Tori: I swear that I smelled chocolate earlier!
Zas: You always smell chocolate. Either you or Saria are always eating it!
SA: Come to think of it, how are you two so thin?
Saria: (enters with a small bowl of chocolate mousse) Ok, time to- AUGH!
Tori: (tackles Saria and tries to grapple for the chocolatey-goodness)
Zas: That's how: they have fights worthy of anime characters over chocolate.
SA: (manages to extract the mousse from the fighting and takes a bite) Remember the time they actually pulled out swords over the last piece of Lindt chocolate?
WE OWN NOTHING EXCEPT SARIA'S MOUSSE!
zzzzzzzzzz
The suggestion that Ylenic take the little girl to Alderaan was well received by the Organa family. Bail's three sisters, Celly, Tia, and Rouge, were all dowagers who had taken well to the idea of having a little one running around the palace.
Currently, Celly Organa, who was the chairwoman of the Refugee Relief Movement, was working on the forms to hide the child's origins. They would use these to provide an identity prior to an adoption.
The Earth refugees had had a significantly different view on the matter. Two of them had been shouting at the Jedi about how he couldn't take the girl there, that Alderaan needed to be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice. Even more surprising: although the refugees were new to Basic and were having some difficulty with certain terms, many of them recognized certain names and terms.
Looking back, Ylenic could admit that all of the refugees had been like that, but it hadn't truly caused any suspicions until this moment. Why had the previous groups of refugees outright refused to consider going to Alderaan? Why did these people also seem to know of it?
There was no better way to address the issue than straight forward.
That was how Ylenic It'kla found himself sitting across the table from one of the more cool-headed of the refugees, introducing her to stim-tea. She, like the girl, was from the Philippines and had been speaking to the child in their mother tongue before agreeing to speak with him.
"I'm a bit confused about why you refuse to allow the child to go to Alderaan," Ylenic began gently as he poured the tea. "She could have a family and a bright future there, be well-educated and looked after. I promise you, the Organa's-"
"Are not the problem," the woman replied, her voice carrying an unplaceable accent. "It's Alderaan!"
"Alderaan is safe and peaceful. They possess no weapons!" Ylenic informed the woman and was deeply surprised when he felt no surprise or understanding, just a hardening resolve.
"We have…" the woman then said a word that was apparently without an equivalent in Basic. She blinked for a moment then settled on a different word. "Stories… Ones that involve a planet called Alderaan. It meets a terrible fate and is destroyed."
Ylenic felt a chill run up his spine as he thought of the Separatist's weapon, which never seemed far from his thoughts these days, but pushed it down fast. The Empire wouldn't dare to use the weapon to destroy Alderaan. That would be a horrible slaughter that would turn many against the Empire, especially the allies of Alderaan. These people were just superstitious, believing that a planet that had oddly been given a similar name in a story could be a bad omen. These sorts of fears were common amongst the inhabitants of new worlds, but still disconcerting to deal with.
"Are you going to allow this fiction from your home planet to be used to deny this child the chance at a new identity? A new life?"
The woman across from him bit her lip, and a tremble went through the Force. "Doesn't the coincidence seem enough? Why not another planet?"
"I doubt she'll receive such an offer from another family. This is the royal family of Alderaan that is offering to adopt her after all, I know them well and they are good people. She'll be in a position that will be above suspicion, have access to education she might not otherwise have."
"But is that safe?"
The question was blunt, and Ylenic found that it was a multifaceted question.
"I'm going to suggest that Alderaan invest in higher-grade sensors and planetary shields, preferably installed surreptitiously. If something happens, I'm certain that she'll be evacuated in time."
Uncertainty still ebbed from the woman in waves, only ebbing a bit when he had mentioned that the story these people knew was fiction. Mentioning the shields had caused the woman's eyes to narrow suddenly.
"Why do they need shields?" she asked suddenly. "What is going on?"
