Public The Umbrella with Strings Attached

[Liin Terallo]

The recording was made in a room that offered nothing worth remembering. No windows. No identifying features. No personal belongings. Just a chair, a table, and a single light positioned behind me, leaving my silhouette visible while keeping my face entirely in shadow. Even my voice had been altered, lowered and subtly distorted until it no longer sounded quite like my own. Was that enough to protect me from The Lord of Hunger 's organization? Probably not. This is a line of work that I am not accustomed to. I had spent more time preparing than I cared to admit. Not because I was uncertain about the warning I intended to deliver, but because I understood what might happen once it reached the public. There was a difference between suspecting something terrible and making an accusation that could draw the attention of an organization with resources scattered across the Galaxy. Still, silence wouldn't make the danger disappear.

I activated the recording. "If you're watching this, there's a reasonable chance that you've never heard my name. That's intentional. I'm not interested in recognition, political office, or personal gain. I'm here because I believe that the Galaxy is facing a threat that extends far beyond any single government, and I fear that by the time it's full nature becomes apparent, it may be too late to stop it." I paused, allowing the words to settle before continuing. "Over an extended period, I've gathered information from sources that I consider reliable. That information points towards a coordinated corporate expansion on a scale that should concern every government, every business, and every ordinary citizen who depends upon the systems that keep their world functioning." I leaned forward slightly, though the movement revealed nothing more than a shift in the silhouette. "The organization at the center of my investigation is the N&Z Umbrella Corporation."

I let the name stand alone for a moment. "Some of you will recognize it immediately. It's products, services, subsidiaries, and commercial agreements have reached into an extraordinary range of industries. Communications. Security. Transportation. Medical technology. Infrastructure. Government and military contracts. In many places, N&Z is no longer simply a company providing a service. It's products have become part of the systems upon which entire populations depend." I folded my hands on the table. "Consider what that means. When a government relies upon a private corporation for essential infrastructure, that corporation may gain influence far beyond the terms of any individual contract. When the same company supplies communications, security, logistics, and technology, the opportunities for influence multiply. And when enough of those systems become interconnected, the question is no longer simply whether a government can afford to stop doing business with a corporation. The question then becomes whether it can afford to function without it."

I had no intention of pretending that every contract was evidence of wrongdoing. That would make my argument easier to dismiss, and it would be dishonest. "Let me be clear. Corporate expansion, by itself, is not proof of a conspiracy. Nor is every government that purchases N&Z products necessarily compromised. But the information that I've encountered suggests something more troubling than ordinary commercial success. It raises the possibility that corporate influence is being used to shape government decisions, restrict independent choices, and place the very institutions meant to serve the public in a position where they can be manipulated."

My voice remained even, though I could feel the tension gathering in my shoulders. "If those suspicions are correct, then some governments may have become little more than puppets, acting under the impression that they remain independent while the strings are held elsewhere." I looked directly into the camera. "And the people living under those governments may have no idea."

The next part was more difficult. Not because I doubted it's importance, but because I knew how easily a warning could become an accusation when fear was allowed to outrun evidence. "Look at the Diarchy." I took a small, measured breath. "The Diarchy is gone. It's institutions have fallen, and it's people have been left to deal with the consequences. I cannot yet prove that N&Z was responsible for it's downfall, nor can I establish the full extent of the corporation's involvement in Diarchy affairs. But I have encountered troubling information concerning N&Z's efforts to establish a foothold there, it's attempts to secure commercial influence, and the Diarchy's own efforts to develop alternatives that would reduce it's dependence upon outside suppliers."

I allowed a moment of silence. "That raises a question worth asking. Did the Diarchy simply fall victim to circumstances beyond it's control? Or did someone within it's institutions begin to recognize the danger of the position it had entered? And, if so, did that realization make the Diarchy a liability to interests far more powerful than itself?" I didn't claim to know the answer. Not yet. "But if the Diarchy's experience was not an isolated case, then other governments may be facing the same danger." I straightened in my chair. "Any government that has become heavily dependent upon N&Z, or that has invested so deeply in it's products and services that replacing them would be prohibitively difficult, should be asking some uncomfortable questions: Who controls the systems you depend upon? What access does your supplier retain after a contract is signed? Who can monitor, influence, or disable the infrastructure that keeps your government operating? Are your decisions still entirely your own? And perhaps most importantly: if you decided tomorrow to sever those commercial relationships, could you actually do so?"

I let the silence linger. "These are not merely questions for politicians or corporate executives. They concern anyone whose communications, healthcare, employment, transportation, security, or daily life depends upon systems they cannot independently inspect or control." I leaned back, the light behind me casting my silhouette across the otherwise empty wall. "If N&Z is operating in good faith, then transparency should not be a threat to it. Truly independent audits, public scrutiny, and genuine alternatives should present no insurmountable obstacle to a corporation that has nothing to hide." My tone hardened slightly. "But if there is something more happening, if commercial dependence is being deliberately cultivated to secure political influence, if governments are being manipulated through the very systems they have purchased, or if those who recognize the danger are being silenced, then waiting for indisputable proof of every individual act may leave us with nothing left to protect."

