Part 8

The Galactic Museum.
Coruscant.
New Republic.
321ABY.
December 14th.

Still known as one of the Wonders of the Galaxy, the Galactic Museum on Coruscant was not a place one could visit and see much of what the Museum had to offer in a day, or a week or even a year.
Effectively encompassing an entire district, the Museum was based in a building that dwarfed even the old Imperial Palace and contained exhibits from thousands of worlds and civilizations, some of which no longer even existed.

With exhibits dedicated to almost every era of history, it just wasn’t possible to see even a tenth of what the museum had to offer in a single lifetime.

Something Ran Gavin had never really given much thought to until his visit today.

As he walked through the ‘Villain’s of the Galaxy’, he tried to imagine how long it would take just to audit a fraction of the collections. He’d heard a tale that said that one man who had attempted it had spent his working life doing so and had barely made an impact.

Here, in the ‘Villain’s’ exhibit, which was one of the smaller ones, Ran estimated that just cataloguing the items would take the best part of a year.

“Evening Sir” A protocol droid bearing the sash of a tour guide said, stirring him from his thoughts, “Do you require any assistance?”

“No thank you” Ran waved a hand at the droid, an antique looking 3PO unit almost as old as the exhibits here, “Has to be a mock up job” He thought silently, “There hasn’t been a 3PO made for three hundred years”

“My apologies for disturbing you, Sir” The droid bowed, “The next tour begins in ten minutes if you are interested. In the meantime, do enjoy your visit”

“Thank you” Ran smiled as the droid turned and left.

He then turned to look at the exhibit he was standing before and actually took a momentary step back as a small twinge of fear went through him.

Tall and imposing, the lifelike hologram of Darth Vader loomed out from the display. Every detail of his black clad form, from the crud life support system on his chest to the flowing black cloak to the fearsome mask that once elicited terror in enemy troops, each element seemed to add to the malevolence of the long dead Dark Lord of the Sith.

A small sensor in the holo-projector detected Ran’s presence and the hologram came to life.

“I am Darth Vader” A voice, rough edged, filled with hatred and unspoken threat overlaid with a distinctive mechanical breathing, began to speak, “I was once a Jedi of the Old Republic, Anakin Skywalker, but seduced by power and greed I turned to evil and betrayed my fellow Jedi. In service to my Emperor, I hunted down Jedi, dissidents and rebels and served the Imperial cause with my all” The hologram seemed to grow even more imposing, “The mere mention of my name was enough to keep citizens, senators, Imperial officers and even entire worlds in line and my hands were stained with the blood of thousands” The figure seemed to shrink, “Yet I could not extinguish the part of my being that was still Anakin Skywalker, and at the end, the good won out. I sacrificed my life to destroy the Emperor and save my son. I was Darth Vader and even I still had the capacity for good within me”

“A lesson to be learned, surely” A voice said from behind Ran making him jump.

Fighting to get his heart rate back under control, Ran turned to face who had spoken, “And what lesson would that be, Lady Fel’lya?”

Asyr Fel’lya smiled, “That even the darkest soul is not beyond redemption”

Ran shrugged as they moved away from the Vader display, “Perhaps, but I’ve read the history. Vader was a killer of hundreds, possibly thousands. Maybe not all by his hands, but certainly by his order too. Can one good act be more than a blip against the evil he wrought?”

“A good point” Asyr conceded with a nod, “I guess Vader’s tale is more one of hope than anything. Not Vader’s hopes of course, but those of Luke Skywalker, his son. He apparently believed his father was not beyond redemption and he was right, though he redeemed and lost his father almost at the same time. A bitter sweet conclusion to the story”

“For someone like Vader, there’s rarely a happy ending” Ran snorted as they stopped before the Darth Zeev display.

“Considering the number of people who died at the hands of these villains, it’s a wonder there’s a galaxy left” Asyr sighed, “What kind of person could do such a thing as destroy a city or even…” She gestured at the Grand Moff Tarkin display, “Destroy a planet?”

