Confederation.

So, Her required ways to circumvent von Strauss and his authority if she were to get what she wanted from the Exarch and the investigation that she had opened into him through the limited scope of the Imperial Corrections Directorate. The dejarik table was now live. They were the two players who were playing on opposite sides until one or the other were in control of the last piece on the board. In the event that von Strauss made the decision to shut Her down permanently then she would require the means to leak information in an alternative way beyond the scope of the C.O.M.E.C.I and Kael was a way to do this. There were also other alternative means available to Her as well which all amounted to putting political pressure on the Exarch. But for what?

As von Strauss poured a drink from one of his crystal decanters Her did not immediately break the staring into space. She found her thoughts diverting away from Strauss' office and the situation at hand to briefly thinking about Ala Quin and the investigation into the disappearance of a star courier in the Mid Rim systems. Quin alleged that Her and the Tarsai Vigil (a security subsidiary found on Enarc) were responsible for the missing Larkspur Crescent and it's crew after it had disappeared following a Tarsai patrol along the Five Veils Route who had stopped Hal Juno to begin a security inspection of his ship. It was the last known sighting of the Juno family and no traces of them or their ship have found since.

Her wasn't worried about the outcome of the other investigation going on in her life. Ala had failed to gain permission for an official investigation and her allegations had currently led to nothing. Her did not think that they would either. She quietly chastised herself. Why was she thinking about that? Her could not yet fully comprehend why it was in these moments of stress or solitude that she found herself thinking about the Shiraya-Jedi that she had first met in a Tarsai office, and she hoped that Ayra would not find out about it either.

"You know... were I none the wiser, I might assume you, or your I.C.D., felt threatened by my invocation of the emergency measure. Perhaps there's some political thread tying you to Liraeth."

There was.

It was by Liraeth Deschart's authority that Project Tion had been founded by the I.C.D and their Warden Primus.

The project itself is a clandestine operation Her created to revive Imperialism along the Outer Rim systems that were severely affected (particularly in the quadrants currently occupied by the Imperial Confederation) by the disastrous two year long Kilran regime that had come into power during the waning years of the Empire of the Lost.

It had also been created to deal with the rise of terrorist rebel cells looking to fight back against the second Imperial occupation and the project was also designed to combat the influential power held by the Eleventh Sith Empire who were in control of the Corporate sector as well as several strong strongholds dotted across the Stygian Caldera within the Thandon Star nebulae.

Two years of conspiracy and sedition amid the Imperial remnants, of which Her had been a key partner, had led to the formation of Project Tion and it's objectives that were lined out during a secret conference held on the F.D.V.E shipyards in orbit of Minntooine.

Now it was in jeopardy.

The consequences of Deschart's removal from power, combined with a rise with anti-Imperial rhetoric towards the Galactic Empire, positioned the project and it's goals as an afterthought to the likes of von Strauss and the other figureheads in the Imperial remnants. They may have lost the Battle of Brosi but they had gone onto claim a momentous one at Atrisia against the new Imperial administration in the Core. These developments held the hand-tale signs of a civil war between the Imperial Confederation and the regime on Coruscant therefore effectively cancelling the project as resources were put towards this newer effort to defeat the Dark-Imperials instead of combating the Thandon-Sith.

This was unacceptable to Her and was precisely why the I.C.D had begun their investigation into von Strauss. Implications of criminality, illegality or sedition surrounding the EX 42-A special measure (which had removed Deschart as the defacto head-of-state of the confederation) were mere excuses that were hiding a greater cause. These were the tools that could be used in an exercise to divert the likes of von Strauss away from fighting the Galactic Empire and back onto the so-called 'real' threat which reigned on Dromund Kaas via political pressure or espionage conducted by Her and the Imperial Corrections Directorate.

But the Exarch also possesses his own weapons to use, and if he knew enough, then they could be used to deadly effect in their own right.

"This," He said unwrapping the object to reveal an older Lenoi datapad, one not unsimilar to a certain Lieutenant he'd once knew before her death. "is the Empress's personal datapad which I have gained custody of through one of my personal… well let's not mince words: spies."

Thoughts of Ala, where an imagination put them in a better time, in a better life, were crushed by reality. As von Strauss finished typing into the keypad, and produced the LENOI from the wall safe, Her quickly snapped back to reality. When the Exarch showed her the datapad all the colour drained from the Warden Primus' face while von Strauss explained himself. Her suddenly found herself nervous and anxiety ridden as the Exarch went onto explain Deschart's escape plan.