I paused before delivering the warning that had brought me here. "The Diarchy may not be the last government to fall." I let the words settle before continuing. "Other governments are vulnerable. Their citizens are vulnerable. And the longer a population remains dependent upon systems it cannot control, the more difficult it becomes to reclaim that independence." I took a final breath. "I'm not asking you to accept my claims simply because I've made them. Investigate them yourselves. Demand answers from your representatives. Ask your governments to examine their contracts and establish independent alternatives to essential corporate services. Support transparency. Question arrangements that place too much control in too few hands." My gaze remained fixed upon the camera. "And don't assume that because a product is convenient, a service is profitable, or a corporation has become indispensable, that it must also be trustworthy."

I reached toward the controls, then stopped. "There is one final thing that I want you to understand. This is not a call to panic, and it is not a call to destroy the systems upon which innocent people depend. If there is a threat, we must be able to identify it, understand it, and dismantle it's influence without destroying the lives of those we intend to protect. Independence is not something that a government can claim simply because it has a flag, a capital, and a seat at the negotiating table. It must retain the ability to make it's own decisions as well as the practical means to act upon them." I held the camera's gaze for another moment. "If the Diarchy's fall teaches us anything, let it be this: we cannot afford to wait until dependence becomes captivity before we ask who holds the keys."

The recording ended. For several seconds, I remained seated in the darkness, listening to the quiet hum of the equipment. I had no way of knowing who would see the broadcast on the holonet, how quickly it might spread, or whether N&Z would dismiss it as the work of a paranoid conspiracy theorist. Perhaps it would be ignored. Perhaps it would provoke questions. Perhaps it would bring precisely the kind of attention that I had spent years learning to avoid. But the information was out there now. And for the first time, the questions no longer belonged to me alone.

Tags: OPEN

 

[Tertius C. Nargath]

A strange response would be given to the anonymous message spread over the holonet, the response being just as anonymous, but clearly coming from someone who happened to have captured several moments at the beginning of the Diarchy, there was even a small audio fragment attached to the multitude of images and videofiles which were effectively available to the public through the archives of the diarchy.

There were images of a man roughly in his thirties, well dressed and with a veritable smile on his face, shaking hands with the two Diarchs when their Diarchal palace was opened, the same trio of men smiling before the cameras when a nigh destroyed Bescane saw the contruction of the massive shipyards, and also the same men with similar smiles when the N&Z had openly announced that they would only retain a position in an advisory role as to let politics be done by the politicians, not the companies they dealt with.

"What were your thoughts when the Diarchy collapsed?"

"It was painful to hear the news... the fact I had friends, genuine friends within their court and their bureaucracy, people I would frequently socialize with and who I had the fortune of enjoying as both economic partners and ideological partners."

"Did you ever feel a similar pain?"

"Twice sadly... when I found a very talented and interesting woman on New Cov, whose grace and demeanor were so attractive and her intelligence and wit so exuberantly entertaining, I HAD to tie her to my company. I was elated when she decided to help me with the cultivation of Bio Molecules, something no company had managed to do on the native New Cov soil outside of the New Covians themselves. Her energy and spirit had carried the image of the N&Z far, but when she decided to leave in pursuit of her own goals, I couldn't stop her, for she was a free person and I had to respect her will and her choice."

"Is it hard to shake off the old shadows which plague the N&Z?"

"People are just that, people. They have memories, they have thoughts and feelings, and in a galaxy which thrives on resentment rather than cooperation, on grudges rather than forgiveness, it is not an easy task to wipe away the sins of the N&Z from the past. Though, while not to minimize the impact or the devastation we've wrought, I personally hope to steer the N&Z into a brighter future, where our services can help the ordinary folk, where talents are properly explored and encouraged so that we all may reach new heights..."

The voice was unmistakable that of the former N&Z Chairman Tertius C. Nargath, who had disappeared after having gone to the Sith Empire to try and find a peaceful resolution after the collapse of the Imperial Confederation.

 

[Rolm Doz]

OOC: Alright, time to debut my mostly-complete, up-and-coming Crime Lord!

Rolm Doz had always been fascinated by the HoloNet. Indeed, even in his earliest years, it had offered so much comfort in a world where he was essentially crippled for half the time (Hapans couldn't see very well in low light or darkened areas). Especially during his years in University, and moreso after the accident that cost him his legs, while all of the other Coronet City University attendees were out on the town and boozing their nights away, Rolm couldn't even leave his dormitory without his specially-crafted crystal goggles (which refracted and amplified moonlight to light up the night in an ethereal, ghost-like glow) to protect his eyes from the night's harsh darkness and those unfriendly shadows; as such, Rolm Doz often and constantly found himself locked away alone in his dormitory.

