Private The Delivery

[Vonar Ardinn]

Location : Hoth
Objective : Deliver Jerec Asyr to Jakob Benson


Natian Sanorge's Flagship , the Pellaeon III-Class Star Destroyer Overseer jumped out of hyperspace in orbit of Hoth. Just recently , the Directorate had captured Jerec Asyr and had begun the process of delivering him to one of the Directorate's most vital allies , a man known as Jakob Bensen who shared similar views to the Directorate and therefore proving to be a valuable ally. Jerec Aysr had been captured on the Wheel after having escaping the grasp of the Directorate over Pijal and Zophsis with the DIB soon fining out of Jerec Asyr's Force sensitivity and his skill in Mechu-Duru a skill that could be put to use for the Directorate that is when he would be "cured" from his "Insanity".

With James Cerensp accompanying him soon Jerec Asyr would be detained permanently with no hope of escape. As the Overseer moved towards the Hoth Asteroid Belt , Natian Sanorge told James Cerensp to escort Jerec Asyr to a shuttle in which would transport Natian , James and Jerec to the Iniquitous Sanitorium where Doctor Jakob Benson awaited their arrival for the delivery of his new "Patient".

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Imprisonment aboard the Subjugator-class star destroyer 'Enforcer' had been, if nothing else, interesting for a professional starship designer.

So far as he'd glimpsed and gleaned, the ship weighed in at a trim one kilometre, give or take. The maker's mark was Yorkell Industries, a good-sized manufacturer he didn't know terribly well despite it being headquartered on his homeworld.

The Enforcer didn't have many guns, but the guns he'd seen were sizeable long-range artillery, serious flak guns, or antimissile defenses. At a guess, it would do well at range or against small craft, but suffer in a capital brawl - for damage dealt, anyway. He'd come in via a tidy little hangar that probably fielded no more than four or five squadrons on a good day: a tradeoff for the heavy armour and what had looked, at a glance, like a significant and maybe exotic shield system. The sublight engines sounded and felt like nothing special. Hyperjumps, though, had a smooth twitch that suggested a high-quality rating, likely below 1.0. Considering how much time the Directorate spent running around the galaxy making noise, a quick hyperdrive made sense. This was the kind of ship whose commander probably liked to think of it as impregnable, short of engagement with a larger vessel. He assessed the Subjugator-class as designed for long-range, semi-independent operations of very specific kinds.

Still a pocket heavy cruiser in its way, though: much smaller than the Directorate Pellaeon III he'd boarded over the forest moon of Pijal. Once the Directorate shifted him from the 'Enforcer' to the KDY Pellaeon III dubbed the 'Overseer,' he stopped focusing so much on the details. This ship was relatively common in its way - or at least fielded by more than one government. No, once they moved him to the 'Overseer,' he paid more attention to the people.

And the walls. Since prison was in his future, prison of one kind or another, he figured he'd better get used to walls.

In due course he found himself in the big ship's hangar bay, being hustled toward a nice shuttle. Through the hangar's atmospheric field, he watched them approach an asteroid field, an unusually dense one, hazardous for larger ships. Far away, he saw a space station built around one or two asteroids.

He didn't resist, just went along.


Natian Sanorge Jakob Benson

 

[Jakob Benson]

Another patient was set to arrive. This time it was one being brought by the Directorate, a proven ally for the facility that Benson had created.

Not long ago Natian Sanorge had sent word of the impending arrival, and so Benson made the preparations neccessary for that very thing. There was a schedule for it all. 501-Z Police Droids were being diverted to the hanger. Normally Benson would be waiting in his Appointment room for the patient to be escorted to him, but this was going to be different.

He put on his jacket, straightened his tie, pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and began his trek to the hanger.

What an exciting day that this will turn out to be.

Jerec Asyr @James Cerensyp

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Natian Sanorge's shuttle was a dignitary transport, not a prisoner coffin: it had enough windows for a half-decent view even from where Jerec sat in his stun cuffs. The station looked...well, 'mad scientist' came closest. It gave him an ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach. Or maybe that was just anxiety incident to being delivered to a prison. And it was definitely a prison. That much would have been clear even if he didn't have an inkling of the Directorate's plans for him.

The installation looked like it sprawled over two asteroids connected by a handful of secure tether/conduits. Pretty clearly, one asteroid was the core base and the other encompassed the docking facility. That meant a whole extra layer or three of security between anything important and any way off these rocks.

As the shuttle touched down, Jerec got an eyeful of several 501-Z droids. The 501-Z was an ubiquitous old police model that had chased him all around Corellia a couple of decades back. They were smart, intuitive, and prone to carrying a serious nonlethal loadout. Exactly what you'd want in a prison guard droid. The Directorate, or whoever ran this place, took no chances. He swallowed against anxious heartburn, grimaced, and stood as Directorate guards hustled him out of the shuttle in cuffs.