"On it, you'll find more than two hundred and fifty hours of correspondence; chat logs with numerous sects and individuals tied to the Risen-Imperials. The pattern is consistent: she was preparing to run. From New Aldera. From the Confederation. From every duty expected of an Empress."

He paused, letting the weight settle. "And likely from more than just those obligations. She intended to do it with help. A former Ruling Council member, the ex-Grand Moff who fled after Brosi. Their plan was straightforward enough: spark riots to mask her disappearance, then coordinate a full withdrawal from the Instrop Sector back into the Unknown Regions. That is why I intervened. That is why the measure was enacted."

The Fifth Wing were all dead. Her had had them all killed. What is going on here?

Karl leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped, a small smirk on his face as he continued. "It has also come to my attention that she kept a secondary Lenoi unit. She continued contacting these Risen-Imperials through it… though she remains blissfully unaware that her secrecy evaporated the moment I broke the cipher on the datapad you're holding."

He tilted his head slightly, almost amused. "Once the encryption fell, I was able to trace the metadata; connection pings, routing signatures, fragmentary handshake keys, back into the network her backup Lenoi was using. In short: every message she thought was hidden is no longer hidden from me."

"Is he threatening me?" Her thought to herself quietly while their mind raced.

The LENOI datapad was an old piece of tech and obsolete by today's standards. It had debuted back in the late 840s in Hanna City and had been all the rave with the kids while it's manufacturer and distributor Chandrila DataTech focused upon the children's market to make a substantial profit. Decades later, after the company had long been dissolved (following the death of it's CEO), the tech had been linked to an Imperial seditious terrorist cell that had called itself the Fifth Wing and who had been using the LENOI to communicate on anonymous interconnective real-time chats while they had plotted against the Lost-Imperials and the Diarchs.

Liraeth Deschart hadn't been a member of the cell nor had there been other Risen-Imperials who had been recruited by Director Drey when she had been alive. Was von Strauss playing his own game with Her by tying together these pieces?

Was it subtle message of: 'I know who you are?'

Her averted her gaze away from von Strauss as she was suddenly shy underneath his satisfied gaze. How much did von Strauss know about the conspiracy Her had been building ever since the Empire of the Lost?

It could not be much if it amounted to anything at all. She reminded herself about who the Exarch really was. von Strauss is a controlled and efficient man. He did not play games. If he truly had incriminating evidence which led him to conclude that Her was connected to the same people responsible for the Sartinaynian Crisis then he would have shut down the I.C.D months ago. They certainly would not be in his office today if he had connected those dots. Her would be far away from Imperial space, likely on Enarc, hiding among the throng of Nabooian aristocrats and High Republic politics. Dealing with Ala, probably.

"No... He doesn't know who I am. Nobody does," Her reminded themselves in a quiet thought. The colour began to return to her cheeks. With it the nerves and anxiety went away as well. It was time to regain control of this situation before it pushed both von Strauss and Her over the line into the realm of catastrophe and ruination. Before the Exarch destroyed the conspiracy against the Thandon-Sith and the project she had created to pursue it.

"You will provide me with all of the data?" Her asked Karl as she turned those crimson eyes to look back up at him. "If I were to verify your allegations and information then the directorate can close our investigation into the special measure. Although you may not require it from your peers in the commission for civilian interests or from your comrades on the ruling council we could exonerate you in the public light. I think we would like to do that."

Reclining back into her seat, to give off the air of confidence and strength, despite being visibly shaken by the revelation of the LENOI, Her crossed one leg over the other and spoke nonchalantly as she admired her manicured fingernails. "This brings us as to why I am here. Beyond telling you about the upcoming Kael report I have some other requests to make concerning my other inquiries into the forty-two a measure."

If the room felt tense beforehand then what Her was about to ask for was akin to a gravitational shift.

"We would like to exhume the body of Alicia Drey for analysis."

Earthquakes were more preferable than this.

"I also have questions concerning a summit that was held on Lianna two years ago. It is to my understanding that this meeting was the last time that the Voland administration convened before it was dissolved and subsequently replaced by a new ruling council created by Velran Kilran. You were in attendance of that meeting were you not?"

Gunfighting, and blood on the walls. Aculia's old guard dying beneath proclamations of the Eggman and the birth of a new Galactic Empire. The beginning of a disastrous two year reign which ended to rebellion, crisis and economic collapse. Upon the dejarik board the Ghhhk moves up a level. It's four limbs threaten to push off all of von Strauss' pieces before he can even make a move.

