Campaign Watch Your Back

[Gideon Saigo]

AN AGE OF REBELLION STORY
WATCH YOUR BACK

After nearly a year, CENTARES was on the verge of accession into the EMPIRE when the Imperial Embassy was bombed with the CENTARIAN RESISTANCE MOVEMENT claiming responsibility.

Not a day later, the 72nd Stormtrooper Company, tasked with a security detail of the Embassy, disappears during a retaliatory search and destroy mission against the Resistance Movement in the wilds. To make matters worse - Agent Ruswall, the ISB operative on Centares, has also gone dark after the bombing.

Immediately thereafter, IMPERIAL HIGH COMMAND has the Imperial Star Destroyer Night Hammer dispatched, along with other assets of the Empire, to investigate and root out the terrorists.​

​

Edge of Centares System,
Briefing Room 3, ISD Night Hammer

Holographic light washed his features as Commodore Saigo stared at the projection of a rifle and its characteristics. His pose was relaxed, sat back in the comfort of his chair with steepled fingers analyzing the hologram along with his aide Lieutenant Anter looming over behind his back.

"And this is certain?"

"Yes, Sir. Fully credible information according to the ISB. This is the same type of ghost gun the Alliance-backed Inteligentsia on Yinchorr used." Anter nodded, then tapped a button on the table changing the projection to a rectangular satchel, "The plastique used in the embassy bombing too."

"Sloppy... or purposeful." the Commodore narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "To use the same inventory here as on Yinchorr, it's foolhardy at best. At worst, COMPNOR's recent... 'turbulent times'... have allowed the Alliance to grow bolder and sharper in their covert dealings."

"... if it there is any Alliance finger in this at all. It could very well be a misleading trail." the Empire's enemies were many. One clearly stood out from the rest in this moment of time - the Maw. Saigo's eyes turned up to his adjutant, "What of this backup High Command has sent?"

"The last arriving vessel has docked in the hangar, Sir. All are being escorted to here as we speak."

"Very well. I do hope they've been inducted with at least some preliminary information for the task at hand. The sooner this meeting concludes, the better." he says, averting his gaze back on the holoprojection. Hopefully, the Empire has deemed it worthy to send at least promising assets to this mission.

ooc: throw curveballs, go nuts whenever you want

set pieces:
Rubyflame Lake
Muracie
Centares​

 

[Tulan Kor]

​

Scars.

Scars, and more scars.

That's what he had to show for his time. His life, his efforts, frequently fell in the category of 'vain'. Of empty victories and hollow celebrations. Victories that he secured on the backs of dead men and dead boys. Not men, not a chance to live, to understand life and what it was to love, to be a man. To find themselves. Cut down in their prime, cut down by enemy gunfire or by fire or by the blade of a religious zealot.

It wasn't so much that Tulan was sent here as a recognition for his skillset, his abilites or the past successes he had. He was sent here because he was the last, if not one of, the last of his kind. A true soldier, a true operator. If he had his way, he'd have three platoons of himself scouring the planet in brutal revenge. They'd leave trails of bodies and notes on them to make sure everyone knew they were coming.

He was not a sword, he was the dagger. The underhanded attack.

Tulan did not wear anything that denoted him other than a mercenary. Of which, on this place- there were to see on every street corner, scouring for work or going to another job. He'd pass by, unnoticed as everyone else.

Tulan was already on the ground, but was lead to a safehouse by a series of dead drops with a secure communication network. Shortly, Tulan's scarred, ugly face reared it's head in the meeting by a projection. His arms were crossed. Tulan could not smile to begin with- but he seemed more mad than usual.

​

"It'd be too simple for this to be the Alliance. I've never known the Alliance to operate like a sleeper cell. Sabotage and acts of terrorism are two different things. I'm on the ground already, inserted with help from our other assets. I'll try and work the underworld angle here, but no promises that they even have an idea of what this all is, or they even want to get involved."

Tulan spoke from experience- after all, he did serve with the Alliance prior to him being in service with the Antarian Rangers. And prior to that, he was a Bladeguard, and then after that- a mercenary. The Underworld was a good starting place, but he doubted it was the reason. The Underworld existed and survived by it's namesake. Operating overtly and against a full-fledged military was not a smart move, nor was it one that any criminal organization would want. The last thing they'd want is a relatively simple and easy criminal enterprise being interrupted by a friendly visit by a platoon of Stormtrooper Commandos.

And the subsequent being shot in the face part that usually interfered with making money.

No, this didn't seem like that.

But time would tell.

Gideon Saigo
​

 

[Thane]

P A G A N
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU
FIELD OPERATIONS GROUP
ISD NIGHT HAMMER
Gideon Saigo | Tulan Kor

END OF THE WORLD
​

The eyes were everywhere. Every world, every system, every city. While military intelligence took precedence of ISB's operations during the Civil War, the death of the Imperator expanded the Bureau's jurisdiction into almost every nook and corner of the now expansive state. A word wasn't spoken without their ears catching and no action was done without their eyes seeing. With the rise of power of Rurik Fel, the central government's authority blanketed many facets which would've been left to the planetary and local governments of the Empire.

No form of political dissidence could be tolerated any longer. Those who didn't raise their hands in salute as loyal hounds of the Empire would have their communications tapped, their wire transfers held for approval and their travels monitored.

But in the hundreds of worlds the Iron Sun dawned over, the seeds of chaos could still bloom in the shadows.

Centares was one of the newest satellites of Imperial control following the consolidation of the 'Iron Ring' and thus, the newest victim to the all-seeing eye.

An ISB agent wound up 'disappeared'. A rare occurrence and thus, special events called for a special liaison. In order to investigate the matters of Agent Call-Sign 'Aggrius', the ISB sent another one of its own from Field Operations Group, a group within ISB renown for what little was known about it. FOG was responsible for a myriad of ISB's activities from military intelligence and attache, sabotage, and deep-cover intelligence gathering to what was Thane's speciality, counter-insurgency.

​

He sat a seat next to Saigo, a cigarra between his cobalt lips as he took a draw of the sweetened herb, leaning forward as he glanced over the datapad once more, thumbing through pictures taken in evidence inventory fashion of several 'ghost guns', matching them to weapons profiled similarly on Yinchorr.

It highlighted what was the great fear of ISB that the agency dedicated a great deal of its resources investigating and hindering. Organized rebellion. To have sedition breeding in isolation within several different Imperial worlds was one thing. The Empire was an organized beast, a hydra of many heads- but to be faced against a consolidated enemy in the shadows? That was another threat entirely.