The focus of attention here was clearly Jakob Benson: a pale, tweedy man about Jerec's size and in the same age ballpark. Whoever he was, he defined white-collar. Jerec considered saying something, anything, and decided against it.

 

[Vonar Ardinn]

Location : Hoth
Objective : Deliver Jerec Asyr to Jakob Benson

As the Ship came closer to the Asteroid Field it came to a stop in order to avoid the hazardous Asteroids. On the Overseer an DIB Operative arrived at the bridge where Natian Sanorge was on and approached the Head of the DIB. "Sir James Cerensp awaits you in the Hangar with the prisoner. " the Operative said. "Good then" Natian Replied. "Inform him that i shall rejoin him shortly. " The DIB Operative turned around to leave and then stopped and looked at Natian Once more. "Also sir , you have an incoming transmission from Maracel Yorkell II." the Operative said before finally leaving.

Deciding to take the message in his privately Natian Sanorge headed to his private quarters where a hologram of Marlon Sularen appeared before him. "Natian Sanorge. What is the status of the Agents of Chaos. Has Jeremiah McFarlone given us any news about them" asked Maracel.
"No sir , but we have received schematics for the Main Ships used by the Agents of Chaos. This should allow us to crush them decisively once they intervene over Hoth"
"Good everything is going as i have forseen , If everything goes well Kuat shall soon fall into the hands of the Imperium and i shall ave a few prizes for myself. Meanwhile what's the current status with the Prospector Jerec Asyr?''
"Everything is going as planned. Right now i am delivering him to our ally Dr Jakob Benson who runs a Alysium for the Insane. It should be a perfect place to confine our enemies for some time."
"Good very , good. Proceed as planned Natian i shall await you and James Cerensp on Balmorra soon enough." Maracel said and soon the transmission was over.

After his brief conversation with Maracel , Natian then rejoined James Cerensp on the shuttle and boarded the shuttle escorted by 10 DIB Special Operations Troopers. Soon they would arrive at the Iniquitous Sanitorium where the Shuttle would soon land in the hangar of the Alysium , located in one of the 2 asteroids . As Natian Sanorge , James Cerensp and Jerec Asyr exited the shuttle they were greeted by 501-Z Police Droids and Dr. Jakob Benson himself. Then Natian Addressed the Doctor "Dr. Benson a pleasure to meet with you once more. Here is the prisoner i have told you about having committed heinous crimes against the Directorate and murdering many Officers and Crew Members of an entire Star Destroyer."

 

[Jakob Benson]

The shuttle arrived right on time. Benson wasn't fond of delays. Yes he could always readjust his schedule when new patients arrived, but delays push everything back.

Natian Sanorge was a man of his word. He had proven himself on a few occasions already, and so the co-ordinates on where the Sanitorium was on any given week was always provided to him. Being deep inside an asteroid belt, the facility was always on the move. Anyone intercepting old co-ordinates would find nothing but asteroids. Benson loved that about the place.

He gave Natian a curt nod in greeting, his expression neutral for the most part. "You've brought me a serial killer, have you,? Well let's see if we can get to the bottom of his bloodlust. Thank you for bringing him to me. As per our agreement, this patient will be well taken care of."

His eyes turned to Jerec Asyr now. He studied the man briefly; how he held himself, his silence, all of it being filed away for their interview that would happen soon enough.

Benson turned to Natian once more. "I will provide reports on his progress. Is there anything else that you require?" Already he was dismissing them. Benson liked to be on his own. As one patient pointed out, this was his world and he was in control.

He preferred it that way.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Natian Sanorge Jakob Benson

No trial, no evidence, just a couple of powerful and corrupt men having a little chat. All it took, apparently, to get locked up in a secret psych prison indefinitely as a serial killer. His half-Umbaran heritage revealed even more of the nature of these men. Fear turned to anger, anger turned to hatred, and Jerec said nothing. In fact he shifted his attention from Sanorge, the doctor, and the host of guard droids and troopers. Instead, he just looked around.

The hangar was wide, cylindrical, and clearly the station's main supply intake. Different sorts of exits and conduits corresponded roughly to the four arterial tethers that led to the other asteroid. This whole place came off as quite secure, with no obvious vulnerabilities and a metric fethton of cameras. Out the hangar, far past tumbling asteroids of unusual concentration, was a blue-white dot, a planet. Somewhere out of the way, presumably, one of a billion little worlds.