---

 

[Karl Von Strauss]

Karl said nothing as he watched the color drain from the Warden’s face. She hadn’t even seen the logs and chat transcripts on the datapad yet, but something in the sight of it rattled her. He recognized the reaction; his own face had gone similarly pale the first time he’d held the Empress’s Lenoi device. The Fifth Wing favored them for covert communication, after all, and for a brief moment, he had even wondered if the Empress herself had been entangled in their network. That suspicion didn’t last long. Before the Risen Empire discussed joining the Imperial Sector Authority and the Empire Reborn to form the Confederation, they had been isolated on the far end of the galaxy with virtually no contact whatsoever.

Still, the Warden’s reaction intrigued him. What did she know of the Lenoi? What history did she have with it? Her color returned quickly enough, but the question lingered in Karl’s mind even as she immediately asked for the datapad.

"You will provide me with all of the data?" Her asked Karl as she turned those crimson eyes to look back up at him. "If I were to verify your allegations and information then the directorate can close our investigation into the special measure. Although you may not require it from your peers in the commission for civilian interests or from your comrades on the ruling council we could exonerate you in the public light. I think we would like to do that."

Karl answered with a faint, almost imperceptible smile. “Certainly. I’ve already copied the data from the Lenoi, so you may keep it… as a souvenir.” He watched her face for any tells or emotions.

He clicked his tongue softly as he rose from his seat, lifting his crystal glass as he did. He walked around the desk at an unhurried pace, fingertips gliding across its polished surface until he reached his leather-bound chair. He lingered a bit, exoneration, it was a nice concept, but one that didn't matter in the larger scheme of things. Pulling the chair back, he sat and leveled his blue-grey gaze at her own crimson ones, sharp, unwavering.

“However,” he continued, “replication of any data on that device is strictly prohibited. If you attempt to alter or tamper with the logs in any way, I will be notified immediately. And for transparency, Supreme Commander Marlon Sularen has already received his own copy.”

Providing Sularen with the data had been both a shield and a courtesy. It protected Karl from political backlash while also preparing the Supreme Commander for the likely unrest ahead. Karl could deploy the Confederation Guard, but only for seventy-two hours before Military Command seized control; better for Sularen to know what storm was coming.

Karl took another measured sip of his brandy as the Warden continued, her next requests. The first was… unusual, to say the least: the exhumation of Alicia Drey, former head of the New Imperial Security Bureau. The request had nothing, at least on the surface, to do with his invocation of Special Measure EX-42A. What possible connection could the late Director have to this matter? The question flickered through his mind, but he allowed none of his confusion to touch his expression. Instead, he quietly finished the last of his drink.

"I'm unsure why the body of the late Director needs to be disturbed," he said as he set the crystal glass down. "What relevance does her corpse have to your investigation into my use of the emergency measure?"

Her second request was peculiar as well, though for different reasons. Karl had not been part of the Empire of the Lost during the Voland Administration; at that time, he'd still been roaming the Outer Rim as a mercenary after his exit from the First Order. He could understand, conceptually, the line she was drawing between eras, but he couldn't quite see why she wanted him to bridge it. This was in his file.

"You may certainly ask," he replied, shaking his head slightly, "but my history with the Empire is limited. I only joined the Empire of the Lost during Velran's reign. When I arrived with my handful of refurbished First Order destroyers, I was merely a captain and an engineer. I did, however, interact with an Aculia Voland after His Majesty's death, during a meeting on Lianna. By that point, I held the rank of Moff, though only by merit… and by recommendation of the previous Mon Calamari Sector Moff, General Teckla Tane."

Her​

 

[Ella Nova]

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New Alderaan, Outer Rim systems;
The Establishment for the Commission of Civilian Interests, C.O.M.E.C.I.
Tag: Karl Von Strauss

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"Certainly. I've already copied the data from the Lenoi, so you may keep it… as a souvenir."

"However... Replication of any data on that device is strictly prohibited. If you attempt to alter or tamper with the logs in any way, I will be notified immediately. And for transparency, Supreme Commander Marlon Sularen has already received his own copy."