But even though this was an anecdotal link to another counter-insurgency operation conducted by the Empire nearly a decade ago, one that notoriously brought the Empire and the Galactic Alliance to blows just prior to the troop surge in the Third Imperial Civil War, it was a stretch to pin a link on the Alliance again. Weapons, like anything else, traveled so far as there was one with credits willing to pay up.

He ashed the cigarra out before speaking up.

"It is in the business of democracies to be so hypocritical isn't it? They called Imperial military action on Yinchorr an affront to Galactic stability and yet they may very well be willing to fund terrorist cells on our borders. If you might be able to, Commander...try and secure an arms deal for your 'mercenary cell' in Muracie. Get a video transmission of the interaction, emit your tracking signal and perhaps we can conduct an impromptu raid on whoever is distributing these arms, if we can manage to seize the inventory of weapons these terrorists are using then we may be able to track down similar armaments...and the origins of these weapons." Thane proposes.

 

[Don Belkora]

DON BELKORA
COMPNOR
Incognito

​

Muracie was your standard backwater of a city, cobbled together and overwhelmed with obscene architecture, refugees and criminals from every corner and ilk of the vast expansive galaxy. In other news, an intelligence gold mine to Belkora and his kind, for every manner of scum bag congregated in these sort of planets and carried news and rumours from all over. It was the best way to keep a note on the tectonic shifts in the criminal underworld; sitting in one of those rat hole dive bars told you more than any kind of overpaid wimpish crime analyst could say on the matter.

Belkora was the best to speak on it; he'd grown up among the underworld and since graduated onto greener but not any less scumbag pastures. Choosing to make great use of his past to forge links between the underworlds mightiest and COMPNOR, his work with the Sekiko Kaibatsu proved to be particularly fruitful. The beginnings of the deal forged on Rhen Var began to take shape; what it meant for the galaxy and the core worlds would soon be witnessed.

"Two glasses, please, one for my partner and me when he arrives." Belkora signalled to the bartender, who nodded and turned to pour two glasses of beer from the barrels lined on the wall. He turned his gaze left and rightward, looking for any sign of Jordi but was instead greeted by the scornful sight of the spaceports scumbags huddled on the bar side or in the alcoves running along the back. His own cover came in the form of an ID card detailing him to be a member of the city's maintenance personnel, complete with a dusty mechanics uniform and a whole backstory for the authorities. The cover allowed him and his people to move inconspicuously among the streets and gain access to the city's air vents and sewage system, denying the rebels any form of early warning about there being a presence of COMPNOR in the town. Not even the local police would know of the hit squad being there.

Jordi Massad Kazimir Tragovic Rika Hiro​

 

[Rika Hiro]

Asa Yubari|Centares|Dirty work
C O M P N O R
Tags: Don Belkora Jordi Massad Kazimir Tragovic Thane

Music

Yubari once answered to Harrsks orders and summons; now she worked for Belkora and his ilk. Harrsk having died long ago, leaving the HRD deprived of the first leader it had in its service to the order. Although, in Asas own limited way, she missed Harrsk and loathed Belkora and his criminal ways, he wasn't as loyal to the cause as he might've claimed to be. He was just a crook with a reformed cleaned up image and badge, remove those two and he was still that same slimeball that her unit had busted after prison so many years ago. The only difference between the old Belkora and the new was that he still carried out the same grisly murders and executions, just under an Imperial oath and ideological struggle.

A notification pinged on her datapad; she pulled it up and read the report. Belkora and a few others had disguised themselves as lowly maintenance workers, eschewing the shades and glamour that they'd acquainted themselves too in favour of a dirty disguise that let them move around. Asa respected the plan; no police were going to look twice at a few guys moving into an apartment block to fix some air vents. She always preferred the disguise of being an office worker or law enforcement member; the latter always fooled her targets into a false sense of safety and security, letting her into their homes before she shot them and disposed of the body. After all, no one was going to look in the back of a police officer's speeder trunk, were they?


<< "Agents, this is field agent Yubari speaking, the target is guarded by two bodyguards and located in the downtown district in what appears to be a large housing block, exercise caution as he may be insulated, with extra guards in adjacent flats over.">>

She felt a twitch of excitement.

That poor fool doesn't know what's coming for him if only she had had the pleasure and honour of dispatching the bomber herself. But no, the committee wanted Belkora and his crew of torturers to do the deed and send a message. After all her preferred method wasn't as explicit or demoralising as stringing a headless corpse over a bridge with a sign on it as Belkora and Massad were known to do.

Asa clipped the datapad to her belt next to her hidden blaster and left the balcony overlooking the targets housing block. Then, heading towards the staircase, she allowed herself a celebratory smirk. Once Yubari had put in the coordinates and sent it to Belkora, he and Massad would know where the "terrorists" were holed up.​

 

[Kazimir Tragovic]

W A R D O G

COMPNOR

Objective: Send a message

Tags: Don Belkora , Jordi Massad , Rika Hiro

Loadout: TSF-SBP/01 Heavy SmartBlaster Pistol, TXP SBG-01x Bodyglove, vibroknife

Asilos Magdalena

Resistance movements were always a fascinating concept to Kaz. Generally operating under the guise of independence and liberty, yet muddied by agendas, Kaz saw them for what they were... just another form of control. People tended to flock to the right rhetoric, and when an off-world power was involved, it became the target of that rhetoric. In the end, Kaz didn't see these people as free. So long as someone was pulling the strings, these pawns in this so called resistance would never truly be free. Some may have regarded Kaz as a hypocrite for holding such beliefs, considering his position, but there was one key difference...

The NIO earned his loyalty.

It was true that he had been bought, at least, initially. Bought with the promise of a clean slate. It's what kept him around at the beginning of his tenure with the NIO, but it isn't why he still remained. The truth was, he always had the option to run, to remain a fugitive. In fact, he was rather used to having to look over his shoulder. But instead of running, something surprising happened...

He actually enjoyed his work with Compnor.

So he stayed, even with his pardon granted. He would remain a loyal operative to the NIO, regardless of what that may have implied about his personal character. These would-be rebels could could call him whatever they like, it wouldn't matter. At the end of the day, they would all be in the ground.

Kaz tightened his grip around the blaster hidden in his clothes, taking care not to be too obvious. The apartment block was relatively quiet, aside from the occasional skittering of small vermin. The larger vermin, however, remained still within their safe house. Oh, how safe they believed they were...

