Where eyes go blind

[Narses]

The Siel Manta trio of ships eventually emerged from hyperspace far enough away from Mon Cala that the world was little more than a light blue speck against the backdrop of the stars. The idea had been to keep a safe distance in case they arrived in the middle of a battle with Sith forces. As the trio of warships approached the space ring, it became apparent that the captains concern was unwarranted as they flew further in.

Their quiet observation of the situation was interrupted when a mechanical-sounding voice came through the comm speaker, distorting slightly as it cut through the dead silence of the large vessel.

"Unidentified warships, you have entered territory under the control of the Mon Calamar government. State your intentions or you will be fired upon."

"Captain Jal Shahori of the Siel Manta, here for the meeting with representatives of the Silver Jedi order as i'm sure your superiors have been forewarned about."

For several seconds, the ship captain waited for a reply while contemplating about the talks ahead. The voice came through again, along with a path on the ship's navigation computer directing them towards a port in the space ring.

"You are late, but you are free to pass to the provided coordinates. "As the transmission cut out, the ships began to follow the preallocated marker points. An hour soon passed as the trio of ships docked into the space port, and with it plans were made for a closely selected group of personnel to go to the meeting while the rest would stay with the ships.

<<Ah, the Mon cala space ring! It is good to be back,>> exclaimed Captain Shahori as the boarding ramp lowered into the airlock, it had been nearly a decade since he had been here and it had been under far more pleasant circumstances.

<<You've been here before sir?>> inquired one of his subordinates, a young Mirialan by the name of Benji Andreji.

<<I've been all over the outer rim, even during my time as a ship captain for the Mirialan military.>> He replied casually, switching to basic once maintenance staff approached to begin the process of repairing damage done by the Mynocks. Fortunately his basic was comprehensible even with the thick lowlands accent of Mirial.

The maintenance worker provided a pad detailing the transaction and their payment, a port officer showed up explaining the fifty credit docking fee, the usual stuff, though the captain couldn't shake his unease. This was straightforward, they were to attend a meeting, why did he have a bad feeling about this? the fallout of the battle between the Silver jedi and Sith empire had left him distinctly paranoid and uneasy when not at a hideout or aboard his ship.

OOC info:

<<>> Mirialan
"" Basic

 

[Simona Campos]

Needless to say, Simona was a bit hesitant getting involved with Mirial, but there were people still asking for help. As a Jedi, it was hard to just turn them down in spite of paranoia.

Hesitantly, she obliged their request, but only under the cover of heavy disguise, there could be no tracing her back to the Silver Order. It was the same deal for her fellow Shadow on this mission.

Though much to her dismay, their Mirilian counterparts let the cat out of the bag about their meeting. Fortunately, the Mon Cala could be trusted as a stalwart ally of the Silver Jedi.

Quietly, the two shadows arrived at the watery world by means of a nondescript YT freighter, docking at the orbital ring. She got a gander of the Rebel ships while parking the freighter, noting a mix of old Dominion and native Mirialian designs.

"Looks like they weren't pulling our leg," Simino told Adele. "Even I was starting to think all the Mirilians left were on the Sith kool-aid by now."

A successful propaganda campaign had turned the Sith into the heroes of Mirial in that campaign even as they later rampaged through the galaxy burning entire worlds.

The Silver Order definitely needed to step up its PR campaign.

[member="Narses"] [member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Adele Crawford]

The hesitation was shared, especially for this place. Adele had avoided this planet like it was swimming in the glaug plague. When the request was made by her fellow shadow, Simona – the woman couldn’t say no. It was rare to tell Simona no.

Arriving via the well-used nondescript YT freighter, Adele remained tense. Walking through the hanger she noted the ships, but was still wary of it. Looking towards Simona who also was commenting, on the ships. “Still, could all be for show. Letting us see what they want us to see.” Nodding, Adele continued with the woman.

“Sith Kool-aid, I bet you its fruit punch flavored.” A grin spread across the Corellian’s face as she mused over her joke. “I hope that none of this is a lie.”

[member="Simona Campos"] [member="Narses"]

 

[Narses]

They only got a few steps as a trio of Mirialan soldiers stepped out in front of them, wearing the very same gear they wore on the day they defected to the separatists during the invasion of Mirial. "We've been expecting you, captain Shahori is waiting for you inside the meeting point," the more senior of the trio spoke up, gesturing for the pair to follow him and his men to the meeting room.

The senior Mirialan soldier moved over to open the door for the pair as his two soldiers took up position beside the door. The Mon cal storage room they wound up in left little room for seating and was very darkly lit, hiding the fact that there were more Mirialan soldiers hiding in the shadows than just captain Shahori and his hologram projector device.