Not that he minded, as he generally wasn't a sociable, nor even a friendly person in any real capacity - that last part was just a facade. For his part, the Hapan had long preferred the HoloNet to his peers, and even to his doting and well-meaning Father.

Perched on the latest model of his five thick, crustacean-like cybernetic legs, Rolm's legless body hunched forward over the HoloNet Bar's terminal, his fat, golden fingers working over the metal keys, which lightly clacked in a manner more distinct of the ancient style keyboards, for some reason. To one side of him, a hand shifted, his pudgy wrapped in a thickly-crafted, black bracer computer as his fat hand located and lifted an immense soft drink, to tilt the cup towards his waiting, thick lips. Bald atop his head of gold, the abnormally large and strangely ugly Hapan slurped several deep, greedy gulps of the blue liquid from within the cup, before setting it back down to one side of his terminal. The now-free hand returned to working over those delightfully-clacking keys, even as the terminal shifted in its vast array of colors and displayed text.

He wished the local connection was faster. The local security force could very well be aware of just what he was doing even as he sat here, trying to hastily finish his lunch and move on!

His head shifted, to work his maw over and bite once, twice and even a third time in a single pass to down the remainder of his Nerf burger, to leave hot sauce working its way down along his fat-chocked chin, his maw closing noisily before it worked up and down in a frenzy, over slightly aged leaves and a three slices of Nerf patty that was a little too much on the lean side for his liking, with mineral-laced dark cheese melting against his teeth and down over his tongue most delightfully - at least the cheese had been worth it, even if the rest of the sandwich had been bland. Still, it would do until he could get to safer environs and perhaps even cook himself a meal from his restaurant's stock.

With hot sauce running down over three of the fingers on one hand, Rolm swallowed the final bites of his burger, coughing a little at the last minute, an action that sent a mixture of several pieces of Nerf patty, a little bit of cheese and a dribbling of saliva-infused sauce over the well-kept metal of the clacky-keys that rested beneath his fingers. He glanced at his terminal through the lenses of his white-tinged crystal goggles that offset the HoloNet Bar's dark ambiance, his free, clean hand rubbing a fat thumb and forefinger over his many chins. N&Z's healthy reviews, a section of the industry's Medical Wing or whatever it was called, had given his mobile starship restaurant a low recommendation, amidst other poor reviews.

While that most certainly WAS a problem, Rolm Doz thought he had stumbled upon something suspicious in regards to the company's finances and stockholders. However, that wasn't the point.... It was mostly that they had given his restaurant ship a bad review, and that was just intolerable.

He had seen his opportunity to cause chaos and had decided to take it. He began to copy a portion of the financial records, even as he was certain that programmers on the company's side were trying to work against him and isolate him. He rubbed a thick hand over his bald head of gold, wiping away sweat even as he watched the screen with the reverence of a priest before an alter. He even found a strange, anonymously-distributed message that his searches had picked up, and he decided to follow up on that information at a later point. It would all come later, but he has to get out of that HoloNet Bar now!

After a moment, he ejected the datachip, eagerly stuffing the first of a series of elements that might enable him to blackmail the company later on, at some point. It wasn't much, but the sources had been catalogued and the information was on record, so it WOULD be effective against those bastards later on. But, as with eating, there was just one problem: he wanted more!

Patience was necessary, however, as the time would come further down the road.

His thick fingers left a trail of acrid hot sauce dribbling down into the keys, towards the interior of the board itself, as he began to log off the terminal directly.

The fat cyborg, his overweight body perched atop his five cybernetic crustacean-like legs, shifted around with a metallic clattering of said legs, and he began to make his way towards the doorway.

The apron-wearing, skinny little chit of a silver-eyed, gray Rodian who had served him his fair meal and the drink moved to intercept him, addressing Rolm in Basic, "My terminal displayed that you were searching for-"

He never got a chance to finish.

Rolm Doz didn't even care about the security cameras as he held up a single pudgy finger to silence the young Rodian, shushing him loudly and producing a spray of spit, even as he outwardly remained calm and looked polite enough. The boy was probably addressing a security concern of his very first job!

Rolm addressed him calmly, "Ask me who I am." He spoke softly, and politely.

The Rodian tilted his head in confusion.

He never got another articulate word out.

Rolm's other thick fist drove itself upwards into the youth's stomach, and the Rodian doubled over, head colliding and coming to rest atop the shorter Hapan's shoulder. As he gasped and struggled, the Hapan's fat arms wrapped eagerly around the teen, as though embracing him, and his crab-legs carried them both behind the counter, out of sight and into the kitchen...

The security cameras only faintly recorded the beginnings of what could only be described as unhinged laughter bubbling to life.

Yet even then, soon it wouldn't matter...