He had found himself a nice, quiet corner to wait in, away from the prying eyes of his quarry. He remained in the alley next to a service entrance to the apartments, taking mental notes of the security detail. The guards did their best to keep themselves under the radar, but a trained eye could see them a mile away. They weren't professionals, not like those that Kaz had arrived with. As they turned the corner to the street, Kaz relayed a transmission.

<<Wardog here. Got two more that just turned the corner to the main road. Takes about ten minutes for them to complete a lap. Ready to move on your mark.>>

With the encoded message sent, Kaz went back to his surveillance of the building, casually working on the building's ventilation as he awaited further orders.

 

[Jan Beroya]

I N Q U I S I T O R

NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
SOMEWHERE | CENTARES
TAG: Gideon Saigo | Thane | Tulan Kor
GEAR: Armour | Lightsaber | Pistol |Vibroblade | Vibroknife | Grenade loadout

SHOTGUN

Finally an op more up her alley.

By no means was she inept at being on the front lines and taking the fight to those that deserved it. But she was no soldier either. She preferred working in the shadows of chaos to serve order.

Now, she was deployed once more to do what she was supposed to - tracking and hunting.

Raina leaned against a wall across from the other gentlemen in the room, one foot propped back against it as she worked through the intel again on her datapad. The chain of events and their evidence was interesting indeed.

Violet eyes glanced up as she listened to the gentlemen in the room as they spoke up.

"It'd be too simple for this to be the Alliance. I've never known the Alliance to operate like a sleeper cell. Sabotage and acts of terrorism are two different things. I'm on the ground already, inserted with help from our other assets. I'll try and work the underworld angle here, but no promises that they even have an idea of what this all is, or they even want to get involved."

"It is in the business of democracies to be so hypocritical isn't it? They called Imperial military action on Yinchorr an affront to Galactic stability and yet they may very well be willing to fund terrorist cells on our borders. If you might be able to, Commander...try and secure an arms deal for your 'mercenary cell' in Muracie. Get a video transmission of the interaction, emit your tracking signal and perhaps we can conduct an impromptu raid on whoever is distributing these arms, if we can manage to seize the inventory of weapons these terrorists are using then we may be able to track down similar armaments...and the origins of these weapons."

Raina lofted a brow as she cocked her head to the side.
"And what of the missing Imperial Assets?" she asked simply. "Or are we fixating on the weapons and their origins only?" She kicked away from the wall, standing up straight and resting a hand on the back rest of an empty chair. "Surely if we find either the Agent or at least some of the Troopers, we'll get answers to the rest and maybe more, gentlemen." she then stated, the Serennian accent leaking through slightly at the end.

There was clearly some reason why both an ISB Agent and entire Company of Troopers disappeared during the unrest where rebels were armed with weapons that didn't make sense for them to have - they uncovered something they shouldn't have. A two-year-old could figure it out.

How the plot thickened with every piece moving within the War.

 

[Gideon Saigo]

Edge of Centares System,
Briefing Room 3, ISD Night Hammer

"It'd be too simple for this to be the Alliance. I've never known the Alliance to operate like a sleeper cell. Sabotage and acts of terrorism are two different things. I'm on the ground already, inserted with help from our other assets. I'll try and work the underworld angle here, but no promises that they even have an idea of what this all is, or they even want to get involved."

"Perhaps." he simply replied. Plenty of rebellious entities in the Outer Rim, such as the Nebula Front, ended up resorting to terrorism in their fight against the First Order. The Alliance of old had also not shied away from similar crimes.

"It is in the business of democracies to be so hypocritical isn't it? They called Imperial military action on Yinchorr an affront to Galactic stability and yet they may very well be willing to fund terrorist cells on our borders. If you might be able to, Commander...try and secure an arms deal for your 'mercenary cell' in Muracie. Get a video transmission of the interaction, emit your tracking signal and perhaps we can conduct an impromptu raid on whoever is distributing these arms, if we can manage to seize the inventory of weapons these terrorists are using then we may be able to track down similar armaments...and the origins of these weapons."

"And what of the missing Imperial Assets?" she asked simply. "Or are we fixating on the weapons and their origins only?" She kicked away from the wall, standing up straight and resting a hand on the back rest of an empty chair. "Surely if we find either the Agent or at least some of the Troopers, we'll get answers to the rest and maybe more, gentlemen." she then stated, the Serennian accent leaking through slightly at the end.

"The answers may lie with the Agent, indeed." the Commodore nodded, setting his hands down on the handles of his chair. "Very well." he cleared his throat, then, "Commander Kor, work the underworld angle. Find the weapon suppliers, alive, see if they can lead us on a trail to the Resistance Movement. I'll dispatch an unmarked squad of Stormtroopers as a backup should you commit to a sting operation. Agent Pagan and the Lady Demici - you'll work the missing agent angle. As for the 72nd Company - I'll take care of that." he pushed himself up, a slump of shoulders where one would've expected an Imperial straight back. Of average height, far too slender, and eyes always searching for something on the ground, Commodore Gideon Saigo looked anything but imposing. "There are a few smuggling freighters impounded in the hangar, take one as your means of transport. We wouldn't want to spook our hosts with a whole expeditionary force."

"Lieutenant, prepare one of those vessels for me too. Make sure it is set up with field operations equipment. I have a meeting with the Centarian diplomats to attend to. They've been eager to cooperate."

Tulan Kor Thane Jan Beroya
​

 

[Thane]

P A G A N
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU
FIELD OPERATIONS GROUP
ISD NIGHT HAMMER
Gideon Saigo | Tulan Kor | Jan Beroya

REMAINS OF NOTHING
​

Quick and painless. He didn't much care for meetings that were anything otherwise- but Saigo seemed to be a man to the point, adopting the style of leadership that involved those below his command taking accountability in their independence. It was preferable to how the Bureau often handled its assets, but with its mission set now so expanded across Imperial operations, the greater agency had to be levied toward their operatives. Bureaucracy made Field Operations burdensome as is, what little he had to tangle within the Combat Control Teams of the Starfighter Corps was nauseating on its own.

"Agent Aggrius will have the answers, dead or alive. We'll at least get a start to the trail. The Bureau had his last correspondence on 11.20.870, from his assigned apartment in the industrial district of Muracie. That'll be the best first step." Thane remarks, standing up from his seat at the briefing table as the meeting concluded, standing up with a nod in the direction of Saigo before moving to leave with the Imperial Knight. He'd worked with the Force Corps before, hardly had any issues in the field though it was mostly in his time in conventional arms, on the battlefield and not in investigative works.