Ran shrugged, “Sometimes it’s upbringing, sometimes environment or even merely an aspect of a species. Occasionally, its the result of some injury or perceived slight” He frowned, “Sometimes though, I think people are just born that way. Destined to do evil from the moment of their birth”

“Maybe” Asyr said, “I just don’t like the idea that some people are without hope. Still, it’s reassuring that we haven’t had anyone on the same level as some of these people in the galaxy for a long time”

Ran nodded, “Well there was Stefan Amaris, who murdered his way the throne of the Skye Alliance for his short lived rule in 166ABY. His purges were responsible for the deaths of at least thirty thousand beings” He frowned, “Beyond that, there’s only really been whoever was responsible for what happened on Sarna”

Asyr sighed, “My father believes it was a deliberate and carefully planned act and that the Skye Alliance was responsible”

“I agree with him on the first part, at least” Ran said, “The evidence I reviewed does indicate that the explosion and subsequent contamination of the world was fully intended. But, there’s no evidence to implicate the Alliance in what happened”

“My father is adamant there is” Asyr scowled.

“Unfortunately, I think his belief in this is misguided” Ran said carefully, “The evidence is pointing in a completely different direction. We just don’t know to where”

“My father seems to think different, despite the evidence you present to him” Asyr pointed out, “He ‘wants’ it to be the Skye Alliance behind what happened on Sarna”

Ran shook his head, “I hate the Alliance and specifically Harrison Tarn for what was done to me. But I just can’t fathom your father’s utter hatred of the Alliance and the way it blinds him to everything in regards to it and Tarn”

Asyr shrugged, “It’s a family thing. Vorsk Kel’lya was an ancestor of our line. When Trinity Oslo-Tarn revealed the proof of how he’d rigged his own election, Vorsk fell very far from the top of the pedestal and dragged the Lya line down with him” She smoothed the fur on her neck, “The Lya’s went from being one of the most powerful Bothan lines to one of the most reviled, power disappeared overnight and they became clerks and aides, when weeks before they’d been leaders”

“Must have taken a lot of work to regain the power needed for your father to be in a position to run for office” Ran nodded.

“It was. It wasn’t until my grandfather that we Lya’s even had the power to re-enter politics” Asyr smiled, “It’s strange. The family fortunes suffered because of Vorsk. Oslo-Tarn merely hastened his fall. Yet, the Lya’s have hated the Tarn’s and the Alliance almost to the point of blood feud since, whilst simultaneously scorning Vorsk as a tainted ancestor”

“Yet, you don’t seem to share that feeling” Ran frowned.

Asya sighed, “I guess I’m more realistic. I just don’t see the point of holding onto a three hundred year old hatred. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loyal to my father and the Republic, I just don’t see the point of hate for hates sake”

“Sometimes it’s better not to hate” Ran shrugged.

“I thought you hated Harrison Tarn?” Asyr raised an eyebrow.

“I do” Ran nodded, “But I have an actual reason, but once I’ve avenged the injustice against me I’ll let the hate go”

 
———————————–

Algot.
Circinus Federation.
321ABY.
December 19th.

Yorinaga Tortorelli glanced over his shoulder as his new XO joined him on the balcony. Short and thin, Tomaz Devlin was the opposite of the tall, muscular Yorinaga, yet the man had a soldiers mind as sharp as any.

“You have news?” Yorinaga asked.

Devlin’s head bobbed, “The first set of recruits -twenty-five in all- have arrived. I’ve already taken the liberty of assigning bunks and we have another fifty due in three days time”

“Good” Yorinaga smiled, “Our requested equipment?”