It was to be expected. The scope of the I.C.D investigation (or Her's authority as Warden Primus) were already neutered by von Strauss. He had prevented the Directorate from detaining a number of individuals (listed as 'persons of interest') after the list had been released alongside the I.C.D's statement of intent to investigate the special measure in question. The next logical step, at least then for Karl, had been then to secure his own political capital by getting the man in charge of the military on his side as well so as to stop any potential real fallout from affecting his position as Exarch and as a member of the Confederation's Imperial Ruling Council should Her's investigation draw any major scrutiny or criticism into his special measure.

With Sularen in the mix to back up the Exarch and his executive order then it did not matter what the I.C.D found or did not find in the grand scheme of things. Liraeth Deschart's reign as Imperial Empress had all but been ruined the moment Selrik Lorcas had lost seat on the Imperial Ruling Council and his position as Grand Moff after the Battle of Brosi. This outcome was further entrenched by the discovery of chatlogs indicating the Deschart planned to abscond from the position anyway and in a manner which created a security risk to the Imperial Confederation. What if she had been captured by, or defected to, the Sith, or another foreign entity, such as the Black Sun Syndicate, after she fled the Ash Worlds?

But Her was a cunning woman. Despite the fact that von Strauss position as always going to be secured (after he had removed Deschart from power) this did not mean that he would want there to be implications, or dare say, allegations, or even rumours, that he had abused his authority, influence and power to further ulterior motives or an agenda that would see him become the most powerful figure among the Imperial remnants-- second only to Supreme Commander Sularen who had become a close confidant and political ally ever since the ISA, ER and RE banded together to form the Imperial Confederation.

Complete and utter exoneration then by an organisation who had initially levied scrutiny, an investigation, and implied criticism about von Strauss (and the special measure to depose Deschart from power) was something that the Exarch did not need, but if Her was right, then it would be something that he would want. This was particularly true considering the existence of the LENOI and all that it did or could implicate given it's connections to a believed defunct seditious Imperial terrorist cell and the Confederation's predecessor which had been taken over via a bloody coup d'etat that had seen to the formation of the Kilran Administration during it's ill-fated two year reign as the rulers of the late Empire of the Lost.

"I'm unsure why the body of the late Director needs to be disturbed... What relevance does her corpse have to your investigation into my use of the emergency measure?"

"You may certainly ask... But my history with the Empire is limited. I only joined the Empire of the Lost during Velran's reign. When I arrived with my handful of refurbished First Order destroyers, I was merely a captain and an engineer. I did, however, interact with an Aculia Voland after His Majesty's death, during a meeting on Lianna. By that point, I held the rank of Moff, though only by merit… and by recommendation of the previous Mon Calamari Sector Moff, General Teckla Tane."

As Her took the LENOI from von Strauss, studying the device in her hands, she replied: "You presided over a tribunal, alongside Selrik Lorcas, to go over evidence lobbied by the Diarchy regarding a former Lieutenant of the New Imperial Security Bureau who was an accused conspirator in a terrorist cell that called itself the Fifth Wing. These people were responsible for a false-wing attack on Bastion, with the help of Sieliel Dimegor, who we know was recruited into the Bureau by Alicia Drey, according to logs recorded by the Direct Surveillance of Domestic Threats programme, and who were also believed to have been behind the economic collapse of the Empire of the Lost."

Lowering the datapad onto her lap, and looking back up to Karl, Her begun to tie together the Cerberus tribunal; the exhumation of Alicia Drey ; and to the I.C.D investigation Her had initiated into Special Measure 'EX-42a'.

"During Dimegor's questioning she testified that Drey was still alive according to transcripts I have collected during my preliminary inquiries into special measure 42a. Dimegor also believed that Drey was the person who orchestrated the attack on Ravelin and implied that the handle dubbed 'LAETOR' belonged to them as well. This handle was used in an anonymous interconnected real-time chatroom that the Fifth Wing were using to communicate with one another during the Sartinaynian Crisis. The transcripts of these conversations indicate that they took place after Alicia Drey was found deceased after an alleged assassination that was found to have been the cause of death. The Trigonus Report coincides with our findings."

"I'll take take this moment to remind you that to date a suspect has not been named behind the Drey murder case nor has anyone else been found to be the person using the 'LAETOR' handle since the Diarchy incident. Either someone else was using the handle to communicate anonymously during the Ravelin attack and they are still at large today, or, Alicia Drey is still alive and the body recovered by Dimegor was produced during a cover-up."

Her took the LENOI back up and put it away into the satchel hanging around her shoulders, by the left hip, before the Exarch had the idea to ask for it back.

