PART III: BALMORRA
It was a beautiful day. Probably. Quinn had yet to look outside - one of the advantages of having your quarters attached to your office. When he first arrived, he'd felt a little disappointed at the lack of windows in this building. Now he never thought about it. He thought about nothing except how to better serve Darth Baras and the Empire.
In all the time he'd been on Balmorra, it seemed like nothing had changed. The rebels rebelled. The Empire retaliated. Battle lines shifted, but only slightly; installations bounced from Them to Us and back again; occasionally someone would arrive from off-world with a Grand Plan to consolidate Imperial rule on the planet, but within a few months, they'd either be dead or headed back off-world again. He'd been here ten years, but it hardly felt that way; each year was the same as the last.
The only highlights of his existence were when Darth Baras contacted him with a task to perform. These tasks were rarely easy, or simple, or straightforward. Quinn loved them. He devoted every thought, every breath to seeing them carried out with the utmost skill and efficiency. Typically they involved delivering or retrieving some kind of "package" behind enemy lines, so he spent his time between assignments studying the rebels' movements, tactics and structure. His knowledge of the enemy rivaled that of the top military analysts on Balmorra. But outside of his subordinates and Darth Baras, no one knew it. No one asked. No one cared. The authorities barely knew his name. He was just "That lieutenant working for Baras."
Duty - Dedication - Service. Those were his watchwords, and he believed in them. He lived by them. He lived for them.
He had nothing else.
And all that was about to change.
Darth Baras' latest assignment was twofold. First, locate and track a recently-arrived investigator sent by the Jedi Council, operating somewhere in rebel territory. Second, render every assistance possible to Baras' newest apprentice when she arrived on Balmorra. In some ways, the first assignment was the easier one. Quinn's people were well-accustomed to covert operations behind enemy lines. An actual visit from a Sith, though - that was rare. The prospect generated a great deal of excitement and speculation among the troops, which Quinn worked hard and (mostly) successfully to quash. There could be no slip-ups. Lord Baras had clearly stated that this mission was both vital and top secret.
The apprentice arrived only a few hours after surveillance had begun. She was every inch a Sith - tall, commanding, hooded, masked and cloaked. All eyes in the room were drawn to her as she entered. She was accompanied by a blue-skinned Twi'lek woman, a servant, presumably, whom she dismissed with a few quiet words before allowing the lieutenant to escort her into his office.
"My lord, I am to be your liaison here on Balmorra. My instructions from Lord Baras are to brief you on the situation here, then put you in contact with him for further instructions."
"Very good, lieutenant." The Sith seemed to be scrutinizing him. "Darth Baras says you're capable. I hope he's not mistaken."
"I will earn that distinction, my lord. Shall I proceed?"
"Please do."
The briefing took nearly an hour. Quinn had prepared the standard planetary situation report, but Baras' apprentice would clearly not be satisfied with standard measures. She asked probing questions about both the planet's history and the rebellion's current status; Quinn was ready with the answers. About ten minutes in, he found himself breathing an inward sigh of relief. Dealing with Sith could be trying. Their great power and responsibility made some of them... unpredictable. Yet another reason he enjoyed being in the service of an intelligent, rational lord like Baras. His apprentice seemed to follow in his footsteps. Even better, she expressed interest in aiding the war effort; as futile as he expected any such aid to be, it was appreciated.
When the briefing was finished, Quinn turned things over to Darth Baras and retired to the main room. His people immediately began plying him with questions. What was she like? Would she stay long? Could she drive the rebels back? Quinn hushed them and sent them back to their duties. Professionalism had to be maintained. He'd just enough time to update himself on the status of the investigator before he was called back into the office.
"Lieutenant, are you familiar with the satellite control tower in an area known as the Markaran Plains?"
"Quite familiar, my lord."
"Pull up a map of the area."
"Right away, my lord." It was done in a few moments. Baras' apprentice looked it over thoughtfully.
"What can you tell me about the tower?"
"It is a high priority target. It serves as a communications hub for the entire region. Fortunately, it is not in the rebels' hands; unfortunately, neither is it in ours. The tower is heavily fortified with an extraordinary number of mechanical defenses. There is an Imperial outpost nearby which has tried several times to take the tower, but we have been unable to wrest it from the droids."
"Interesting. We must destroy the mainframe."
"We must... " Quinn was staggered, but only for an instant. "As you say, my lord. I have no ground troops under my command, but I may be able to requisition some. How many will you require?"
"None. My associate and I will do this ourselves."
"Associate?"
"A Twi'lek named Vette. You must have seen her with me."
"Ah. Of course." How peculiar. Quinn was starting to rethink his assessment of the Sith's rationality.
"How are you stocked in terms of explosives?" Ten minutes of calculation followed this question, determining tonnage required and placement of the charge. Once that was done, Baras' apprentice studied the map again. "What is this?" she asked, placing a finger on the opposite side of the valley.
"The Okara Droid Factory, my lord. Another high priority target currently controlled by the droids. It is the primary source of the tower's defenses."
The Sith looked at it for a long moment. "Thank you, lieutenant. Have the explosives sent to the Markaran outpost. I leave immediately."