“A freighter is due next week with seventy battlesuits of multiple classes, thirty tanks -again of multiple classes- and enough infantry equipment to outfit a hundred troopers. Simulator units and packages, munitions and support staff are due sometime in the next few days”

Yorinaga sighed, “Please tell me we have some good news regarding the food situation. I tire of rations”

Devlin grinned, “With today’s recruits, we also got a full catering staff and three months food supplies”

Yorinaga sagged with relief, “Thank the force” He muttered, “If I had to eat one more dehydrated soy bar, I’d have had to seriously consider defecting”

Devlin stiffened at the remark, then relaxed as he realized Yorinaga had made a joke, “I’ll have the staff prepare a suitable meal for you. Will, you be eating in your quarters or joining the troops in the mess hall?”

Yorinaga considered the question carefully. To forestall answering, he moved to the balcony and looked out over the salt flats that surrounded the compound, “In my quarters I think. I will dine with the troops, but only once all are assembled, thus I can address them all at once”

“Very good, sir” Devlin frowned, “Sir, if I may be frank, it seems strange that we’re forming a brand new unit merely to strike against a mercenary unit. We’re to operate outside the normal military structure, answerable only to the Baron. Significant resources are being spent on training our recruits and ensuring they have the best equipment the Federation boasts. I must ask, what is so important about a mercenary unit -even one as infamous as the Genyosha- for such significant changes in military policy”

Yoringa said nothing for a moment, and Devlin wondered if he’d perhaps stepped over the line, but then the tall man began to speak, “The Federation has long had a reputation as a bandit kingdom, one that is perhaps well deserved. Crime is rife, bribes are common as is assassination. Much of our military is using outdated equipment and weaponry and our forces are often little more than organized raiding parties. This unit is to be a step in the right direction” Yorinaga straightened up, “A well trained unit fighting for the Federation rather than individual selves and equipped with the best equipment and weaponry available. It is time that the Circinus Federation evolved”

Devlin nodded with pride, “But why the Genyosha? Does this have something to do with Korriban six years ago?”

“In part, yes” Yorinaga sighed, “But it began much earlier in 291ABY on Telos. What do you know of that battle?”

“Not much that isn’t officially available” Devlin admitted, “It was when you first took command of the Third Sword of Light, you led a deep strike at Telos, intending to hit the shipyards and factories there. I know Harrison Tarn led the defense. The Genyosha were there too?”

“They were” Yorinaga said, “Though I was not aware of this at first. Instead, I directed the main thrust of my attack against Harrison’s First Tarn Guards” The man’s gaze became unfocused as he recalled the memories, “It was a glorious battle. Tarn bravely led his forces from within his Paladin battlesuit, remaining at the front of the battle, never yielding an inch. Constantly he rallied his troops, turning them into a wall that blunted my attacks and smashed my forces. His long time friend, Arden Sortek hampered my efforts further, constantly directing artillery fire at my lines, even as he fought from within his own battlesuit”
“In the end, however, he was forced into retreat in a series of canyons as we gave chase. A retreat that almost became a rout when a near miss from my Orca’s heavy cannon disabled Tarn’s battlesuit. Though Arden Sortek fought to rally his troops, I pushed forwards in an attempt to cut Tarn off from his people. I would have taken him prisoner, returned him to Almania as my prize”

Anger and shame sent a shiver through the tall man’s shoulders, “I never got the chance. Dozens of tanks and battlesuits bearing the insignia of the Genyosha appeared on the ridges on either side of my position and a voice of one who I came to know as Morgan Varik came over the comms ‘Leave him alone’, he said. It was a plea and challenge all wrapped in one, but I ignored it and pushed closer to my prize”
“At that point the Genyosha opened fire, missiles and laser fire rained down and savaged my troops, but was staggered enough that they were able to retreat. Morgan’s own weapons were perfectly aimed, disabling my heavy weaponry in a few salvos” His voice seethed with anger and disgust, “His air support swept my own fighters from the skies before turning and raining destruction upon my unit. He forced us to retreat, but did not pursue us once the final retreat orders went out. Robbed of glory at the last moment I was forced to led my forces back to our drop ships” His fists knotted, “At the moment of my greatest victory, I returned to the Federation empty handed”

Devlin frowned, “What happened later, in 315ABY?”

