Awakening

[Ayden Cater]

"First Minister Lorans, allow me the pleasure of welcoming you and the delegation from Commenor to Corellia." The Corellian Governor-General gave a formal bow and turned to the lead Lorans and her delegation away. It was the first of many meetings designed to lead Corellia back into the galaxy centerstage. Though there had been a great deal of communication with dozens of systems, Corellia had been slow to emerge from the Age of Darkness, not because of a lack of recovery, but because of their strong isolationist tendencies that had carried them through the terrors of the Gulag Virus.

And now, with the recent election of Governor-General Caahl Nadell, the government was beginning to break out of that streak. And not everyone was happy with that idea. Already three attempts on Nadell's life had been made, with the latest one almost succeeding. Despite the seemingly relaxed nature of the meeting, the whole city was on essentially lockdown. Noone was being allowed out into the streets, under penalty of indefinite incarceration, or death.

That did not stop the procession from being watched. From numerous cameras, some hidden and others public, they were watched as they moved through the city towards the Governor-General's office. Behind his monitors, Ayden watched with a passive face, hands tented in front of his face. This wasn't something he particularly agreed with, opening Corellia up to foreign trade so quickly. Or rather, opening up trade routes to which he had no control. He couldn't risk moving on the Governor just yet. He had not yet solidified himself a position of power within the government. He'd have to eliminate half the cabinet before he'd be allowed to assume direct control.

Of course, there were other methods of control that were more subtle. Rising from the chair, even as the procession began to converse about the exact details of the relationship between Commenor and Corellia. Through the dark corridors, droids and shadows followed Ayden as he moved deeper into the bowels of the ship. Though its appearance was that of a derelict vessel near the end of its life, it was only a mask for the true purpose. Passed walls of holofeeds and recording devices that gathered information from across the galaxy, Ayden headed to one of the most heavily guarded sections of the ship.

A door slid open, revealing row upon row of brilliantly glowing blue cylinders. Some of them seemed to hold a figure, others appeared empty, but none of them were the target of Ayden's attention as he walked. Near the back, a single tube was filled with a larger-than-average shadow that made Ayden's lip curl into a grin. It had been awhile since he had awakened him.

Pressing a series of buttons on the console, the cryogenic tube slid away and rapidly began to thaw, revealing a menacing figure laying against metal. "Time to wake up, my friend. The galaxy has been busy while you slept. We have work to do."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

When Sarge wasn't needed - he slept. Cryogenic storage halted all function of the body, but the ghosts of vestigial images often haunted him upon awakening; half-felt dreams that were there and then gone, as though his body didn't want to acknowledge his mind had been active during suspension. His world was oblivion: solid black nothingness. His lungs and blood were laced with cryogenic fluids to keep him from becoming actually dead during storage - it would be coughed up upon revival, and the faint traces remaining in the blood would simply be absorbed by the body. It was nothing dangerous.

As it was, the man thawed, body reactivating as he did so. Fingers flexed automatically as if testing their new-found warmth and locomotion. Already, light shone against his eyelids and his mind raced to process the conflicting inputted data being fed into him.

Then, suddenly, he gasped for air - eyes snapped open. Consciousness was his once more.

Wiry muscles flexed in test, and the naked man rotated slowly to throw his legs over the side of the tube; so that he could double over and hack up a great lungful of a black tar-like substance; the live preserving gunk that kept him alive despite being frozen. He'd naturally not heard a word Ayden had said, but he knew what waking up meant.

He was needed for something. He was the Winter Contingency. When no one else could accomplish something, Ayden woke him: the warrior from Earth. Or so he'd tell you. Truthfully, he was batshit insane. Taking a moment to make sure he had all of his parts attached - including the most important between his legs - his brown eyes drift upward to the face of his old friend.

"Who now?"

 

[Ayden Cater]

Ayden watched the figure step out from his cryogenic stasis and gave a slight nod of approval. Everything seemed to be in order, not that there had ever really been an issue with the dethawing process. Still, it never hurt to be careful and thorough. But that would come later. For now, there were other things on his mind.

"Welcome back to the Land of the Non-Popsicles. It's been about forty-seven years since you got your princess sleep time. But it's time for work." Briskly, Ayden walked over to a console and started bringing up relevant information. This was how their relationship was; there would be jokes cracked, and then it was down to business. Despite the down-right unprofessional tone set, there was no doubt to Sarge's capabilities when it came time for serious work.

Projected from a nearby holo-projector, three company logos appeared. "Governor-General Nadell is meeting with Commenor's First Minister to lay the groundwork for a series of trades that will eventually establish permanent trade relations between our two sectors. Normally, I'd just send a cell out to get the job done, but this is different. For starters-" He tapped a few buttons, changing the image to that of First Minister Lorans. "The First Minister is a trained Jedi. And her company is similarly skilled."

"Add to that that negotiations are already underway, there is little chance that we can bully her into accepting us as the natural choice for a trade company, since we formed our trade branch during the Age of Darkness. The three companies I highlighted were selected because they were the ones who had operatoins before the Gulag Virus caused every sector to retreat within itself."