Shahori watched the pair keenly as they entered the room. People like him preferred dimly-lit locations which offered plenty of cover, places to hide weapons, and make a quick exit.

"I trust the journey was uneventful," he remarked with a grin, " last time i met with your kind, it was when my planet was the Sith and Jedi's punching bag."

[member="Adele Crawford"][member="Simona Campos"]

 

[Simona Campos]

"It could be," she agreed, feeling too tense to react to the joking. "That's why we're doing this undercover until we can figure out what they want."

Following check-in, they were met by a trio of Mirilians in full combat gear, who stuck out like a sore thumb among the crowds of Mon Cala and Spacers. The final rendezvous turned out to be some shady glorified closet. There were more Mirialian soldiers she could see in plain sight, with even more hidden within the dark corners of the room which she sensed through the Force. The one that had opened the door looked to be their leader, greeting them with a small dig at past events.

Collectively, there was an air of paranoia around the Mirilians, though she had a feeling that much of it was directed at her and Adele.

No seats were offered, so she remained standing, adjusting her vision for low light conditions to better track everyone in the room.

"It's been a while," she replied flatly. "I take it you're not enjoying current management?"

[member="Narses"] [member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Narses]

"You have our good friends in the Sith empire and all those leeches in the council of Mirial to thank for that," said the Mirialan captain, responding with a rather stony look in contrast to his previous attempt at humour. "Seems the emperor took extra precautions to keep that little corner of the galaxy safe, including the addition of extra troops to the area alongside heavy propaganda and the fine help of our traitor brethren as collaborators."

[member="Simona Campos"][member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Simona Campos]

"We're certainly aware," she said with a small nod. "The Sith were blindsided by the rebel activity on Mirial, so no doubt they're working hard to ensure they face no further trouble."

She had seen what the Sith had done, who had gone as far as to build a new space station curry favor with the Mirilians. She was certain many were grateful, but like the Rebels before her, all weren't sold. Their so called saviors had been around when the planet had been devastated by Primeval years before, yet they did nothing. Perhaps some understood that they were only be used as pawns for a much larger game.

"So then what is that you want to do about it? There were attempts of rebellion before by Separatists against the SIth and their Quislings, but that failed. What's different this time?"

Because of its past blunders on Mirial, the Silver Order was wary about involving itself on that particular world. They needed a good reason to help.

[member="Narses"]

 

[Narses]

That caught Captain Shahori's attention, pausing for a moment. "Indeed so," he said, smirking at the two. "Let's be realistic here," he said, waving out around the darkly lit room, "All this talk of a Sith controlled Mirial, the security of the empires denizens, that big fleet of theirs, it's all real impressive but it won't last forever. We both know it. The Empire cannot continue to paint this image as being benevolent saviours when they crush worlds that do not dance to their tune,dissent is growing on the borderworlds, and the Sith affiliated militiamen and local forces don't have the means or the will to subdue a cause far greater than their own hollow loyalty to their overlords. In a month, a year, five years, this empires gonna burn."

[member="Simona Campos"] [member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Simona Campos]

Simona slowly nodded along as he spoke. He was sure that the Sith Empire was overextended, but for now, she wasn't so sure.

"Well, if you're so certain that the Sith Empire would crumble so quickly, then your best option would be to work yourself into the system to exploit the Sith's resources and bide your time until it finally did come tumbling down. As bad as things have been on Mirial, I don't think people would object to that route."

She tilted her head, looking around in the darkness at all the soldiers that she wasn't really supposed to see. "However, we have reason to believe that this Sith Empire isn't just a flash in the pan. These Sith have learned from their mistakes in past iterations of the SE, and have gone to great lengths to ensure its longevity. They have organized around Kaine Zambrano - Darth Carnifex - to give themselves an everlasting dynasty to serve as their anchor point. We could go right for the jugular and assassinate him, but he's like a roach, a literal Lich that will not die."

"If we accept that the Sith Empire will essentially last forever without intervention, then it would be prudent to help Mirial. However, I think the best option may be to assist the wider Rebel movement and engage the Sith at emergent hot spots where they don't yet have an iron lock on the population. I'm afraid to say that Mirial is probably firmly within the grip of the Sith through fear and propaganda, so in the near term we must first hit the Sith elsewhere at opportune moments to create cracks and show their weaknesses to further promote dissent."

[member="Narses"]

 

[Adele Crawford]

Adele kept quiet as she listened to the two talk about the Empire. She had met this Darth Carnifex in person and she could see why so many planets were okay with falling into line with what the Sith Empire wanted from them. Fear was a strong motivator even if it was disguised as something else. To the Mirilans the Sith took their advantages and used propaganda to motivate the people. Even the space station – a gift. The relationship between the planets and the Sith, especially Mirial reminded her of an abuser and the victim. Abuse and then give gifts to help keep the victim from telling or rebelling.

