The four people at the front of the room could not be more different at first glance. One human woman in the robes of a Jedi Master, who had a few strands of red poking out from hair almost entirely gone to white. A middle-aged Zabrak man in a Rear Admiral's uniform. A Mon Calimari who a few of you -- those who tended to follow politics -- recognized as chairman of the Republic Senate's intelligence committee. And a second Navy officer, this one apparenlty a relatively new human Ensign, who has simply escorted all of you into the room.
The Mon Calimari cleared his throat. "I suppose it's time to begin. I am Senator Oro; my collegues are Admiral Saric Aan of the Republic Navy, and the Jedi Master Keda Starwind. You have all been informed of the basics of why this team has been assembled. Most of you have some connection with the Jedi Order, the Republic Navy, or Republic intelligence, though some of you have recruited specially.
"As you probably know, the city of Dintella on Imperasan 4 -- a minor Republic system near the Outer Rim -- was attacked by unknown forces four months ago. It was only after we examined the wreckage that the true extent of this threat became known."
The Mon Calimari turned to the Admiral, who activated the holoprojecter next to him, showing a display of a bombed-out city. Then the Navy officer took over the explanation.
"What we found when we sent a Navy team to investigate was rather confusing. There was the obvious extensive damage to the city. But beyond that, we found a fair number of destroyed war droids and other military equipment of unknown designs, some dead soldiers in armor that was similar -- but not identical -- to Mandalorian designs, and a handful of the dead civilians were not recognized by any of the survivors, and gene typing suggests they were not native to Imperasan 4. At first glance, despite the oddities, we were inclined to write this off as a particularly ambitious band of pirates, possibly with the resources to hire a small group of Mandalorian mercenaries." The Admiral said, flipping through holo-still shots on the projecter as he did. "We forwarded the incident report to the main Jedi enclave on Dantooine, but we didn't expect them to have any more ideas than we did."
"And they did not." Master Starwind said. "However, they did put out an inquiry to certain experts, one of which was a certain retired Jedi with a certain familiarity with computer systems..." She smiled. "I was on the first transport I could find to Imperasan 4 to confirm my suspiscions. I needed to examine things more closely to be sure, but my worst fears were confirmed.
"Only two groups in the history of the galaxy have ever been able to build machinery that draws on the Dark Side. The Rakata of the Infinite Empire -- dead and gone millenia ago -- and Karil Valera's self-styled K'ril Technomages. Oh, we could have another mad genius. But it seems more likely that some of her followers escaped us.
"And that is why you are here. To track down these new K'ril, discover their intentions, and allow us to stop them before they make another bid to conquer the Republic."
The mandalorian in red and grey armor listens to all the speakers intently during the briefing. His only noticable reaction is to lean slightly forward when the Admiral mentions the near-Mandalorians found among the dead. This is why they brought me in on this. , he thinks to himself. Could that akaan'ade (army) have some connection to ba'buir (grandfather)?
After the Jedi stops talking, Theta thinks for a few moments ordering and prioritizing his questions. Looking around to see if any of the others are going to speak up first, he quickly decides that he should just go ahead and get things moving.
His metalic voice speaks with a slight echo from his helmet to the briefers and the others gathered for the briefing. "First things first: Do you have any idea what the objective was in hitting the city of Dintella? That might give us some clue what the overall goals might be for such a force. Secondly, if it has been four months since this attack and there have been no further attacks credited to this source, then what are they waiting for? And if the trail is four months cold, it will be difficult to pick it up and follow the trail anywhere. So is there any further intel on where in the galaxy we should start looking, or do we just go back and skim the rubble of Dintella for clues. I would think if something was to be found there you would have been able to find it by now before recruiting us."
"We know where they attacked next, because they already did. Smaller scale, but the same methods. You'll be heading there, where the trail isn't as cold as it is at Dintella, and you'll have complete copies of the Dintella reports from all of our analysts." The Admiral said. "It's our expectation, though, that this will just be a starting point."
"So are there any correlations in the targets of these attacks that analysis can use to point to the reason for them? Or is that some of what we're expected to find out to use in tracking down the K'ril? How recent was this new attack?" Theta asks.
It's a good thing I decided to record this briefing with my holorecorder. Never hurts to have it as reference material later or to have as evidence in case they try to change the rules later and burn the hired troops.
The female Twi'lek leaned back in her chair while her shapely legs rested comfortably on the table before her.