With a storm pattern chest plate in two color 'Bastion' pattern camouflage and additional tactical webbing over his ISB uniform.


"If this were one of those paid thugs that work for COMPNOR proper I'd guess they dozed off from the several pounds of DEAF they were supposed to traffick, but an ISB agent? Less common they end up missing this way, certainly not on these sort of worlds. These sort of assignments are usually seen in pretty high regard. Not dealing with Sith, Jedi or even internal Imperial bureaucracy. Centares is hardly 'undeveloped' either, being the supposed 'Jewel of the Mid-Rim' it is. Very little danger, risk or liability to be had out here. Either an outside party knew Imperial resources would be exposed out here and lurched at the opportunity...or he willfully defected, knowing well being on the periphery of the Empire's operations would give him the means to slip away clean." Thane all but thinks aloud as they embark aboard the impounded freighter. Technoid make, not unlike many of the smuggling vessels of the Core, Colonies and Mid-Rim. They'd slip by any suspicions well enough but as soon as they'd disembark from the vessel, Thane was hardly worried about being identified in his Field Operations kit once they landed.

A few minutes from the space port and they were within the apartment complex that boarded Agent 'Aggrius', appearing before his apartment number Thane hardly bothered with making an indication of whoever was inside that they'd be entering. Instead, he pulled a slicing spike from his slicing kit on the gunbelt around his waist before pressing it into the scomp link to force the door unlocked.

But once it was unlocked, he elected not to open the door and instead, flicked off the automatic opening, crouching down to the bottom of the door before forcing it from the ground by prying it off with his finger tips and letting it slowly slide up until it was an inch or so from being fully disengaged.

He motioned for her to enter before doing the same, letting it shut behind them.

"Could've been a toggle switch attached to the door's mechanism if he was compromised by rebel terrorists, couldn't exactly allow the risk of us both being turned to red mist as soon as we opened it." An IED, pressured to activate as soon as the door was opened. He immediately began to comb the apartment in search of anything of interest.

"Last domestic operation 'Aggrius' was assigned to was investigating the suspected terrorists who organized the Bastion riots back in '65. He's an 'old head' in the Bureau so to say, never met him personally but I've seen half a dozen or so internal memos with his signature, hardly anything of importance but- he's not exactly a man to make rookie mistakes. Try and look for bugs, anything else of note we can find." He suggested as he made way for the office of the agent's residence, sitting down before the holo terminal, using an ISB authenticator to pass the login, he managed himself into the personal terminal. Last work log matched with the date of his disappearance.

A wire transfer request, three subsequent wire transfer requests more precisely- all into the six-figure range. All approved. He cited these as 'diplomatic concessions, local authority bribes, etc.', a common reason and a common charge when dealing with smaller planetary governments outside of Imperial space, basically a corruption tax to continue operations or make headway. But...these wires don't line up what the Centares Planetary Authority cite ever receiving from the Empire, less it was seeded to others immediately...or it was never meant for them.

"Our man was hurting for money...not that Centares is exactly upper-level Galactic City. I'd hate to assume the worst but- an influx of cash matched with newfound black market weapons? I'm not sure I like the feel of it. Did you find anything?" He inquired to the Imperial Knight.

 

[Jordi Massad]

SCIMITAR
COMPNOR

Tags: Don Belkora Rika Hiro Kazimir Tragovic

Jordi's Loadout
Silenced pistol
Switchblade
Maintenance-overalls
Firm and On-Site IDs
Rigger boots
Toolbox

'Good to see you, sir. Ever the early-bird, even now.'

Don Belkora had arrived early, and had ordered drinks as a precursor for their cloak-and-dagger endeavours that day, a little something to take the edge off, a little something to celebrate the Tetan's rapid rise to prominence within the generally-shrouded confines of COMPNOR's command-structure. An auspicious day for Don and his Kandaran subordinate, and for more than just the Tetan celebrating this stratospherically-fast climb through COMPNOR's career-ladder, as this was also Jordi and Don's opportunity to properly prove their own strategic merit in the eyes of the other agents, the handlers and station-chiefs respectively. There was absolutely no doubt in Massad's mind that this was their chance to solidify their still-tentative positions within the organisation, but little did his colleagues know that Jordi enjoyed real challenges like these, taking joy from the chance to achieve the very same flawlessness that would be expected of them going forward - not unlike the challenges the Kandaran faced on home-soil.

*'Para mi?'
**"For me?"

Though on this occasion, the challenges faced would be much more difficult, more delicate than the harsh paramilitary actions of his previous career. Jordi knew this task would require more subtlety this time around, and though it lessened the chances of a massive shootout, Massad couldn't help but feel the knife's-edge more intensely than ever before. 'My thanks for being chosen for this op, sir. No idea why you would with all the better choices in the organisation already, but rest assured - I have every intention of showing you what this Kandaran can achieve.', the Kandaran continued, pausing to raise his glass in a toast to their good fortunes before devouring the entirety of the glass's contents. Belkora would smirk and follow suit in consideration of Massad's eagerness to get to work, already waiting for word from Asa Yubari by the time Jordi arrived, though in whispering,'I have everything we need, brought a civilian transport-speeder with me - easy to overlook.', the Kandaran would prove his worth in the preparation phase also.

<"Agents, this is field agent Yubari speaking, the target is guarded by two bodyguards and located in the downtown district in what appears to be a large housing block, exercise caution as he may be insulated, with extra guards in adjacent flats over.">

<"Coordinates received, deploying now. Scimitar out.">​

'Follow me, sir.'

Screwing silencers on their disruptor-pistols before throwing on the overalls and rigger-boots, the duo looked set to be taking well to COMPNOR's preferred quiet approach, opting to save the organisation from any unwanted coverup-headaches in the process. As the Kandaran passed the identification cards, the nearest toolbox and a cigarette to his Tetan commander, Jordi lit both cigarettes, took draws from his own and muttered,'I'll leave the silver-tongued endeavours to you, should they arise and all. Just nod to me whenever you need someone put down quietly.', exhaling the next draw as he started the engine and put the transport-speeder into motion. From there, it would be a slow and quiet journey to the target area, and though their mission's parameters were as strict and urgent as one might expect, both Don and Jordi would enjoy the peaceful transit from one place to the next, going at their own pace and wordlessly take in the many sights and sounds along the way.

As far as Jordi saw it, little spells of meditative wordlessness were yet another perk to field-work, and it was looking very much like Belkora was of a similar mind that day; yet the Kandaran couldn't help but wonder how long the good days would last, understanding through his experiences with the paramilitary organisation he'd left behind him, understanding that all good things come to an end eventually.