The entire notion bothered her to her core. The dimly lit room didn’t both Adele too much, despite looking like a typical Corellian, the woman was mixed with K’paur. The low light vision she was blessed with helped keep he aware of the area around them. Nothing seemed to be of alert, so she continued to let them talk. Simona made good points, while the others words reminded her of a typical rebellion. Speaking down of the Empire while stating that it was only a matter of time.

Thinking short or low of your enemy was usually the quickest way to defeat. Adele finally spoke up as she nodded in agreement with her partner. “If we attempt to do anything on Mirial, especially since the Sith have invested a lot into the planet and keeping their hold, it would only end in another tragedy that the Sith will use in their favor.”

A hand rested against her chin as she thought, “There are several planets that they have left on the backburner if you will. They’ve ignored them and have left only a few remnants of their presence. Those are the planets we hit and convince to join the cause against the Empire. If people see that there is a better option more and more people will move against them.” Adele wondered how much farther the Empire could reach, before the reach an over extension. At times it felt that the Empire was unstoppable, but nothing was that perfect of a machine.

“It’s not something that can be accomplished overnight – it’s something that may take a year, five years, a decade, but in the end the future will look brighter.”

[member="Simona Campos"] [member="Narses"]

 

[Narses]

"Precisely, it is a tragedy that the rebel enclave is currently crumbling from Sith offensives chipping away at its borders," the fools had decided to set up shop beside the empire and as such were now facing imminent defeat.

"My superior knows full well the impracticality of conventional warfare and seeks to bleed the Sith through a war of attrition and hit and run, a thousand cuts to the empire will prove to be the best course of action until we have gathered sufficient strength to make one decisive blow," the captain knew all too well how good the Sith were at conventional warfare, having witnessed the efficiency of the Sith legionnaire units against the mostly badly armed and outclassed rebels. This would be different however.

"Let the Sith think we are weak, arrogance will be the death of them if they grow too confident."

[member="Adele Crawford"] [member="Simona Campos"]

 

[Simona Campos]

"It is a tragedy, but one that could have been avoided," she replied with a headshake. "The rebels tasted a bit of success on the fringes of the Sith Empire, and mistakenly thought they could just set up shop next to the Sith's capital. They do not respect the capabilities of their foe, so they are suffering for it now."

Someday she hoped Cedric would learn to stop rushing. There was a reason the Silver Jedi and Republic had been acting conservative in their efforts to build up their forces while pursuing a containment strategy.

"I don't disagree with the basic strategy, which is sound, all I'm saying is that for the time being, you'll want to cool it on activity on Mirial. We have to show them that they are not alone. The problem is that the Sith are able to engage in their hypocrisy from a complete control over the flow of information in and out of their space. We need to address that, because it's just as important to win the war of perception. We need public opinion in our favor. Not that we're just the 'good guys'. That we can win."

[member="Narses"] [member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Narses]

"Certainly, though no doubt we would need something tangible and hard to push opinion against the Sith," Captain Shahori shrugged noncommittally, Tancreds men had put great effort into infiltrating and installing whistleblowers in the Sith military yet the search for a true opening in the empire armour had proved fruitless.

"We need to preemptively strike against the Sith, if we can show that there still people out there that are bringing the fight against the empire, we can use it as a means to gain recruits from outside the empire's borders and within."

[member="Simona Campos"][member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Simona Campos]

"It wouldn't be a bad idea to hit the Sith somewhere," she agreed, "but choose your targets carefully. There always seems to a puppy or orphan in the way."

A bit of black humor, but SImona wasn't totally off the mark about the Sith's love of civilian shields. It was an effective tactic, warding more moralistic Jedi and Rebel types away with the threat of collateral. Sometimes she wished she had people that were willing to bite the bullet and make the tough decisions.

"So let's talk specifics. What targets are you thinking about at this time?"

[member="Narses"]

 

[Narses]

"The key to defeating the Empire lies not in the raw power. It lies in subtlety. The Siel Mantas current status cannot produce the necessary armaments to form a large army to challenge the Empire conventionally at the moment, but we can plant cells all over the empire to strike at key points. Our small fleet remains first and foremost a mobile base and strike force while spies and saboteurs undermine the Empire on a thousand worlds. Raw destruction sends a brutally honest message, but devastating the new Hirona space station would be counter to our efforts in the short term and thus we keep activities off there," the dim light of the room cast a unsettling shadow across Shahori's rough hewn tattooed face, but the small smirk spreading across his lips could be seen as clear as day.

[member="Simona Campos"] [member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Simona Campos]

The Mirilian was anything but specific in his response to Simona, but she picked up quite the malevolent vibe as he was almost lamenting over the fact that New Hirona couldn't be blown out of the skies.