 

[Vonar Ardinn]

Location : Hoth
Objective : Deliver Jerec Asyr to Dr Benson
Tag : Jerec Asyr Jakob Benson


"No Doctor that will be all. " Natian said as the Doctor dismissed him. Natian then looked at Jerec Asyr once more. At last he thought. A Major threat to the Directoraate's Mining Operations had been silenced and soon his friend Cole Merill would soon face similar consequences at the hands of the Directorate. Soon Natian Sanorge and James Cerensp along with their Troops returned to the Shuttle where they soon left the hangar to return to the Overseer. If Doctor Benson lived up to his reputation soon Jerec Asyr would soon be changed and would eventually be recruited in the DIB.

As Natian's shuttle prepared to land on the Overseer , Natian began to think on how he would move forth to capture Cole Merrill now that Jerec had been dealt with. What was originally perceived as a simple Prospector to the DiB had turned out to be one of the leaders of the OPA in which posed the biggest threat to the Directorate's interests in the Outer RIm. For James Cerensp Jerec Asyr could be simply used as a bait for Cole Merrill but Natian had other ideas. More sinister ones in which would not only allow the DIB to capture Cole Merrill but also inflict a huge toll on the OPA if they choose to protect their treasonous leader.

Soon Natian Sanorge and James Cerensp would arrive on the Overseer in which proceed to jump into hyperspace towards Bespin.

OCC : I'll now leave it to both of ya for this thread

 

[Jakob Benson]

Another curt nod was given to Natian Sanorge as he left. Benson said nothing as he watched them depart in their shuttle. And it wasn't until it had left the hanger that he turned to Jerec Asyr . "Well, now it's just you and me. This way." He turned and started down the main corridor to a little transport, a handful of Police Droids prodding Jerec to go along. "I am Dr. Benson and this is my facility. First we'll have you assessed. Following that you'll be assigned a room. Don't worry about running into other patients. Everyone stays seperate."

Once they boarded the transport, he turned to Jerec while the droids took them to their destination in the main asteroid. As always they were headed to Benson's interview room. "You can be confident in knowing that our conversations will be confidential. I record everything on paper, so no slicer can pry the information out and exploit it. You'll be provided proper meals and books to help pass the time. Any questions thus far?"

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Jakob Benson

"Thanks," said Jerec, the first word he'd spoken. "I'm a crystal prospector by trade, so that kind of science, scouting reports, that's what I like to read."

Benson came across as unexpectedly professional, which probably meant either deceit or delusion.

"What is this place? Sanorge rent me a cell at a private psych ward, I'm guessing?"

 

[Jakob Benson]

The transport took Jerec Asyr and Benson through one of the connecting cables, which looked no more than a large corridor. He took note of the subjects the man was interested in. It didn't quite fit with the charges against him, but first impressions tended to turn out that way.

"You could say that. The Galaxy is full of people that can be declared mentally unfit. So how does a crystal prospector find themselves killing an entire crew of a Star Destroyer? Such a thing doesn't happen by accident..."

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Jakob Benson

The tether's internal appearance as a large corridor was of interest; he'd have expected to see utility conduits. Maybe they were behind the walls, but that normally came with subtle labels attached, and he saw nothing of that. Working hypothesis: at least one other of the four tethers had a utility function, maybe excluding personnel transportation. Also of interest: the corridor's apparent rigidity. Not a lot of flex, at a guess. That implied interesting things about the tethers' ability (maybe repulsor-augmented) to resist movement between the two asteroids. Gravity would be pulling them together in subtle but inexorable ways. That implied that, in an emergency like a mass breakout or some such, Benson could flick a button, deactivate whatever antigrav system kept the two asteroids from moving together, and crush or kink the tethers to sever the link. Or, conversely, push them farther apart and rip the tethers in half. Not a safe bet, but a possibility.

"Don't tell me you believe Sanorge," he said evenly as they went along. "Here's the truth of what happened. Guarantee Sanorge has the records to back this up, but since his people blew up my ship and killed my entire crew, I don't have proof. Up to you whether you care enough to verify, Doc."

Bitterly, but precisely, he explained the events that had ruined his life.

"I was with a group of independent prospectors hunting rare crystals on a forest moon in the Pijal system. We were minding our own business when the Directorate sent a serious ground force, unprovoked, to capture us and the crystals we'd found. We piled into my ship, the Colichemarde, and took off - no shots fired. In orbit, we tried to make it through the Directorate blockade, nine capital ships - no shots fired. They locked onto us with multiple tractor beams and demanded that we hand over our cargo under threat. We deployed tractor shrouds - specialized devices that block tractor beams. Again, we hadn't fired a shot.

"They opened fire with capital ship warheads and laser fire from cloaked starfighters. Up to this point, and going forward, their actions were identical to piracy, no matter what flag they flew. The Directorate had no jurisdiction or presence in the Pijal system.

"The tractor beams stuck the Colichemarde in the hangar of a Kuat Drive Yards Pellaeon Type Three called the Collector. The prospectors and crew took up defensive positions at the airlocks and deployed probe droids for fire support. In self-defense, we took on Directorate troops in a firefight inside the hangar using small arms and my ship's few weapons. We kept them out, but no more than that.