 

[Djorn Bline]

V E N O M _ S N A K E
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
CENTARES
Gideon Saigo

Centares.

A backwater, yet developed world of little use save for traders and merchants before drifting into the lawless Outer Rim. A stereotypical frontier world that invited criminals and scum alike with smugglers attracted the most to conduct their illicit activities. Even with New Imperial occupation that wouldn’t change as there would be outlaws seeking to undermine the Empire.

As they had already.

A Stormtrooper unit gone missing along with an ISB agent. Enough noise to capture the attention of High Command and wanting results from those gone to investigate this matter. Already a group of rebels boldly claimed responsibility, but that was just the surface; they’ve hardly come to scratch it and know how shallow it was. Rebellion was just another style of organized crime, they’d see how well organized these terrorists were. Already COMPNOR analysts began their work based on the little evidence and theories gathered.

Bline's thoughts so far?

This was beyond Centares. A crossroads for the Parlemian Trade Route and the Triellus Trade Route. He was certain there was an exterior force plotting from the shadows, parsecs away from Centares. They weren't just looking for the missing soldiers and agents, but the ringleaders of these terrorists and their associates. Commander Kor already ruled out the Alliance as a belligerent factor, but Djorn wouldn't.

Centares was yet to be officially annexed into the New Empire, meaning its politics were not indomitably Imperial. There was sure to be politicians who served the regressions of democracy, no matter how minor or major their position was.

<"Commodore,"> the Operative reached to Saigo via encrypted comms, <"any of the diplomats democratically aligned, or are they all just Imperials?">

 

[Tulan Kor]

Gideon Saigo l Jan Beroya l Thane
​

"Copy."

And with that, Tulan terminated the transmission. He would have preferred to venture alone in this endeavor, but the powers that be- or perhaps the woman herself, attached herself or was attached to him.

Either way, she was there, and he couldn't do anything about it. Tulan wasn't a fan of hers to begin with. He trusted force users about as far as his the edge of his knife or the barrel of his gun went. Dorn Company- and later even Demon Company, was not exactly noted to be fond of force users.

She was pretty, at least.

An inch taller than him too.

He liked his ladies tall.

The video conference went dead, and once Tulan was certain that they were off comms with higher, he half-turned his head.

"COMPNOR has got this all out of whack. We make any moves that result in a raid, every lead we'll get is buried. If we're to work the underworld angle, any assets, gear, comms- those are all in the wind by now. On a planet that moves this fast and has this much money floating around, equipment like that was probably on a transport hours after they went missing. If they're even missing."

Tulan walked over to a bag resting on one of the chairs, unfurling it and removing his equipment. He was an old-school commando in a sense. Kaiden Rohn was the same way, and the tricks of the trade that were less reliant on signals and electronics. To that end, compared to her- his selection was light.

A slugthrower handgun.

A suppressor, quick detachment and attachment.

Two magazines, plus the one in the gun.

A spring-loaded vibro-knife.

Flexible metal wire with two rounded ends. A garrote.

And a pair of brass knuckles.

"Things are easy to move, people are not- especially that many. A whole detachment of Stormtroopers doesn't go off the radar without a peep. That just doesn't happen. There's bodies, there's mail, messages, packages. Food to be eaten. If they're together and they're hiding or being hidden, they need supplies. Food, toilet paper. That's the route we're taking. Arms and mercenaries be damned-"

He pivoted, facing her after placing the gear on various parts of his body.

"This is now about logistics. Logistics win wars. Or, we find out what happened to several dozen bodies. Even that is a lead in of itself. But that comes from bad guys. So you and I are making a little trip down bad guy lane."

-----

There was a brief walk, a silent speeder ride where Tulan didn't feel like saying a word to the woman, before they were in "bad guy lane". In reality, it was a single street, but it was as Tulan described. Every scum and villain on the planet seemed to frequent it, a hive of activity. Little worker bees buzzing around, making money for their masters or themselves. It would be difficult work to find a lead, but Tulan had a few contacts. And a few greased palms, the proper amount of credits in the left hand could lead to the right results.

It was just a matter of their approach. Tulan split off from her shortly after arrival, leaving her to her own devices. He slid a communicator earpiece in her pocket before he went, and disappeared in the crowd.

Tulan going off-grid usually meant a scene later on, but for now, he seemed poised and contained.

Seemed, at least.

​

​

 

[Jan Beroya]

I N Q U I S I T O R

NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
SOMEWHERE | CENTARES
TAG: Thane | Gideon Saigo | Tulan Kor | Djorn Bline
GEAR: Armour | Lightsaber | Pistol |Vibroblade | Vibroknife | Grenade loadout

PICKING THROUGH THE CARDS

Well the briefing was painless.

The trip down to the surface slightly less so. Agent Pagan wasn't exactly quiet on the way. The information bubbling forth was crucial enough, but damn. Do Chiss ever draw breath when they speak?

At least it didn't take long for them to reach the missing Agent's apartment once they hit the surface. The Inquisitor cocked her head to the side as she watched Pagan fiddle with the door, keeping herself against the wall to the side of the door - it wouldn't be fun if they got surprised by all manner of unpleasantries.

Agenty ritual concluded, Raina was motioned inside.

"Could've been a toggle switch attached to the door's mechanism if he was compromised by rebel terrorists, couldn't exactly allow the risk of us both being turned to red mist as soon as we opened it."

Her violet gaze fell on him as she stepped past.
"Well thank you for your chivalry, Sir." she quipped with a smirk, but her hand rested on the saber hilt on her hip nonetheless. No knowing who or what waited inside.

The door shut again behind the two of them.

"Last domestic operation 'Aggrius' was assigned to was investigating the suspected terrorists who organized the Bastion riots back in '65. He's an 'old head' in the Bureau so to say, never met him personally but I've seen half a dozen or so internal memos with his signature, hardly anything of importance but- he's not exactly a man to make rookie mistakes. Try and look for bugs, anything else of note we can find."

"Hardly seems like the person to 'slip away clean' then. There's something fouler attached to all this than just a dirty agent." she said as she started moving toward Aggrius' bedroom to see what she could fish out there.

Standing with her hands on her hips in the middle of room, she looked around after combing through most things without luck - including underwear. If she had to stick a bug or ten on an Imperial agent, where would she put it that wasn't conventional?