“I made a mistake” Yorinaga sighed, “I let my need for revenge cloud my judgement and when I learnt the Genyosha were en route to Korriban to smash a pirate operation I ordered my forces there. We arrived just as the Genyosha were arriving in orbit and pursued them down to the surface, our starfighters harrying theirs. The landings were confused, units scattered across half the region. My Orcas drop pod took damage to it’s guidance systems and I landed somewhere in the Valley of the Dark Lords. What do you know of the Valley?”

“Not much” Devlin admitted, “I know it’s where the ancient Sith species buried their kings, and later, where the Dark Jedi who called themselves the Lords of the Sith were also buried. Supposedly the place is haunted”

Yoringa grimaced, “I cannot touch the force, yet I could sense that there was something dark and evil about that place. Thus I intended to get clear of the Valley and rejoin the rest of the Sword of Light. Yet, even as I made my way past the tombs, who should I encounter, also cut off from his troops”

Devlin nodded, “Morgan Varik?”

“Yes” Yoringa said, “Separated from his unit and his Talon Battlesuit no match for my Orca, I saw my chance for revenge. I announced my presence to him, then opened fire with all my weapons. Yet, in my eagerness, I took no notice that my targeting systems did not blink when I dropped the cross-hairs over Varik’s form. My computer failed to recognize Morgan Varik as a target, but what did it matter? This was not combat, but an execution, what did I need a target look for?”

As Yorinaga’s face crumpled in anger and shame, Devlin remained quiet, “This is his struggle” He thought, “I will respect that”

Disbelief edged into the older man’s voice, “I fired with every weapon at my disposal and every weapon missed. My heavy blaster cannon flashed wide, melting sand into glass. My missiles bracketed the Talon suit, but did not come close to a hit. My small lasers shot high or low at their own whim. Somehow, impossibly, I missed with every shot I fired at Morgan Varik”
“He suffered no such problems, even as panic rose within me, his weapons opened up and encountered no such problems. His own missiles hammered into me, destroying my missile launcher and his own blaster cannon tore chunks out of my armour, yet it was out of proportion to the damage my weapons could have, should have done”

Yorinaga forced his fists to open up and he stared at the palms and the indentations left by his nails, “Again, I fired and again, I missed with every weapon. Somehow, by some means, almost as if he were a ghost, I could not find a way to destroy Morgan Varik” He sighed, “Then to my surprise, even as my weapons blazed away impotently at him, he bowed to me”

He fell silent, and Devlin thought carefully about what his commanding officer had said, “There’s the conflict. He both hates and respects Morgan Varik for what he did. With that bow, he acknowledged him as the superior warrior, yet denied him his victory”

“I do not know what caused my targeting systems to fail” Yorinaga began to speak again, “But perhaps for a moment, fear caused me to believe that perhaps, the sorcery of the Dark Lords were at work. Then Morgan spoke and he was just as disturbed as I was. He recommended that we left the Valley as soon as possible and I, in my fear, agreed with him”

“That’s when you ordered the retreat” Devlin nodded.

“I did” Yorinaga grimaced, “I was shaken by what had happened, I may not have been thinking clearly. But I could only foresee disaster, hence I ordered the retreat. When a Major newly assigned to the Third Sword sought to question my orders and my sanity, I destroyed him and the others fell in line”

“And then you returned to the Federation, resigned your commission and was exiled to the monastery on Echo V” Devlin frowned, “But what disturbed you so much?”

Yorinaga thought for a moment, emotions waging war in his expression, “Morgan Varik trapped me with that bow. He knew that I value honour above all and used it to defeat me. Had I slain him, I would have allowed the Genyosha to retrieve his body and mourn him. I would have accepted their vow of neutrality, but their freedom would not have been purchased with his blood, but with my honor” He sighed, “In the end, despite my superior situation, I had lost and could not win the battle. I ordered the retreat, and returned to Almania where I made my report and resigned my commission”Shame rippled his body, “As punishment, my cousin had me exiled to Echo V, but on the condition that when he called for me again, I would come”

“And I did, and he has given me what I want. A chance to finally prove myself Morgan Varik’s superior”

 

————————————–

 

Myrkr.
Republic March,
Skye Alliance.
321ABY.
December 29th.