"I know that the Empire of the Lost was founded by Aculia Voland after the hyperspace wars, and that the Imperial Ruling Council she created were usurped, and then murdered, by Velran Kilran during a summit held in Lianna City two years ago," Her continued to explain.

"The D.S.D.T programme that Alicia Drey created under the provision and funding of the Kilran Administration went onto record logs that were then held in N.I.S.B archives and subsequently recovered by my office after the economic collapse of the Empire of the Lost that was brought on during the Sartinaynian Crisis. The data that we have recovered, upon analysis, indicated that not only was Velran Kilran aware of the Fifth Wing's existence but was also a conspirator up until he was killed during the Battle of Lothal by the Tingel Arm rebellion."

Rising up to her feet, sensing that the meeting was drawing to it's end, Her settled her gaze back on von Strauss to continue the explanation and to bring it all home in order to show him just how much scrutiny she could draw upon the Imperial Exarch to exert real, intensive political pressure upon himself and the C.O.M.E.C.I.

"Two years after the Kilran coup a former member of his ruling government enacted a special measure. This decision removes the defacto sitting Head of State from power and thereby eliminates Liraeth Deschart's leadership over the Imperial Confederation-- the successor state to the Empire of the Lost. He then hands me a piece of technology I know to have been circulated by the same terrorists that Kilran was conspiring with to become Emperor after several public statements were released which indicate that there is no other authority capable or in position to depose of him in the Imperial Confederation."

"Now, he is the Imperial Exarch. Founder of the Imperial Sector Authority. A Lost-Imperial expat. Creator of the C.O.M.E.C.I. Member of the Imperial Ruling Council which serves as government for the Imperial Confederation A former colleague of a traitor who could be still at large according to a testimony delivered during a court martial he sat on as a member of a military tribunal."

Rain pelts the window panels behind von Strauss. A dark grey cloud casts a gloom over the city of New Aldera. Nearby royalty is held in confinement under armed guard. Sins of the past threaten the very foundations of the Imperial Confederation.

"I will tell you something else that I know. I know that you recovered Ugaiya Kilran after the Sartinaynian Crisis. That she is in a coma and that you're holding her somewhere safe in the hope that she will wake back up. I also know that you swore fealty to her when she succeeded Kilran to become the Phantom Empress during a ceremony that was held in Lianna City..."

Cocking her head to the left, to look von Strauss up and down, Her said: "I will exhume Drey's body and confirm whether or not she is alive. I'll go over the data held in this LENOI to collaborate your findings. I can make the Directorate's investigation exonerate you, von Strauss. I'll kill everything. Your alleged ties to the Kilran coup. The idea that another coup d'etat has happened again two years after the first one. That the special measure was a necessary act to secure the Imperial Confederation from foreign threats."

"In exchange you will recommit your support to Project Tion and the continuation of it's goals to revive imperialism in the Outer Rim systems. You will lend me your political influence and sway to bring the military, as well as the Umbrella Corporation and Mahporeem, back on board for a second strike on the Thandon nebulae. You will help me to bring others into the fold as well. Men and resources who will eliminate the Sith threat."

Pointing a finger at Karl's chest, right where the heart would be, Her proclaimed: "You are going to also help me kill any ideas that are antithetical to the goals of my project. There will be no diversion of resources or manpower towards a war effort with the Dark Imperials. All political and military affairs, both foreign and domestic, are to be pushed towards this one objective: the eradication of the Sith Empire's vassal state."

"Or I am going ruin you."

"You will be thought of, and remembered, as a traitor. Your son as well."

"Forever."

---

 

[Karl Von Strauss]

Karl traced the rim of his empty crystal glass with one finger as the Warden answered his questions, calmly laying out how she believed her requests connected. He listened without interrupting as she drew the threads together. The trial aboard Cerberus surfaced in his mind, one he had nearly managed to forget. He had acquitted Lieutenant Dimegor, recognizing her as little more than a tool of the late Director Drey. He had even tried to give her a chance at a new life. It hadn't lasted; she died later at the Battle of Brosi.

During that trial, Karl had openly acknowledged that he had cracked the DSDT program's encryption and unlocked its secrets for the fledgling Confederation. That was the last time he had spoken of it, or of the parasitic Fifth Wing, publicly. In hindsight, that silence may have been a mistake. He had wanted to wash his hands of the entire affair and start anew.