"Because I have a reputation to protect and wouldn't like having aspersions cast on it: I am in no way affiliated with the Republic or the Jedi at all. I'm merely here because someone decided this was worth it to pay my going rate, considerable as it is.
Now, with that out of the way, has anyone here actually bothered to check whether something similar happened previously outside of the borders of the Republic?"
The female Twi'lek leaned back in her chair while her shapely legs rested comfortably on the table before her.
"Because I have a reputation to protect and wouldn't like having aspersions cast on it: I am in no way affiliated with the Republic or the Jedi at all. I'm merely here because someone decided this was worth it to pay my going rate, considerable as it is."
The Senator chuckled, or at least you thought he did; it was hard to tell with a Mon Calimari. "That's not percisely true. Sometimes you haven't been working for who you thought you were."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Douane
"Now, with that out of the way, has anyone here actually bothered to check whether something similar happened previously outside of the borders of the Republic?"
"That's one of the things you're likely going need to check into, and one reason why the ship Mr. Hawke will be flying for you is a civillian transport. We haven't recieved any reports through official channels. It's unlikely they started within the Republic, but we haven't found any trails on that end yet." The Admiral said.
The Senator chuckled, or at least you thought he did; it was hard to tell with a Mon Calimari. "That's not percisely true. Sometimes you haven't been working for who you thought you were."
The Calamari's words made her sit straight at once.
"If I have worked for individual Republic officials in the past, that doesn't affiliate me with the Republic in any way just as taking a job from Rogga the Hutt wouldn't make me part of his syndicate. I am my own Twi'lek and I like it that way, nothing more and nothing less.
I'd even work for the Jedi if they paid my fee ... but never for that lekku-grabbing, son-of-a-lylek Jedi, whom you sent to bring me in!"
Sianni replied with an indignant tone to her voice as her braintails silently "screamed" vile obscenities as the mere thought of the brazen human who had kept fingering her braintails sent a shiver down Sianni's lekku and back.
Quote:
"That's one of the things you're likely going need to check into, and one reason why the ship Mr. Hawke will be flying for you is a civillian transport. We haven't recieved any reports through official channels. It's unlikely they started within the Republic, but we haven't found any trails on that end yet." The Admiral said.
Sianni rolled her eyes. Once again the Republic proved that it didn't really care about what happened outside of its borders, even if doing so could mean its own doom.
"Let's assume for a moment that this "Dark Side of the Force" really exists and isn't just a Jedi fabrication because they needed an all-around-vindication, what's so special about such droids? Do they only function when someone is around to power them?"
"Let's assume for a moment that this "Dark Side of the Force" really exists and isn't just a Jedi fabrication because they needed an all-around-vindication, what's so special about such droids? Do they only function when someone is around to power them?"
The Jedi's eyes flashed for a second before calming. "What is 'special' about those droids is their unusual power source, and that it is proof the K'ril are back. They are among the least of the K'ril machines." Master Starwind said. "They can function without their keepers; some of their greater creations cannot. Their version of the Star Forge, for example, needed a score of Dark adepts to keep it running; they feared making it as dependent on a single person of power as the original Rakatan one."
Sianni didn't really worry about the woman's reaction. After all, most Jedi acted that way when she threw their "Dark Side Myth" at them. Except for that stupid human, of course ...
"So the only difference is they are powered by this Force instead of by standard motivators. Do they even carry blasters and how would they supply them with energy?"
Uncrossing his arms from in front of his chest, Theta checks his chrono before saying, "Droids are still just machines, regardless of their power source. They aren't the brains behind the machines, and they aren't gonna do more than support the Mando muscle that is fighting with them. Unless the droids are smart enough to learn the fighting ways of the Mando's they're working with, I wouldn't be too concerned. I mean, what's the big deal if they use 'Dark Side' energy for power. Unless they suck the life force out of you to replenish their energy, I don't get how they're so much worse than regular battle droids." Theta says in his strange echoing voice before sitting back and cracking his knuckles and listening to the others.
"They're not worse for what they can do, though their droids tend to be more dangerous than something their size should be. And awfully resistant to reprogramming." The Jedi said. "Of much greater concern is what making such things does to those who make them. And someone who is highly intelligent, capable of weilding the Force with a high degree of skill, and completely in the grip of the Dark Side is about the most dangerous enemy you can possibly imagine."
The so far quiet Ithoran looks a bit askance as the droids and dark force are mentioned several times. He looks a bit frightful at times. In his deep voice, he adds, Tomalor see people like this. They... speak to machines. Bend them to their will. Turn them dark. They are the master of the machine. Sing its song. Such is a danger when the song is tainted.