Crouched in the shadows of the trees, Alexandria Tarn grimaced as her sensor display clouded in static. The high metal content of the trees here on Myrkr just caused too much interference for the sensors to be any use. She couldn’t even use her force abilities either -even if she had gone through more advanced instruction- as the Ysalamiri created bubble just blocked her attempts.

She glanced to her left, saw one of the damned things hanging from a branch and was almost tempted to blast it. It’d wouldn’t have made a difference, but it might have made her feel better.

It all made spotting the enemy so much tougher. The enemy in this case being an Undine Battlesuit unit from the Light Guards proper, commanded by a Captain Drax.

They been running these exercises for a few months now, pitting individual units and squads against each other. It was supposed to be part of acclimating Col Levin’s Delta Company -as they were now known- with Light Guard’s organization and methods.

It did seem though, that a lot of the Light Guards saw it as a way of proving that the Academy trained people were better. Of course, Delta Company and it’s ‘half trained whelps’ took great delight in proving them wrong.

Alex grinned as she remembered a recent exercise between Sini Cha’s unit and one of the Light Guards Infantry units. Not only had Cha’s unit wiped the floor with the academy grads, they’d also taken the opportunity to humiliate them, parading them as ‘prisoners of war’.
It hadn’t gone down to well with the Light Guards and they’d redoubled their efforts to teach the ‘border folk’ some lessons.

Despite the fact that she was an academy graduate herself, Alex refused to allow the Light Guards to have one over her squad. Determined that her people were going to show their worth, Alex had planned this little battle carefully. She was no tactical nor strategic genius, but she was inventive and having been given the role of ambusher once more, she took full advantage of her unit being first on location here in Myrkr’s forests.

Since she couldn’t rely on sensors or the force, she instead called on the talents of her squad members. Ton Delar was an experienced outdoors man from New Dellat and had an extensive knowledge of trapping and snares and with his advice and knowledge, Alex had led her squad to laying a series of low tech traps and alarms designed to hamper Drax’s own squad. Pits to trap legs, tripwires that bound even Battlesuit enhanced limbs for a few brief minutes and even branches positioned to drop and hamper and trap, but not crush anyone caught underneath.

Still, they were forced to rely on their own eyes to spot the opposing squad. As she waited for something to happen, Alex ran through what she knew of the Undine Battlesuit. Lighter than her units Wargs, the Undine was equipped with a pair of under-slung light repeaters, one of which also had a mounted grenade launcher. It’s weaponry and maneuverability was better suited to the tight confines of the forest, but Alex felt that the steps she’d taken had neutered the Undines advantages.

A double click over her comms pre-empted the sound of crashing in a short distance ahead. One of her spotters had sighted one of Drax’s people just before he’d stumbled into one of the traps. If Drax was following procedures, he’d fan his unit out and make a slow advance.

When she made her own sighting, she was surprised to see Drax had his six man team clumped together moving in a tight formation, weapons not even in a ready position.

“Idiot” A voice Alex recognized as Drax laughed, “Watch your step next time”

“I’m telling you, Sir” Another one of the Battlesuit clad forms said, “That hole was man made. Vornskyr don’t dig holes that neat, and they don’t cover them over like that either”

“So, one of the Princess’ people dug it” Drax said with a sneer evident in his voice, “”If that’s the best she can do, then this well be easy”

Clamping down on her anger, Alex clicked her comms system three times and sighted in on the one she’d identified as Drax.

At once the forest lit up as the low powered projectiles that stood in for actual rail-gun projectiles hammered in on Drax’s squad. Her own shot took Drax in the shoulder, his armour twisting him around and dropping him to one knee as it registered the hit and the Simulated Combat Package software processed the outcome of such a hit in a live fire situation.