Karl's mind wandered for a moment, If Drey were alive and well, she wouldn't have strayed far, not without keeping a finger or two in the Confederation. Perhaps the Warden is onto something. And who else would have used the pseudonym LAETOR, if not Drey?

The Exarch refocused as the Warden continued, now tying his actions during the special session to the Kilran Regime. She was reaching, barely, but the framework was there. Karl had only served the Empire of the Lost briefly, and only after Kilran had already seized power through his coup. He hadn't been part of the Emperor's inner circle for long before Kilran's death at Mon Cala. The threads were frayed, but with enough patience and malice, they could be woven into a narrative capable of toppling him. A determined citizen with time and access could arrive at the same conclusions.

Karl's eyes narrowed into daggers at the Warden's knowledge of Kanni. If looks could kill, the Exarch would be a murderer. Only a handful of individuals knew she was in cryostasis aboard The Nucleus. Fewer still knew of the vow he had sworn to her in private, in her dressing room, moments before she took up the mantle of Empress. The ranks would need thinning after this meeting. Since the Warden already knew, there was no point in evasion.

"Her name is Kanni, and I did swear my loyalty to her in her dressing room after sewing a tear in her dress." He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, "'When you grow tired of fighting my Empress, I will wield your sword and fight back the foes who would depose you. And when you grow weary of worrying, I'll take it upon myself to worry for you. On this, I swear my loyalty to you, Empress Kanni Kilran.' was my exact vow, which I have yet to break, mind you."

He paused. "Fine, exhume the body of Drey." Karl started, recognizing the logical reason for doing so, but also the risks of only having one party being present for its viewing. "However, my adjutant, Lieutenant Thif, and several scientists from The Nucleus will be present. They will not interfere. They will observe, nothing more."

He listened as the Warden explained how this would exonerate him, if her conclusions held. If only it were that simple. She had no idea what he intended to do next. Perhaps, this time, he would at least warn her, as long as she continued to play nicely. Then she revealed the most interesting thread of all. Why the Imperial Corrections Directorate was so invested in Descart, and in Karl's invocation of the special measure used to remove her. Project Tion. Interesting.

Karl couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, "Who do you think the Empress consulted when Project Tion first crossed her desk?" he asked. "The Grand Moff? No. The Supreme Commander? Not even considered." His voice cooled, hardening like void-touched ersteel. "She came to me. Her right hand. The civilian face of the Confederation. She asked, 'What will the people think of a war against the Sith?'"

His lips curled faintly. "I told her: they will think whatever we tell them to think. Most of them have lived, somehow, under Sith oppression. We will be Liberators. And Conquerors. I advised her to approve the project." His gaze sharpened. "We were this close to greatness. Brosi was held by the Sith on nothing more than the thinnest margin, and even that was enough."

"If you think that Project Tion is in jeopardy, then you have become blinded by ambition." He said, leaning back in his chair. "You and I are small cogs in a far larger machine. There are many steps required before a second incursion, some of which will occur very soon. Several will directly benefit the Directorate. You have my support, but a shift must happen first."

"You were wrong in one of your interview questions." He smirked. "'Is the Confederation prepared for the possibility of an internal conflict?' 'No. It is not.' We are prepared." He answered.

The Exarch opened a drawer and placed several sheets of letter paper on the desk. Each bore his personal seal and that of the Supreme Commander. Movement orders for multiple legions of the Confederation Guard. Officially, they were en route to New Alderaan for training exercises. Only someone with access to a very specific datapad would recognize the true precision of their destinations.

"We may not know exactly when they'll attempt to free the Empress," Karl continued, "but I know where the distractions will be. I know who will attend. And I know exactly how many troops I need to divert to crush them beneath the thumb of true Imperialism. There will be no conflict; only a bloodbath."

He slid one copy of the orders toward her. "You're welcome to take it. The commands have already been transmitted to the Marshal Commanders. In fact," he added, "the first legions should begin arriving within the next few days."

For a fleeting moment, the Exarch had almost believed a functional, if turbulent, working relationship with the Warden Primus might be possible. Then she threatened his son.

"You will be thought of, and remembered, as a traitor. Your son as well."

A thin vein surfaced at Karl's temple, barely perceptible, but unmistakable to anyone who knew him well. "You may believe that," he replied calmly, driving a finger down into the stack of orders spread across the desk, "but with this, I will be remembered as a savior." His finger remained there as he continued. "And with what I intend to do in the Commission afterward, I will be remembered as a visionary."