That last question was both perfect in intent and the worst she could ask. Ylenic didn't wish to worry these refugees with the Empire's new weapon, they weren't ready for such a thing.
"The Empire can conduct strikes on Alderaan, especially if they learn of their involvement with your planet. But utter destruction could never happen."
"But why tempt fate by sending her there?"
zzzzzzzzzz
Qwi Xux's response to Leia's original message had been exciting for the girl. Exciting to the point that she had to stop herself from sending an immediate response to request a face-to-face meeting. Such a thing would be obscenely suspicious.
Instead, Leia had begun to look through the articles she had available and slowly built her response to the woman. She needed to make things look suspicious without being overt with it. Just telling Xux that her family had died in an accident would be dismissed, though there would be the strange amount of time that had passed without informing her. Strange, but not unheard of since she was evidently on an important assignment.
For three days, the princess had slowly built a report that indicated the happenings, and how it was that it had come to the 'attention of her department.' The task was tedious, though not as mind-numbing as her aunts 'lady lessons' had been.
The report simply read that a complaint had come to the Family Services office from her family, complaining about Qwi not being included on the Civil Registry of Omwat and that the Census Bureau was not answering them. When the complaint had been brought up, an attempt to follow up with the family had revealed that they had been killed shortly after lodging it due to an explosion in their home. This was followed by an apology for her loss.
The report grated on Leia horribly. It seemed unfeeling and deliberately misleading, the second part being intentional. She kept wanting to add in more, offer condolences, help, anything; but that wasn't what a bored office worker who did this every day would do. Especially given the way that most followed High Human Society in the upper levels of Imperial Center (Coruscant as Leia persisted in calling it in her head).
Unfortunately, Qwi was one of many non-humans that were being informed of misfortunes in tumultuous times, and Leia giving the sympathy she wished to express would be suspicious.
Finally, five days after the initial response from Qwi, Leia believed enough time had passed to send the report, seemingly by a busy and uninterested office worker.
Her mouth was dry as she sent the letter, hoping it would raise some interest in Qwi to look for further answers, and possibly sway her to contact Padme Fulcrum again.
zzzzzzzzzz
Bail Organa sighed as he walked through the halls of the royal palace of Alderaan. His sisters were buzzing with excitement about the youngling that Jedi It'kla had contacted them about.
Celly had finished the documentation for the child just hours ago, and now the three were arguing over who would be adopting the child. All three were hoping for a little lady this time, seeing as how Leia had been a tomboy.
Leia had similarly been drawn into the excitement over a new cousin. Based on some of her glances, Bail was willing to bet that she'd be tutoring the girl in various, unladylike pursuits.
Unfortunately, he found that he couldn't share in the joy of the occasion. Mothma had spoken the It'kla just an hour ago, and had received the news about Tarkin's project. She wouldn't tell him over their commlinks, so he headed to his secure computer to access the coded message.
The message was short but highly encrypted, taking almost five minutes to be unlocked. During that time, he checked the status of his various teams of 'missionaries' around the galaxy. Some were currently on Yavin IV, assisting with the set-up of a base in some of the ruins on the planet. Others were reporting in from war torn planets were aid was being rendered.
He also saw confirmation that the last of the teams on Earth had withdrawn, earning a small sigh of relief even as he felt a flash of guilt. They were receiving such a violent introduction to the galaxy, and he couldn't even stand with them outright.
Finally, the message was unlocked and Bail turned his attention to his computer and felt his breath freeze in his chest. Tarkin was making a weapon that could destroy planets! The particulars on the project were unknown other than that it had been designed by the Separatists, the Geonosians evidently having given the plans unknowingly to an Imperial agent and had been destroyed afterwards.
Bail grit his teeth as chills ran up his arms. Destroy a planet? That was going MUCH too far, but the more he saw of the power-hungry nature of those that stood at the top of this Empire, the less it surprised him.
This abomination needed to be destroyed! They needed to find out where it was and destroy it while there was the chance! But where was it currently? How would that happen?