Alex saw two of Drax’s men go down as their armour registered fatal hits and locked up. Two more took glancing blows and staggered. Those still standing opened up with their own powered down lasers, lighting up the forest in a red glow, but none came close to her people in their hiding spots.

Even as Drax struggled back his feet, Alex sighted on him again, her finger tightening on the trigger.

Two minutes later it was all over.

 

———————————–
Two hours later and now wearing her off duty uniform, Alex was stood before General Stone. Next to her was Captain Drax, his height allowing him to tower over her. Near the left wall, Colonel Levin stood impassive, but as she looked at him, he shot her a wink. General Stone meanwhile, was silently looking at the datapad that displayed the results and stats of this mornings exercise.

After what felt like an eternity, Stone finally looked up, his eyes filled with anger and fury, though his face was as impassive as ever.

“Captain Drax” Stone said each word carefully, “You are a top level graduate of the Nagelring. You have seven years of experience. You have served in multiple battles and conflicts and have been a recipient of several medals” He took a deep breath, “So, what in the dark pits of the Sith happened?”

“General, I…” Drax began.

“Shut up” Stone interrupted, “You marched you unit straight into an ambush like some first year cadet. Not to take away from Captain Tarn’s performance or that of her unit, but with the common sense and tactical capabilities you displayed today, three Ewoks and a Gungan could have taken you”
He stabbed a finger at Alex, “Yes, Captain Tarn is also a graduate of the Nagelring. But she doesn’t have combat experience beyond exercises and a single ambush by raiders. Her squad is composed primarily of farmers and young kids with a little training and they took you apart in the space of five minutes. It wasn’t just a walkover, it was embarrassing”

Next to her, Drax cringed.

“Your unit is serving perimeter duty for the next two weeks and you are on kitchen patrol each evening as well. Perhaps a little punishment will help remind you and your squad that Delta Company might be short on training, but they are not the children you all seem to think they are. Dismissed” As Drax saluted and beat a retreat, Stone turned to Alex, “Captain Tarn, a moment”

“Yes sir” Alex swallowed.

Stone steepled his fingers and scowled at her over the top of the tips for a few long minutes. Out of the corner of her eye, Alex could see Levin giving her a reassuring look, telling her she wasn’t in trouble….yet.

“Captain Tarn, I owe you an apology”

Alex frowned, “I wasn’t aware one was needed, sir” She said, wincing at the flippant tone.

“Shut up” Stone said, but his voice had none of the anger it had when he’d said the same thing to Drax, “When Delta Company was first assigned to the Light Guards and I learned that you were one of Colonel Levin’s officers, I was not happy. The last thing I wanted was to have a political liability such as yourself in my unit. You are the daughter of First Prince Harrison and that means you are under a microscope constantly, your every move being watched. It’s even worse here in the Republic March, your uncle Duke Miles is already wary of the training battalions and seeks anything to use against your father. We need to be careful enough as it is, without you in the mix”

“This sounds familiar” Alex thought, casting a quick glance to Levin.

Stone also glanced at Levin, “Now Colonel Levin has told me that he had the same doubts and fears when you were assigned to him and has reassured me that you are as good as your scores say and that you won’t let me down. Your performance today has gone a long way to proving that. Good work, dismissed”

Relieved, Alex saluted and beat her own retreat.
As the door closed behind Alex, Stone glanced over at Levin again, “Well, Colonel, seems I owe you an apology too. She’s as good as you said she is. A little rough around the edges perhaps, but she has potential” he shook his head, “Myrkr isn’t exactly the ideal place to be running these exercises, but she created her own advantages and used the terrain and local effects perfectly. Heck, your entire company is proving themselves”

“Thank you, sir” Col nodded, feeling somewhat vindicated.