The temperature in the room began to rise. Without warning, THEMIS surged to life, violently seizing control of multiple subsystems, her maternal flaw activating. The ambient lighting shifted, dim whites bleeding into a deep, oppressive red. Speakers throughout the chamber crackled to life, and THEMIS echoed Karl's voice in perfect synchrony, projecting it from every direction at once.

"I am willing to support you and your project," Karl said, his tone flat and lethal. "But if you ever mention my son in a threatening manner again, there will not be a rock in this galaxy large enough for you to hide behind."

A pause, measured and deliberate.

"You have my cooperation."

Another beat.

"Do not test my restraint."

Her​

 

[Ella Nova]

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New Alderaan, Outer Rim systems;
The Establishment for the Commission of Civilian Interests, C.O.M.E.C.I.
Tag: Karl Von Strauss

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Her held their stare upon von Strauss as she stood there in the red din. She found herself looking upon a man who, only a week ago, had been a comrade against mutual enemies scattered across the Outer Rim systems. Now he was something else. Transformed by her abilities in the dark side. The new enemy in her midst. A political rival that would, in time, go out of his way to get rid of the foe within his administration, she suspected. Of course, as their story would continue to tell, they would both maintain something of a status quo until von Strauss put it altogether. But Her knew that beneath any formalities, or the work to revive Imperialism via the project, there would always be this tension between them and it threatened to destroy them both. Her had made Karl von Strauss a rival now, and with a degree of inevitability, the day would come where this old man would eliminate the threat in his midst when he discovered that she had been his enemy the entire time. Axiomatic.

After all, Her was a Sith Lord, a follower of the Rule of Two, and an undercover asset working among the Imperial remnants for the past two years. It was by the machinations of their Sith Master that Her had orchestrated the series of events which had seen to Director Drey forming the Fifth Wing. They had gone onto assassinate the Phantom Empress and organised the demise of the Empire of the Lost that had been promised to them. Her had cost von Strauss so much. As time continued to elapse, knowing that Karl had gained access to the Direct Surveillance of Domestic Threats, it was only a matter of time until he put together the pieces that would lead him back to Her, and by way of her position in the C.O.M.E.C.I, she also know that contact with the Diarchy was also an inevitability that would bring about revelations which she had been trying to hide from him.

Whether it was by word-of-mouth from the likes of Maldor Sancetti, who had been courted to become her Sith apprentice in the past, and who now ruled The Diarchy at the head of their Chancellorate; or by Diarch Reign, Diarch Rellik and Lyssara Thrynn: survivors of the Sartinaynian Crisis who each knew enough to expose Her to their associates in the Imperial Confederation and to the Imperial Exarch that she tried to bully into submission to try and protect Project Tion. With all this posturing, political manoeuvring and combined with the political pressure asserted through the I.C.D investigation; the threat that Her had made against his son; and the data stored within the archives of the D.S.D.T Initiative, Her knew felt that their time was numbered because von Strauss stood on the precipice of putting it altogether, and when he did, Her predicted that he would come after the snake that he had inherited from the old guard.

But Her was okay with all of that that if the end results justified the means.

Breaking her glare from the Exarch, Her turned to the door and wordlessly closed it behind them as she begun to make her way out of von Strauss' office. As Lt. Thif passed the Warden Primus, Her considered her options and felt that they were beginning to run out now. Two years of strategy had exposed Her to forces that were now out of her control. The ball was on the roll. A dye had been cast. Momentum brought them closer to salvation, or Armageddon. Dark forces waited for them all at Thandon. She had laid out the breadcrumbs to lead the Imperial remnants towards a conclusion that the Sith were their enemy. That they had to be eliminated if they were to not only survive, but instead thrive, out here in the Outer Rim.

Those same clues were likely to point back to Her now as well.

She stood on the precipice of discovery in her own right, and when those that Her had manipulated, lie and used (in the pursuit of this work) found out what she had done, they would threaten to take Her down with their enemies found in the realms of the Stygian Caldera. Her could only hope to survive a little bit longer now. To live long enough and see the citadels on Dromund Kaas flying the flags of the Imperial Confederation knowing that her nemesis had been put back into the dirt where they belonged. When von Strauss turned to put Her down with them she would like to think that she would die happy knowing that the work had been finished, and that the Sith were no more, before he put the proverbial to her head and pulled the trigger.

[ END POST ]
[ DIRT ]
[ OUTRO: Liza v Posteli - Poison Tree ]​

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