The Viceroy's hand shook as he considered it. He knew where it would eventually be: in the Earth system. The people there might be willing to help them, but at what cost? How could they destroy the station?
They needed a plan, and to know where to hit. And weapons. Bail Organa felt his head bow in semi-defeat. Alderaan needed to arm itself, especially if they intended to stand with the forming rebellion. Originally, he had thought that they could keep Alderaan separate from the war, but that was now very unlikely.
As for this death machine, maybe they could bribe someone to bring them pieces of the plans. Maybe an engineer or someone-
Bail remembered the name mentioned by Ars Dangor at that moment, Qwi wasn't it? Maybe he could research her, figure out if she was on this project or- No. That was a trick, he could tell based on the way that Dangor had mentioned her in connection with Tarkin.
Standing, Bail moved from his office after deleting the message from Mothma. He needed to make sure Leia didn't think to try to research Qwi Xux.
Leia was in one of the gardens with Celly, who was telling her about the Refugee Relief Movement. They were discussing planets that were in crisis and the various types of relief. They both looked up as he approached.
"Leia, I need to ask that you not go looking for that woman that was mentioned by Ars Dangor," he stated quietly.
"What?! Why?" Leia responded sharply.
"Leia!" Celly chastised, looking ready to begin a lecture on how a lady should speak, but Bail cut her off.
"Because it's a trap," he replied shortly. "Likely an agent of Tarkin or someone in the ISB, trying to catch someone with information."
Leia looked thunderstruck for a moment, and Bail knew it was already too late.
"You found her?"
His daughter nodded. "She's… Not in general contact. I posed as an officer worker for Imperial Family Services, giving her notice of the deaths of her family."
Bail stopped to consider what he had just heard. Deaths? Leia knew not to make up any lies that were easily disproven, so this had to be a truth. "You researched this?"
"I couldn't find her, she was only mentioned through an inquiry to the Census office by her family. And they were killed a week later."
"Did you contact her?"
"Yes."
"And you only told her about the deaths?"
"Yes. I deliberately made them seem suspicious, but nothing else. I don't know if anything will come of this."
Bail considered this. He should… Research this. This person might have the information they needed, and if her family had been killed suspiciously, she might be convinced to assist them. They'd need to talk to Mothma, possibly have Leia turn over communication to an agent-
His commlink went off then, and he grabbed it quickly. A voice he recognized came from over the comm, an agent that doubled as his housekeeper on Imperial Center.
"Tarkin has left Imperial Center."
zzzzzzzzzz
Tara was not happy.
Her day had been another brutal repeat of training it seemed. Her scalpel work was proving to be excellent, and like most of her fellow students, she no longer jumped due to loud noises during operations. Even the sting of the rubber bullets no longer could draw her away from her work.
It was exactly what those in charge had been wanting.
Today there had been several new students brought into the surgical area, the forerunners of the second class. Jeremy, Jose, and herself had been ordered to report to the mess hall.
"What's going on?" Jose asked but was waved away by the officer that had delivered the orders.
"Military," Jeremy reminded him as he pulled him out of the door of the mock surgical prep room. "When they say 'jump,' you ask 'how high?' as you jump."
Tara had nothing to add to that as the trio walked through the halls of the hospital, students and doctors rushing by them, their roles by now well-known and their work certain. Several of the students that they recognized as also being survivors of the original class were heading toward the exit.
It was not a crowd that left the building and headed for the mess hall, only about 25 students. Andrew fell in with them quickly.
"Any idea?" he asked.
"None," Tara replied as her eyes moved quickly, looking for anything that might be telling.
She was studying the roof of the Administration building when Jose breathed out, "Bus."
More than four sets of eyes turned towards the parking lot at that moment, and sure enough, there was a bus.
"Being sent out?" Jeremy wondered as around them, several people began to murmur before going quiet as they entered the mess hall.