“Granted, the big test is going to be when they see combat proper” Stone sighed, “And with the news of the wedding next year, I fully expect us to start seeing some combat soon”

Col frowned, “The news was certainly a surprise. I imagine there was a lot of panic on Coruscant and Almania. Both the Federation and the Republic are going to be very wary of a strengthening between the Skye Alliance and the Free Worlds League”

“Speaking of the wedding” Stone asked, “I presume Captain Tarn will be requesting leave to attend?”

“Actually” Col shrugged, “I asked her about it, but she said no. I gather she doesn’t speak with her family a great deal. Plus the wedding is apparently quite close to the anniversary of her mothers death”

“I see” Stone nodded, “Well, the option is there if she wants it”

“I’ll let her know”

 

—————————————————————–
Terah Engineering Company Shipyards.
Tatooine Orbit.
Oberon Confederation.
322ABY.
January 2nd

Galatea Terah swore softly under her voice as she glanced over the report. True to his nature, Marko had dug into every single aspect of the disaster in Beta-four. The Skakoan had investigated every command sent, every computer system, every comm log and every program used and had packaged everything up nice and neat for her. He did append the raw data too for her to look over, but he’d also made sure that the important points were immediately visible.

First, the cause of the engine imbalance and subsequent explosion was traced to an anomalous program in the Hunter’s systems. When the power levels reached a particular threshold, the program initiated a feedback through the systems, causing the imbalance.

Galatea knew now that the Hunter’s had been sabotaged. There was no way such a program could come about accidentally.
Fortunately, the sabotage appeared to be limited to the one particular batch. Once they knew what to look for they sent out a message that had the Hunters already in service and the ones still at the factories checked. The computer systems were also purged to remove traces of the sabotage.

Second, the failure of the blast shields also appeared to be a deliberate act. Marko had discovered that an override control had been sent to prevent the shields dropping. The override had been traced to a tech from Delta-Two, though the fact he had been dead from illness seven months previous absolved him of suspicion.

Somebody was trying to sabotage the Hunter project and they had the means and resources to elude suspicion. They clearly had access to the TEC computer systems and database as well as the TEC factories on Lok and Geonosis.

That scared her. Someone with that amount of access to security systems could cover his tracks well and could easily elude any attempt to trap him.

Galatea sighed and massaged her forehead. She was a tech, not an investigator. She felt way in over her head.

 

————————————————-
Visage Enterprises Central Communications Facility.
Lorrd.
Skye Alliance
321ABY
January 4th

Diana Senn looked around the foyer of the communications facility. A grand place, it reminded her of the holos of some of the long gone Alderaanian palaces. Banners displaying the insignia of both Visage Enterprises and VisComm -the Visage subsidiary responsible for the control and maintenance of the galaxy spanning holonet- hung from the walls.

Though Lorrd was a Skye Alliance world, the VisComm facility was like all Visage facilities and buildings considered neutral territory. Back when the Jedi Order had negotiated its neutrality from the various nations and factions, Visage Enterprises had done likewise, offering to handle and control the holonet and keep it free from the control of any one nation.
Since then, the threat of a communications interdiction had prevented attacks against Visage property and holdings.

Though, technically, Visage didn’t control the holonet either.

“Ah, Master Senn” A tall, slender and handsome man smiled as he approached her, “Good to see you again. You’re as beautiful as ever”

Diana nodded to Jol Loran, “And you are still the flatterer I see, Administrator”

Jol Loran ran a hand through his greying hair, “Caught me out again” He smiled, “Now what brings you to my humble facility. It’s not often we get a Jedi Master visiting” He grinned at her and Diana was reminded of Jol’s father, who had passed away the previous year. Darik Loran had been targeted by assassins from a rival company over twenty years ago and Diana had been the Knight who protected the elder Loran all those years ago. After Darik’s death, the elder brother Ben had taken over the running of visage Enterprises, whilst Jol had taken over the main communications hub. Diana knew of the much younger sister Natasha, but she was considered a black sheep of the family, a rogue and an embarrassment.