So she was dealing with those kinds of Rebels.

"I've been around for a while. If you intend to race the Sith to the bottom, you will lose. Every time. Either they will spin you as a villain to make themselves come out looking like saints, or they will delete Mirial from the face of existence. The only way we will prevail is by instilling people with hope."

She began to drum her fingers loudly against the table, an intentional sign of impatience. "I'll try to be blunt this time. Do you have a real plan aside from tired hit and fade tactics?"

[member="Narses"]

 

[Adele Crawford]

[SIZE=10pt]Adele had remained quiet for most of the meeting. She kept her eye on the area around them making sure they weren’t going to be getting ambushed or that this was a trap in the end. Eyes darting around as she listened to the meeting knowing that Simona could handle herself for this part. Yet, it seemed like the middle man and whomever he worked for had one plan and one plan only. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Doing her best to keep her frustration from showing on her face, the dark-haired woman faced the direction of the voice and sighed. “There are more than just one side to this fight. You can blow up and harass the Sith as much as you want, you’re just going to waste your time and money if nothing is done on the media or public relations front.” Arms folding in front of her as she shook her head. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]“Like what my partner said, you hit an important military building, suddenly it’s an orphanage or a hospital filled with women and children. There’s no winning if there’s no counter to their propaganda. If your fight is for freedom of Mirial, then you need to make sure Mirial knows who her true protectors are. You can’t just attack and hope for the best. You need the media on your side.” She understood that they were in secret, but even then there were other ways to move the media in your favor.[/SIZE]


[SIZE=10pt][member="Simona Campos"] [member="Narses"][/SIZE]

 

[Narses]

"We have a plan in mind for swaying public opinion against the Sith, although admittedly it relies on finding where the Sith make those wretched abominations known as the undead, intelligence gathering on our end has proven fruitless on that matter." He admitted reluctantly, it was true that the Sith were just as secretive as the Siel Manta were when it came to keeping skeletons in the closet and their whistleblowers inside the Sith military had not yielded any consecutive answers. Tancred and his network had come short of finding information as well and that cripple had eyes everywhere.

"I spent a portion of my career fighting the Sith when they came to wrestle my homeworld from the Dominion, i know as well as any how those dogs work when it comes to undermining their foes so don't lecture me on something i've lived and seen first hand." The memories of the legionnaires using hospitals as protection against Mirialan and Dominion artillery strikes enraged the captain to no end, especially given how the cowards had to audacity to project on others for their own crimes.

"Support for our cause is strong in the diaspora and within certain elements of the Mirialan government, the council of Mirial are naught but puppets of the Sith at best, but unfortunately much work is needed to overthrow them and destroy their master," Captain Shahori offered Adele a bemused look before continuing on, "it's good and all talking on about matters but i think our business here is concluded, i shall transmit you a comm link to commune with our good friend Mercurius who'll be working with you both on future missions and dealings."


"Though i'd be warned, Mercurius might be eccentric and love his women but he is no ponce, the man used to work as a hitman and agent for the Mirialan Intelligence Bureau, he'd not think twice about slicing your pretty little necks if you decided to cross the organisation."

[member="Adele Crawford"] [member="Simona Campos"]

 

[Simona Campos]

Shahori expanded on his original answer, but Simona wasn't convinced. Then there was a not-so-subtle threat to axe them if the RA cross the Mirialians - she could confirm through the Force that he meant every word.

Despite the threats, Simona remained calm and even smiled a bit to show she wasn't phased. With only a single thought, she could crush everyone in the room like a bug.

"I'd like to remind you that this arrangement is a two-way street. If my associates and I find that Siel Manta becomes a hindrance to our aims of liberating the Outer Rim, then we will have a problem." She leaned forward, a devious glint in her eye. "We don't want problems."

With that, she got up, expecting Adele to follow. Once she reached the exit, she looked back at the Mirialian at the table. "Sometime soon, you can expect a call from a certain someone. A prospective benefactor if you will. However, I recommend you show some more respect than you have today. They're not as quite as forgiving as I am."

She gave everyone in the room a wave, a signal that she could see them all along, then slipped out of the glorified closet for her ship. Her job was done.

[member="Narses"] [member="Adele Crawford"]

 

[Adele Crawford]

Adele remained silent as she listened to the man’s iteration of what their plan was. It seemed he was done with the conversation and she felt the same. Looking towards Simona from the corner of her eye she figured the other woman was as well. Simona spoke her peace and then stood, Adele followed close behind the woman with her senses on high alert.

Safety wasn’t guaranteed at this point, but even before leaving, Simona said one last thing. A small smile formed over the woman’s face as they finally left. The safety of the ship was around them and it was time to go.

[member="Simona Campos"] [member="Narses"]