__________________ stonegod -- LEB judge and spawn of Khyber since 2005 (Blog)
Standing silent through all this was the youngish looking woman in the plain tunic and breeches of a Jedi Knight...and if that wasn't enough, there was the lightsaber at her side to give her away. She had spent the conversation so far watching the others speak, listening to them. She didn't bat a lash at Sianni's baiting of the elder Jedi.
Now though, she spoke in a slightly quiet voice that required listeners to be quiet themselves to hear, and while her tone was unhurried and calm, it was also inexorable in that she gave the impression that she wasn't going to repeat herself
"Master Starwind is correct, of course," Kacela said. "Though you would expect me to agree with her, of course."
She looked up, the cherubic roundness of her face belied by her intense expression. "I have dedicated myself to standing against the Dark Side and those who would use it against us...and by 'us,' I mean the Republic and life in general. This is what you must understand."
Kacela lifts a hand and opens it, palm up. "The Force is life. Life creates and sustains it, and is sustained and nurtured by it. It is a great cycle of being, and all life participates."
She then lifts her other hand, but keeps it clenched in a fist. "The Dark Side is not death, because death is part of life. It is anti-life. Entropy. Decay. Destruction. Dissolution. It is the relentless pull of the Void; the abyss that looks into each of us."
"The battle droids are toys to true Dark Side adepts. They are mere puppets, instruments of slaughter. They're not the real threat."
Sianni strained hard to suppress a yawn when the "tin-can" started again. Ooh, nice tough-guy act! Should I be scared? And what's the deal with this 'Mando' stuff? Too good to use the full name?
"Well, the point is that using 'Mando muscle' never worked out for anyone, not even for themselves. So perhaps these guys try something different now, thinking they have a chance at pure sabacc.
But I want to know more," she insisted, pointing one of her lekku at the elder Jedi. "You said something about a planet forge ... or star forge, or whatever. I'll take it these droids are not built in your average homeshop. So they are bound to have one of these ... thingies somewhere, right?
And before I forget it, the Jedi Order are notorious information-hoarders. I want everything you have on these droids from the last time around."
"You said something about a planet forge ... or star forge, or whatever. I'll take it these droids are not built in your average homeshop. So they are bound to have one of these ... thingies somewhere, right?
"They would not. It would make things easier for them; building large numbers of their twisted machinery would take large numbers of Dark Side adepts without something like the Star Forge. And I am not sure if they could manage starfighters, let alone capital ships, without one. We never saw evidence of that before, but I can't rule it out."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Douane
And before I forget it, the Jedi Order are notorious information-hoarders. I want everything you have on these droids from the last time around."
"It was at my request that this investigation was not confined solely within the Jedi Order. I suspect if my one-time Padawan and I had not been so deeply involved the last time, my voice likely would not have carried the day." Keda said. "I have no intention of crippling it; you will have what you need to know. You will not have everything I know, because much of that is personal or of no consequence. And you will be expected to keep much of this secret for reasons you should well understand. The fewer that know just what the K'ril did to become a threat, the less likely it is that someone will try and follow in their footsteps."
Content with her 'win', Sianni conceded mangnanimously:
"Just to avoid any possible misunderstandings, I am not interested in Jedi secrets or the like. I simply aim to squash potential later 'I could have told you so.' foul-ups right here and now.
And therefore I have to ask again: The droids are force-powered - are their weapon systems as well?
Despite of what some of those Holovids try to sell us, I know your lightsabers are not, ever since my father build me one as a toy when I was younger. So have these K'ril developed something the Jedi can't do?"
Her lekku gestured to include both the Jedi and the Ithorian.
Content with her 'win', Sianni conceded magnanimously: And therefore I have to ask again: The droids are force-powered - are their weapon systems as well?
Her lekku gestured to include both the Jedi and the Ithorian.
The quiet Ilthorian flinched at the mention of 'dark corruption' from the other, but answered Sianni's question. Don't think so. Not that I have seen.
__________________ stonegod -- LEB judge and spawn of Khyber since 2005 (Blog)
Again! Sianni nearly tied her lekku into a knot in silent frustration. This might well be the most aggravating Jedi she had ever come across ... except for that other human, of course. Who had ever heard of such a thing as a combination preacher/propagandist jedi? And even better, her being on this side of the room probably meant that she'd be the assigned watchdog for this!
Last edited by Douane; 6th November 2007 at 05:39 PM..
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