After a minute of musings, her eyes fell on the plastic pot plant that stood on the night table. Moving over to it, she crouched down too look at the faux leaves from all sides. She then chucked out all the little stones on the bed that held the "plant" anchored.

What surprised the Knight was that it was not a bug on the other end of said plant. Instead, wedged into the whole plant seemed to be a data chit of some kind.
"Aggrius, you sneaky bastard." she mused before rising to her feet, faux faux plant in hand.

She returned to Pagan in the next room.

"Our man was hurting for money...not that Centares is exactly upper-level Galactic City. I'd hate to assume the worst but- an influx of cash matched with newfound black market weapons? I'm not sure I like the feel of it. Did you find anything?"

"Well, you can always have his socks. Or his not-fake fake plant." she said as she handed over the concealed data stick to the ISB Agent. "No clue what could be on there, but he or whoever else went through some lengths to hide it. Next breadcrumb." she added.

What was it with people and deeply webbed conspiracies?

 

[Don Belkora]

DON BELKORA
COMPNOR
Incognito

​

Belkora took his partner's hand firmly and shook it, nodding at Jordi's question of if the drink was intended for him. Ever since his superiors took him on into the fold, Massad had been a key agent and participant in the drive to develop COMPNORs fighting capabilities in the core. Without him and the other select few sent out to work with Belkora, he might've imagined the scheme would've been a hard sell to Saigo and the others in the higher-ups. However, times changed, and the conventional spec ops missions of the past proved to be not as essential as they had been against the Sith Empire; instead, this was a new type of conflict they faced and one which required a hybrid approach to it. Belkoras advocacy of arming the underworld and using a mixture of narco-terrorism and brutal death squad Esque assaults on the infrastructure of the SIA had been strong from the start. It was better to go hard and start from the bottom; they could not go face to face with the SIA without suffering egregious losses in manpower and bringing about a war between the two states. Rather, Belkoras men would start small and spread like cancer; before the SIA would know it, COMPNOR would've spread all over the Core worlds and prove problematic to fight. The criminal aspect served another purpose to Belkoras concept of a 'dirty war'; using the Sekiku Kaibatsu and other gangs as proxies and disposable manpower meant that COMPNOR would not have to commit significant numbers to the core nor lose important material and lives.

"My pleasure."

Belkora raised a toast to his Kandaran counterpart and downed the drink as quickly as he could, sliding the empty glass across the bar for the bartender to catch as he took leave with Jordi to go outside. Then, preferring to get straight to the job and spare the fun until later, as the bomber, if given adequate time, might move to another safe house elsewhere and leave him and his people back at square one. He sighed loudly, excusing himself past the throngs of people entering and exiting the bar as he followed Jordi out into the busy streets. Both Belkora and Jordi threw on the worker overalls and began setting off for the location, their drive mostly quiet and scenic save for the distant music on the radio and the roar of traffic above in the city skylines.

"I expect trouble Jordi, this fucker is not going to be on a sabbatical, he'll have boys of his own; if he dies, he dies, but as long as we get the evidence and leave a message, it'll suffice."

He spoke calmly, elbow leaning on the window side of the speeder, cigarette end burning brightly as he took a hit and exhaled sharply. Belkoras blaster rested in his lap, the neon lights of the road signs above reflecting brightly off of his shades. Running a hand through his hair, he leaned forward and changed the radio channel to something more suiting to what lay ahead.

Jordi Massad Rika Hiro Kazimir Tragovic ​

 

[Nukth Kelga'an]

CAMPAIGN
WATCH YOUR BACK
OPPOSING | CENTARIAN REBELLION
PINGS | Gideon Saigo | Tulan Kor | Jan Beroya | Thane | Djorn Bline

GOVERNORATE DEFENCE FORCE
TASK FORCE TRACHTA | HEAVY SUPPORT GROUP
TODHUSARS' CORPS | 3RD PARACHUTE COMMANDOS COMPANY BANSHEE
EQUIPMENT | HK-01E JUMPSUIT | DM&S AR-MAS F1 RIFLE | CORTOSIS SWORD

​

ANAXSI: NOT THIS BAD, PROLOGUE
— 870 ABY, TodHusars' Headquarters, Yinchorr.

Nukth Kelga’an was on Yinchorr, the Governorate of Julius Haskler. Everytime he came here, he thought about his homeworld: Anaxes. On his planet, a people named ‘The Gowli’izes’ believes in a divinity who would have created Anaxes millennia and millennia ago, before any kind of Republic, Empire or stuff like that. The captain knew that each civilization had its own genesis and its explanation about how its world had been made during an ancient era — but he believed in this goddess, no matter what the Imperials could think about her. Kelga’an wasn’t someone who was an idiot: he perfectly knew that he should be badly considered by his counterparts all around the Imperial Worlds. But the only reason why he believed in this ‘Lady of Anaxes’ was because he looked at a sculpture made of granite, representing her in arms — with an arrow, a spear, a shield and a sword. All of those arms were traditional ones. And all the TodHusars knew how to use them, according to Gowli’ize’s martial arts. On the piedestal, a simple sentence had been engraved in the rock, after Haskler’s insurrection:

« À TOUS NOS FRÈRES TOMBÉS SUR NOTRE MONDE ET PAR-DELÀ SES FRONTIÈRES, PUISSE ANAXES LES PROTÉGER ÉTERNELLEMENT. »​

« For all our brothers fallen on our world an’ beyond its frontiers, » Kelga’an read in his mind as he was thinking about his homeworld, « may Anaxes protect them forever. » He thought about this famous day of ‘65, five stang years ago. From this point, everything had been changed, forever.