"Later, we learned that a Jedi Knight from the Silvers was making a separate attack on the Collector's bridge. Her successful attack led to a Directorate evacuation order. The Collector's crew, including the soldiers we were fighting, evacuated in escape pods. The Collector began to fall toward the forest moon, either intentionally or as a result of the separate attack on the bridge. The Directorate fleet opened fire on the Collector, probably to kill us. We took some salvage of opportunity to cover our repair costs, piled into the Colichemarde, and escaped.

"That's the answer to your question. Later on they tried capturing me on Zoph, blew up the Colichemarde, killed my crew, and put a two-and-a-half-million-credit bounty on my head. You've got to know that none of this is legitimate and all of this is verifiable."

 

[Jakob Benson]

As the trek through the tether continued, Benson listened to Jerec Asyr relay his version of events. Of course he had nothing to verify it all with, most especially as he wasn't a lawyer or a judge. He was just a doctor of the mind.

"What are the crystals used for? Jewelry? The Black Market? Some kind of new tech?" If anything it would give him some insight as to why the Directorate went after him.

More questions would come later. Benson was quite interested in getting started. But here was not the place. As the transport stopped, Benson stepped off, with the police droids urging Jerec to follow. The interview room was just down the hall. And if Jerec studied the walls, he was sure to note the conduits for the laser gates which were currently turned off.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Jakob Benson

Those frequent laser gates were of interest. Clear enough, just running down a hall could get him disintegrated. Those gate emitters' power needs had to be immense, though. If enough of them came on at once, for long enough, the station could plausibly experience power failures. Something to note for down the line.

"The crystals in the Pijal system? They're called kohlen. You can use'em to make energy shields that'll stop a lightsaber, with off-the-shelf components. Us prospectors had a good tip, a forgotten moon, a forgotten kind of crystal - we were going to make bank."

 

[Jakob Benson]

Benson looked to Jerec Asyr as he described the crystals. They interested him of course, most especially when it came to protecting some patients from others that tried to break them out. A Sith Lord had attacked the Sanitorium months ago, and they attempted to kidnap Benson. But with the help of the Directorate, all was saved including himself.

"I shall have to look into acquiring some of those one day."

Moments later they were in the interview room. There wasn't much there but a desk and two chairs. Benson took to his own seat behind the desk and belted himself in before opening a drawer and removing a file. "Have a seat and we'll begin." The moment that Jerec did so, one of the Police Droids would remove the cuffs from him. All would leave the interview room so that it was just the two of them.

"For my records, please state your full name, age and employment." Benson brought out a pen from his pocket and prepared to write down the answers.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Jakob Benson

A doctor in a seatbelt, no restraint on the 'patient.' Just how fast could this room move? Jerec flashed back to brutal starship acceleration, inertial dampeners on the fritz, shoved back in his pilot's seat-

Ah. Gravity games. He settled into the chair, rubbing his wrists.

"Jerec Asyr, no middle name. Thirty-six, I think. Self-employed."

 

[Jakob Benson]

Benson jotted down the information, expertly quick. At times he'd glance up while his hand still penned down the letters. He was ever the observer.

"Self-employed in what profession? You mentioned going after some crystals earlier. Is that all that you do?"

He was building a profile. Every patient got the same questions. However Jerec Asyr was sure to be treated a bit differently. Yet that all depended on the answers that he gave.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Jakob Benson

"Prospector, engineer. Spent a long while as a shipwright - a starship designer - for Gallofree Transports."

Jerec indicated his questioner's seatbelt.

"So what happens if a prisoner attacks you? End up on the ceiling or just stuck in zero-gee?"

 

[Jakob Benson]

Benson jotted down the answers. This was all routine, yet it didn't appear as though it bored him. Despite his neutral expression, a glint in his eye suggested that he enjoyed every minute of it.

But then Jerec Asyr decided to ask questions of his own. At that Benson lifted his pen from the paper as he slowly lifted his gaze. "There are no prisoners here. Only patients." He paused for a moment. Perhaps Jerec was weighing his options, perhaps not. "And to answer your question, that is a couple of possibilities."

Looking back down to his file, he began asking his own set of questions. "Please answer these truthfully and honestly. True or Flase: I like reading mechanicle engineering holomagazines." Everyone got the exact same line of questions. It was all part of the process.

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Jakob Benson

"Come on, Benson. It's just us in here. No need to lie unless you're lying to yourself. No judge or doctor sent me here in cuffs, just a random neoimperial warlord."

Jerec held up two fingers. "Couple of questions, yes or no. If I asked to call a lawyer or my doctor, would you let me do that? If I tried to walk out to the hangar to bum a ride, how many steps would I get before those police droids took me down?"