Letting the image flicker between company logos, Ayden turned to Sarge and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "We need to discredit the other trade companies, leaving us the only natural choice. But it can't be overt. We need for it to look as though the companies are corrupt and incompetent. Use whatever means you see fit, but no disintegration."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Forty-fucking-seven? Right. Awesome." Lifting his fingers up around his nose, he rubs his eyes to get rid of the imagined tiredness he felt. Or was it not imagined? He couldn't tell anymore. Standing up slowly as he was mindful of his still swimming vision and mind, Sarge twists his spine a bit to crack it audibly.

Brow furrowing slightly as he folds his arms over his chest, the man's eyes narrow a bit at the mention of Jedi - or Force Users in general. Being Force Dead however, had it's advantages; although being sensed by absence was still something he had trouble wrapping his head around.

But if there was one thing being awoken had never meant; it was indirect actions. Covert was always the name of the game; but it was typically 'covert killing' not 'covert espionage'. This was going to be a bit different than he'd expected.

"So let me get this straight. You woke me up... to hack some systems and plant files?"

 

[Ayden Cater]

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize some desk pusher was beyond your capabilities." Ayden smirked and crossed his arms in front of him before shaking his head with a sigh. "Honestly. What would people say if they found out some glorified pencil pushers were too much for you?" Of course things weren't nearly so simple, and he knew that Sarge had to be at least half-way aware of such. Getting into a facility undetected, hacking their network, and getting out, again without detection or leaving any evidence of being there was a tall order.

"Take a shuttle to Corellia and get started. We only have four days before the conference comes to a close. If you can't plant the evidence and get us in the running for trade companies, it's going to be much harder to spread our influence beyond this sector." Ayden turned and began walking out of the room, beckoning Sarge to follow. "I shouldn't have to remind you that our operation is still growing. If we're to get our hands into the pockets of every major system out there, we have to build up some public trust, or at least mark ourselves as respectable traders. Doing this will go a long way in helping establish that image."

Crossing through the door to the bridge of the ship, Ayden lowered himself into a chair and brought up a holographic map of their sector of the galaxy. "Commenor and Corellia; Gaining control over these two worlds would be a boon to our operations for the start. As long as we keep our vision, we cannot be stopped. Now, do you have anything else you want to complain about, or are you ready to get down to business?"

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you'd programmed me to be James Bond.", he retorted blandly with a look that suggest 'really'. Rubbing at his chin faintly in thought, the man's head dips faintly in a nod before following after his boss. Really, what he'd been told wasn't too much of a shock.

Setting up a subtle network of control was far more involved and complicated than setting up overt control, since more planning had to be incorporated, as did the need to stay from the spotlight. Walking onto the bridge and peering out to the stars, the naked assassin smirks faintly. "To defeat the huns?" He asks with a grin, making a reference only he'd get.

Snorting, he continues. "Complaints? Yeah, I'm fucking naked."

 

[Ayden Cater]

That last comment caused him to realize that, yes in fact, Sarge was still quite naked. For a moment, Ayden said nothing, did nothing, with this revelation. Finally he gave a shrug. "I thought you looked uglier than usual. Go get suited up. I'll get you some dossiers and a transport to the planet in the meantime." With that, Ayden turned and waved him off while settling down into a chair. His fingers began to dance over the holographic interface as he worked through the Corellian HoloNet.

Lorikson Trading Corp., Emerine Shipping and Trade, and Thermia's Outreach Trading Co.; The only three remaining trading organizations that still existed on Corellia from before the Dark Times. Discrediting Thermia shouldn't prove difficult. Though there was a bloodline connection there, her trading company was actually the second to bear the name. The actually Outreach Trading Company has gone defunct nearly a decade after the Corelian sector closed its borders. Only within the last few years had it been reformed.

That still left Lorikson and Emerine to handle. A few slicers profiles were put together for Sarge to look over on the ride over there. In the meantime, Ayden set out forging a flight plan with CorSec concerning a soon-to-be-arriving YT-2400 freighter. Since he had been a member of CorSec for a period of time, he had had the opportunity to plant some backdoors into their systems. So long as he didn't use them too often, there was next-to-no risk of them being found and removed.

When Sarge finally returned, Ayden turned and handed him a datapad with a list of several local slicers he could use if he needed to, as well as the locations of the three targets. "Use your own discretion on this one. If you have to resort to combat, try to keep it low-key. Bar fights, street scuffles. Things of that sort. The less attention we bring on ourselves, the better."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge nodded, before disappearing from the bridge to a nearby armory where his armor was always kept. For the most part, the crew reacted to him with a bit of shock, as most of them weren't around the last time Sarge had been awoken. The naked man walked into the armory and towards the back, where he opened a hidden panel and keyed in a 25 digit access code. Sure enough, out came the armor a few seconds later, raising from the floor.

The layered nanofiber muscles drew a few confused glances before Sarge stepped into the armor and thus activated it into closing around him. Inside was the bodysuit that would interface with the armor; he left it in there so that no one would try wearing it while he was sleeping.

Enfolding him within it's confines, the suit began activating it's systems, a synthetic male voice vocalizing the processes as they kick in, one by one. A few moments later, the red of his visor lights up as power courses from the battery and through the entire suit, allowing the nearly 200 pound armor to become nearly weightless.

Stepping from it's housing, Sarge flexes his hands and smirks. It felt good to be home.

Walking back to the bridge, he snorts at Ayden. "'Don't bring attention to us' he says to the man standing in armor that screams WHAT IM DOING ISN'T LEGAL."