« Captain Kelga’an! » a trooper in the corridor said while running to him. According to his uniform, he was a member of the communication department of TodHusars’ Headquarters. Kelga’an turned around, facing the soldier and squinting his eyes. He tried to remember his face but thought that he didn’t know this man before this moment. How could the troops be replaced this fast? That was a true mystery. « Captain! » the soldier tried, breathless from his race to the officer, « We’ve got important news from Defence Force Command! Directly from Bastion! » Kelga’an widened his eyes. « From Bastion, you said?! What’s the matter? » The man nodded as he was trying to recover a normal heart rhythm. « Yes sir, directly from IMPCOM’s headquarters! There’s something bad in the Centarian Region an’ it should be linked to the Yinchorr incident. » Kelga’an nodded slowly, taking a look at the Lady of Anaxes. « Oski, boy. Follow me in my office, we have to talk. »

« So, can ya gimme information about what y’know? Tell me everything, even if you think that it’s not important or not interestin’ to me. Understood? » The communications officer nodded to the captain, swallowing as much as he could before talking to him. « Well, we just received a call comin’ from IMPCOM’s base on Bastion. It said that we had to copy as fast as we could to confirm that we were able to help them in the Centarian Region. I know there have been some problems with a local form of rebellion, but nothin’ more, y’know how they prevent us from what happens when there’s an Imperial message on our lines… »

Kelga’an took a time to think about those new pieces of information. The situation was terribly bad for the Empire, and he knew that he had to act if he wanted his Banshees to shine into the IMPCOM. That was the way to liberate Anaxes, he was sure of that. « Is it everythin’ y’know? — Yessir! — Well, that’s oski. Prevent Major AC-O-Two-Two an’ tell her to take three infantrymen, a sapper, a gunner an’ a driver with her. We have to show to those Siefoxes that the Banshees are here… »

ANAXSI: NOT THIS BAD, PART I
— 870 ABY, ISD Night Hammer's briefing room, Centarian Region.

Captain Kelga’an waited in Night Hammer’s briefing room, listening to the discussion between the officers from COMPNOR, IMPCOM and IMPSOC concerning what they had to do with Centares and the rebellion that took place on it. As they were talking and exposing their arguments, he looked at them in order, observing their clothings. Kelga’an wore his traditional Banshee’s armor, with Imperial medals and awards hanging from his jumpsuit. He did not really like the parad uniform, and he thought that it was not appropriate for those times — for this critical brief especially.

He agreed with the only non-human in the room — a Chiss known as ‘Pagan’ and who was supposed to be a COMPNOR agent engaged in this mission to find and secure Ruswall alongside Lady Demici. Kelga’an didn’t know those people before but he was sure they could be good counterparts for this special operation.

The captain stepped forward and cleared his throat before declaring: « I have Task Force YIN-2GHW-003 ready to bring support to Commander Kor, if you want. Seven soldiers who can operate disguised or in uniform, as you want them to be, » he said to inform his partners of what he brought with him for this operation, « I thought they can come as a reinforcement if there’s any desperate situation for Kor’s troops, can’t they? »

— 870 ABY, ISD Night Hammer's hangars, Centarian Region.

Major Twice looked at her men. She took who she found in the headquarters before jumping here, but she wasn’t sure that they were the best. Basically, they were Banshees, so they actually were the best ones. She took her datapad and then climbed on a munitions box to start a short brief. « So, here we have… AC-034 — You can call me Forr, ma’am! — Good to know. AC-062? — The name’s Sixto, sir! — An’ mine’s Twice. You’ll be our medical officer for this mission. AC-047? — Here. — No name? — Nope ma’am, only ‘47 or Four-Seven. — That oski. AC-055? — Dub-Five, Major, or just Fi! — Right, little boy. You’ll be my gunner, so I count on ya Fi. AC-018, I a’ready know ya Pal. Aaaaand… AC-122! — Walker’s ready! — Great, you’ll be our pilot. » Sixto raised his hand « What’s the matter, sir, why are we here? »

Twice smiled at him as she was going down by jumping on the floor. « A’right, very good question, Sixto. We’re Task Force YIN-2GHW-003, callsign ‘CENTARES SPEAR’. Good name, right? Our job is not very clear for the moment, but it will be clearer in some minutes, when the Captain will tell me that we can jump into the battlefield. Now, I can tell ya that we have a DM&S-251 with us, Le Sacrement, an’ I can tell ya that you have been brought here ‘cause you’re the cream of the crop, » Twice declared. This final sentence wasn’t very true, but she did not worry about it. It was important for his boys to feel at ease before the mission, especially when no one didn’t really know why they were here.
​

 

[Thane]

P A G A N
NEW IMPERIAL ORDER
IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU
FIELD OPERATIONS GROUP
ISD NIGHT HAMMER
Gideon Saigo | Tulan Kor | Jan Beroya

REMAINS OF NOTHING
​

Alas, the Knight managed to come up with something, turning from the holo terminal, Thane told ahold of the data stick before inserting it into Agrius's own holoterminal.

"Let's see what he left for us..." Thane remarked as its information was uplinked for view.

He expected it'd be something of interest, given the lengths Agrius took to hide it, what he didn't expect was what was present. His fears of sedition were vindicated across the first few lines of text and his crimson gaze widened at the discovery.

-

FROM :%$5^$!$^&&#!
TO : 'FOXDIE'

Imperials will send their credits to nowhere for just about anything, won't they? If only the tax payers knew where their money was going. They might be concerned to know that ISB can embezzle it so easily but relieved to know there are people who actually fight for them. The last deposit will do well in arming up another company of partisans for the days to come. Not sure if we can utilize Centares for much longer but the war in Chiss space certainly gives us time.

The Planetary authorities are none the wiser, for now at least. That or they just don't care and they're happy to let the Empire waltz in and try their hand at dealing with us. But the Empire can commit any more troops away from the Maw's border and with your help, the Stormtrooper Company they sent to bring this world to heel are playing to our hand as well. We're meeting with the Company Commander at our usual spot outside Muracie. Once everything is consolidated, we'll use your creds to move everything unto the real objective for Operation Broken Horn.

We'll need another few million credits to fully arm and supply this cell before we make a move on to our actual objective. It won't be easy, you know what they did to us for Bastion, for making our thoughts known about their useless war and authoritarianism. They don't care about any of us- so we have to take matters into our own hands.

Remember what they did to us that day.

Thus always to tyrants.

A decrypted correspondence from an unknown, terrorist leader and what Thane could only assume to be Agrius under yet another code name, likely the one he was using in communication with the terrorist. It was what Thane suspected, the worst of what Thane suspected. The symbol, he immediately identified as being a radical symbol, originally attributed to some of the more radical elements of the original Alliance to Restore the Republic's galactic insurrection generations ago.

It seemed the same sentiment was brewing, the Iron Sun had finally cast a shadow.

"About the worst scenario I could've thought. Organized terrorism- and seems they're about to make a move, and they're moving quickly. But you're onto something at least- Commander. It's all logistics. We need to snuff out their remaining operations in Muracie and hopefully hone down on where their base of operations on Centares is before they slip back into the Empire to conduct this terrorist operation." Thane remarked, carrying the terminology heavy handidly. There was no feigning from the weight of the discovery.

"I'll be taking this all as evidence to build our case against Agrius. You two proceed to the underworld and we'll try and sniff out their liaison for purchasing black market arms, see if we cant interrogate one of their dealers and find out where they're hidden on this rock before they slip from our grasp." Thane suggested.