“I need to speak with her” Diana said.

Jol stiffened, “I’m not sure if I can allow it, not without authorization. Does Tiepolo know about this?”

“He’s why I’m here” Diana shook her head, “This has to be off the books. Between me, you and her” Seeing his worry, Diana smiled, “It’s important and you do owe me”

Jol frowned, then sighed, “Yes, I owe you. But this is asking a lot. Maybe, if you could tell me what you needed……”

Diana shook her head, “I’m not sure myself. This may turn out to be a fools errand, but I have to be sure”

Jol hesitated, then seemed to slump, “Okay, but never again. You know the rules”

“I do” Diana smiled, “And I appreciate you bending the rules for me this once”

Jol grinned, “Come on. We’ll have to be quick”

He led her to the elevator and they descended to the lower levels. Somewhere near the bottom, the car stopped and Jol stepped forwards and opened a panel to reveal a keypad and a retinal scanner. Quickly inputting his code, he looked into the scanner and allowed it to scan his retina.

“Identity confirmed” A harsh mechanical voice filled the air, “Provide voice match authorization”

“I am Jol Loran, Master of this realm” Jol said, throwing a grin to Diana.

“Voice match confirmed” The voice said, softening into a softer, female voice, one tinged with humor, “Though you certainly are not the master of this place”

The lift car started to life again and descended for a few more seconds before finally coming to a half. The doors opened and Jol led Diana into a new corridor lined with servers and memory banks. At the far end of the corridor, it opened out into a large chamber filled with more servers, terminals, memory banks and communication routers. This was the main hub of the holonet network. From here, one could essentially listen to, track and intercept any holonet communication the galaxy or even shut down entire parts of the network.

And sat on one the terminals, was the one responsible for it all.

She looked human, every aspect about her was human. On the outside at least, Diana knew her to be a Human Replica Droid, one of the few left in the galaxy since the technology had been outlawed. There were no visual clues, but where she would have sensed life, instead she sensed something different. Not quite life, but not quite droid either. Ignoring the feeling, Diana focused on what she knew about the woman.

About Sacul.

In 35ABY, Sacul had been an AI aboard the ship owned by one of Jol’s ancestors, Garik Loran. During the war that dominated that year, the Sacul was infected by an ancient Rakatan virus that split off a copy of her code to create a new AI that spawned from Sacul. That ‘child’ AI went on to infect the holonet, growing and learning as it did so, eventually becoming the holonet itself and becoming self aware and almost sentient.
Eventually, perhaps seeking a connection, it tracked down Sacul and revealed itself to her. Despite some initial distrust, Sacul eventually accepted her ‘offspring’
Through Daedalus, Visage Enterprises ended up gaining control of the holonet. The AI had control over every holonet station in the galaxy and the then Visage Enterprises board decided to use that information to negotiate their neutrality from the various nations.

Sometime around 100ABY however, Sacul’s program had begun to break down -a result of the earlier infiltration and years of being transferred between AI cores- and faced with losing the closest thing to a parent it had, Daedalus had sacrificed itself to preserve it’s ‘mother’ The two AIs had merged and Sacul had become something more.

Now it was through Sacul that Visage Enterprises controlled the holonet and she was Diana’s best hope of finding something useful about Tiepolo and his plans.

“Jol” The disturbingly human girl smiled, “What brings you to my domain?”

Jol indicated Diana, “Sacul, you remember Diana, don’t you?”

“Oh yes” Sacul smiled, “Diana Senn, Jedi Master. Member of the Jedi Council. You saved Darik from the assassins back in 300ABY, didn’t you?”

“I did” Diana smiled.

“I never forget a face” Sacul smiled, “Of course, I’d already identified you as you came down the elevator. Scanned your face, ran it through my information databases and made a match to within point-zero-zero-zero percent of a perfect match” She frowned, a very human expression, “Sorry, that just came across as creepy, didn’t it?”

Jol frowned, “Sacul, Diana has a favour to ask you”