Private We Are Being Held Hostage

[Titus of Epoch]

Epoch
Odessa Spaceport

A Second Hyperspace War Story​

Things were not as they appeared.

Epoch was a paradise world; it’s emerald coasts, bountiful gardens, rolling hills, and dreamy resorts called to those longing for serenity. It’s capital Odessa was a continent spanning megalopolis meticulously designed architecturally with wonderous beauties and highly industrious factories and shipyards. The city was crowded yet kept under control by the concentrated efforts of the Epochian government beginning centuries ago with strategic efforts always being implemented to keep Epoch’s natural landscape from being destroyed under the weight of the encroaching cityscapes.

Wages were fair, work was plentiful, and the planet’s populace needed not rely on others for fuels and exports other than luxuries from Coruscant. The people were not in need. Life was good, they had a voice in the Epochian Assembly and had tradition preserved in the form of the ceremonial monarchy still intact, restored after the end of a brutal civil war with sympathizers and supporters of the One Sith.

What if I told you the war never ended, that in the shadows the ruling elite, the former oligarchy of Sith cultists and ultra-rich moguls still lurked in the dark places. They wielded power over the government through wealth and blackmail, propaganda and assassinations. They had been silenced before, their voices quelled to a whisper that slowly has become louder and louder within the ears of the Epochian people. Would you believe me?

Of course not.

The former oligarchs and Sith sympathizers have covered their tracks so well, so meticulously, any mention of the previous civil war is instantly met with resistance and fears of war-mongering or inciting panic among the people. They’ve used corporations, governmental bodies, and even the crown itself as tools to spread fear and discontent while subtly passing laws through their influence in the Epochian Assembly to tighten their grip around the people.

One might question how they bounced back so quickly, so efficiently after such a brutal reign. The answer was simple, they had help, they answered to a higher power.

The Final Dawn.

This is not a war we can win on our own, the people are being suppressed, fear has led them to open their arms to giving up freedoms with blind eyes. Propaganda plays on the Holonet 24/7, soldiers guard street corners with armored vehicles, and subtle whispers of a dark faith spreads across the planet. We can’t fight this battle alone, we need help.

We need the Jedi.

​

Titus kept to the shadows, waiting, watching as Epochian patrols passed him by. He wore the trappings of a beggar, occasionally reaching out to passersby for spare change or work. The older gentleman had several of his men in proximity to the meeting place, a sniper, a wheelman with a speeder hot and ready, and finally a gunman hiding in plain sight as a spaceport security guard.

The false beggar stared out into the distance, looking out for any signs of his contact. Any signs of the Jedi Auteme whom he’d managed to reach by intersecting transmissions, bouncing his encrypted messages around until one hit. In truth they had reached out to several Jedi within the New Jedi Order countless times, their messages were either cut short or intercepted, compromised by the enemy. It was only when Auteme had made arrangements to come to Epoch on her own accord that he was able to secure a stable piggyback out of earshot of hostile elements.

He waited and watched from across the terminal, patiently with hope.. patiently with hope.

 

[Auteme]

“And the rule is that when a powerful foreigner enters a province, all the less powerful inhabitants become his adherents, moved by the envy they bear to those ruling over them.”
Titus of Epoch ​

Auteme’s trip had been postponed.

Officially, her visit to Epoch was scheduled two weeks from now. She’d be arriving on a diplomatic shuttle, alongside a select few of her peers and staff, to visit the Epochian Assembly and a number of places of cultural importance. An attempt to smooth public opinion on Epoch on the Jedi, perhaps to influence their Senator’s adamant push to restrict the New Jedi Order. At the moment, she was still at the Jedi Temple; the few reporters and media drones paying attention to her on Coruscant had spotted her in a few of the Halls and in the gardens in the Temple. A short Senate adjournment had allowed her time to study away from the stresses of political life.

As with Epoch, all was not as it seemed.

A bit of technological shenaniganry and a body double in the form of a disguised Aeris Lashiec allowed her to slip onto a public transport to Epoch, landing in the capital city’s spaceport. The borrowed clothes and makeup helped obscure her appearance a bit, enough that no one recognized her. ‘Fame’, if one could call it that, had drawbacks. Auteme had to take precautions.

First was the simple disguise, completed with a simple hair tie and a cap to help obscure her eyes. Second was the falsified passport and documents. Third was the Taozin Amulet, to obscure her presence. Oh, how suddenly the small evils felt easy.

The woman exited the spaceport’s main complex. Everything felt normal -- she’d traveled like this many times before, but now she was looking for the disparities. A few tense people, a speeder idling, and a beggar. She approached.

“I thought Epoch was a paradise world,” she mused aloud, pulling out a few credits from her bag to hand to the beggar. “But I suppose every world has its problems.”

 

[Titus of Epoch]

He lingered in his facade, his beggar guise cloaked with ratted cloth. The sunshine peaked through the tall spires, glistening down upon the massive spaceport terminal across from his petty alleyway. Titus stood in wait, watching ever vigilantly for the Jedi who was to meet him, he'd hoped his location for the meet wasn't too cryptic or vague. Odessa's spaceport was a big place, it was easy to miss someone in a crowd.

The Rebel turned his ever present gaze off into the distance, taking another quick scan of the horizon making sure to pick out security or military personnel. It was the approach of the stranger that caught him offguard, his eyes returning centerfold as she neared. The false beggar mumbled incoherently with nonsensical ramblings.

"I thought Epoch was a paradise world."

A crooked smile spread across his face, his lips stopped in place.

"But I suppose every world has it's problems."

He inspected her up and down, taking care to look for any signs of deception. Titus had to be careful, the enemy was everywhere with control over the corporations, the assembly, hell even the crown. The elite and their masters in the Final Dawn had executed their takeover flawlessly, taking civil liberties where they could, spreading fear, amassing support in the Assembly, and in the end lining the pockets of those who'd do their bidding to maintain that power in the shadows.

"Come with me."

The hooded man turned away as his facade melted away, leading Auteme down the alleyway towards what appeared to be a dead end. At the end of the road he spun around freely, his tattered robes opening up with his hand drawing a blaster pistol directly upon Auteme.

"I'm sorry but I need proof you are who I think you are."

 

[Auteme]

Titus of Epoch
​

"Ah. Understandable." She'd forgotten, for a moment, how little they knew about each other. Another chip at her instinct to trust. She put her hands up, as though to ensure he wouldn't shoot her out of nowhere. Not that she could do much.

"I don't exactly have, ah, my actual identification on me, and it'd be rather- inadvisable, for me to take off my disguise." Unless Titus had some other means to travel discreetly -- which he might -- she'd rather stay relatively unrecognizable. "But, there's always-"

With a small wave of her hand she blew off the man's cowl. Suddenly her presence seemed to grow, a gust of wind rushing into the alley -- a touch of thaumaturgy of sorts. "My name is Auteme Denko-Durren, Knight of the New Jedi Order and Shield of the Jedi, and I prefer being able to look people in the eye.

"And you must be Titus?"