The next stop was the city proper- it was then that he'd rely on the faux Mercenary angle to bridge their contact to the underworld and continue the trail in pursuing the partisan terrorists.

 

[DECEASED Erskine Barran]

Yes
this was in fact a boomer moment.

back to the clock we go

0 days since last boomer moment.

 

[Jordi Massad]

SCIMITAR
COMPNOR

Tags: Thane Don Belkora Rika Hiro Kazimir Tragovic

Jordi's Loadout
Silenced pistol
Switchblade
Maintenance-overalls
Firm and On-Site IDs
Rigger boots
Toolbox

'I expect trouble Jordi, this fucker is not going to be on a sabbatical, he'll have boys of his own; if he dies, he dies, but as long as we get the evidence and leave a message, it'll suffice.'

Not bad.... Been out of sorts without a good firefight in my life lately.​

On this occasion, Jordi's assumption would be gratefully corrected, only realising then that he subconsciously wished for the higher-risks on that mission in particular, in stark contrast to the relaxed demeanour both Massad and Belkora shared on their quiet drive towards the target-area. Nodding affirmatives, Jordi's demeanour would become even more relaxed as a result of the contrasting differences in their expectations, a small tell of sorts; willingness to put his life on the line, to allow harsher methods to take precedence, these traits were almost glaringly exhibited in his calm demeanour and smirking nonverbal response. Don was satisfied enough with this silent response that he'd solidify the relaxed nature of their quiet drive to the objective with one very simple gesture, switching on the radio play some music and making their transit all the more leisurely, like a perfect calm before the storm.

If you could see my mind,
If you really look deep, then maybe you'll find,
That somewhere there will be a place,
Hidden behind my comedian face-

Perfection, adds to the comfortable silence.
​

With more time to dwell on things in peace, Massad and Belkora would pass the streets by them and gaze on whatever horizons their surroundings permitted, pondering on past, present and future alike as the song continued. Though it seemed that none could get inside the Tetan's head, nor could any gain such rare insights from the man himself, the Kandaran's thoughts may not have been so well-guarded in such moments, especially not whenever Jordi's eyes glazed over in his occasional thousand-yard stares. The paramilitary life, no matter how distant that phase of his life seemed, always had it's own way of catching up with Massad, as some scars weren't always the sort to be inflicted physically - others were no doubt designed to flay at the mind and soul.

You will find somewhere there's a house,
And inside that house there's a room,
Locked in the room in the corner you'd see,
The voice is waiting for me, to set it free,

I got the key

I got the key
​

And yet, on this occasion, it would be fonder reminders of the happier moments in his previous career, remembering the comrades, the commanders, the friends and some of the lovers he'd met along the way, all serving as little reminders of how far he'd climbed in the years since the wars of his youth. It wasn't common to see a Kandaran ascend to agent-status with COMNOR after all, and Jordi knew it all too acutely, though the lonely nature of being surrounded by new faces, new species and new codes of allegiance had been wearing off for a while before that day. None could even come close to resembling the people who raised him from the dirt of the streets, but COMPNOR had proven infinitely more valuable in the years since being recruited to the Imperium's most clandestine of government-organisation, a means of reminding Jordi that he didn't need to worry about notions like that of having climbed too fast for his own good.

Voices,
I hear VOICEEEEeees!​

 

[Don Belkora]

DON BELKORA
COMPNOR
Incognito

​

"Same brother, same, office work takes the life out of me," He sighed to himself, reminiscing of the bygone days spent hustling and fighting when he was still a fresh-faced thug from Teta looking to hit back and find his dreams and success in the stars. Heir to a broken home and family, his father a drunkard who gambled away money and his mother a broken woman who tried the best she could for children. He'd left them in the dead of winter, setting his eyes for a start off-world. What happened to his parents was a fleeting mystery to Don; he only found out his father's fate from declassified police reports, dead in an alleyway at fifty-five from a debt unpaid.

Whatever destiny was out there for him proved to be a bare-faced lie, prosperity in the core was a rarity that the precious few and corrupt enjoyed. Like many other immigrants, he turned to crime to survive and fight his way through life; by age twenty-one, he'd killed twenty people for his gang and been implicated in the deaths of many more. Even now, with his wealth and rank in the New Imperial Order, he was still that same killer that was forged by survival and ambition. The only difference was he'd swapped the ragged clothing and knives for a suit and a legion of killers beneath his feet.

"When we get in there, we'll do our part, play it smooth, play the role, wait until we get confirmation of the bomber's apartment, then we'll move in."

Simple. Easy. The target was only protected by idiot thugs and teenagers with no training or stomach for a serious fight. Killers like himself and Jordi would run through them like a hot knife through butter.

Jordi Massad Rika Hiro Kazimir Tragovic ​

 

[Gideon Saigo]

Edge of Centares System,
Briefing Room 3, ISD Night Hammer

"Commander Kor has informed me he'd be better without backup, Captain." he says, eyes meeting Captain Kelga'an's, then tapping his wristpad to project a holo of the Centarian wilds, "Take your men to the last reported position of the 72nd Company and see if you can find any piece of information regarding their disappearance. A standard recon but be advised, the region is known for rebel activity. Find what you can and pull out unless ordered otherwise. Last thing I need is seven men finding a stronghold and storming it on their own."

"Keep me updated."

And with that, the Anaxsi Captain was dismissed as Saigo departed to Cenatres aboard one of the unmarked, smuggling freighters.

Nukth Kelga'an

​

Descending Centares Orbit,
Port Dormitory, the White Rose

The clean-up crew had not yet processed the former captain's quarters. Trinkets of various worlds hung on the walls, some of them with a hefty price on the black market. The desk was cluttered with datapads, ship manifests, and an ancient sundial that Saigo picked up in his hand. He flipped on its back, glaring at its scratched surface. Ages ago he'd captured a rebel ORC operative carrying one of those. Ages ago, when order was plunged into chaos. The Commodore set it aside and sat on the chair, turning his comlink on just as Bline's voice cracked through.

<"Commodore,"> the Operative reached to Saigo via encrypted comms, <"any of the diplomats democratically aligned, or are they all just Imperials?">

:: Commissioner, I wasn't made aware that Progress is on Centares. :: he states, his eyes narrowing.

When that conversation was resolved, Saigo would shift channels to the operatives after the missing agent.

:: Pagan, Demici - report. ::

Tulan Kor Thane Jan Beroya Djorn Bline
​