There were no doctors present this time, no other students. Even the cooks seemed to be gone as the summoned students moved between the tables, most settling with friends or small groups. At the front of the room and along the sides were several soldiers. Even they looked confused.
"ATTENTION!"
Tara, Jeremy, and Jose didn't react other than to turn their heads to the front of the hall where an officer stood. In fact, most of the room reacted in that manner. It made Tara wonder if they were using the same training techniques for all of the medical specialties.
"The lot of you are the first string of medics and specialists to come through this program," the officer began. "You have all been thoroughly trained in one area of medicine. Make no mistake, you're not doctors yet, but we have run out of time."
The officer began to pace on the stage and Tara felt the tension in the room rise.
"As of two days ago, all of the teams from our allies have been recalled. The Empire that they warned us of will be upon us any day now. Training for the newer students shall continue, but the lot of you are going to be deployed to bases. You'll continue your training directly in military hospitals and be deployed with the troops when the fighting starts."
The pacing stopped abruptly.
"This… Will not be like any war we have ever had before. These aliens can attack from above our atmosphere, clearing any area they might choose to land in. They have technology that we cannot compare to. We cannot lose or else we face our own destruction. Knowing this, every tactician on the planet has been judging where these aliens will attempt to land. They have narrowed it down to the coastal regions of Europe, eastern Asia, and here in North America.
Civilians in each of these areas have already begun evacuations away from coastal areas. When you are dismissed, you'll have 30 minutes to gather your things and try to call your families. Don't waste them. Dismissed!"
Tara's eyes were slightly wide now, and goosebumps traveled the entire length of her arms as she stared at the office in mild shock. He was sending them to war and she didn't even know his name…
A hand grasping her arm brought Tara back to herself a second later and she found herself being steered toward the door as roughly half of the summoned students headed there as well.
"Come on!" Andrew hissed as they hurried with the other students towards the dorm building. They entered with the rest of the mass but Tara's attempt to join the lineup for the phones was derailed as Andrew dragged her towards the stairs instead.
"You can borrow mine," he stated quietly, and Tara was quick to follow him up the stairs.
"Let me use it too," came a voice behind them, and Tara glanced back to see Jose behind them.
Turning her eyes back to Andrew earned her a sheepish grin. "He's my roommate. They moved him in with me when the second class arrived."
Tara rolled her eyes, but nodded her understanding, and seconds later they stopped in front of a door that Andrew quickly opened.
The room was identical to the one she was in was what Tara noticed first, then Andrew shoved the phone into her hand.
"Make it fast and stay away from the window," he ordered.
Tara nodded as she quickly began to dial the house phone for her parents, then stopped and changed the number to her mother's cellphone. It rang once before her mother was on the line.
"Hello?"
"Mom," Tara started but was quickly cut off.
"Honey! Where are you? Do you know what's going on? They issued an evacuation order for all of Florida a day ago. Luckily your father and I were visiting your sister in Tennessee, but they won't tell us what's going on!"
"They think the aliens are going to attack soon, and that it'll happen in a coastal area," Tara informed her mother.
"What?!"
"The aliens who were helping us have left, ordered to go by their superiors so the unfriendly aliens might be here any day. They're deploying us with the military."
"What? But… But you'll be near the fighting! You might get killed!"
"We knew this could happen mom. I'll be a non-combatant if that helps any-"
"Helps nothing! Get awa-" A shriek went over the line and shouting followed before the voice of Tara's father came through.
"You still there?"
"Yeah, hey dad."
There was a long pause and Tara could hear her mother demanding her father to order her to run. He sighed, then began to speak. "Know that we'll always be proud of you. Know also that while I've always supported the belief that women were just as capable as men, and can do just as much harm as any man with a gun, they are much harder to kill up close, especially if they're unarmed. If these aliens attack, you follow orders but don't take up a gun. Get away if you can but if you are caught, cooperate. Stay alive. Don't ever give them cause to harm you. And come home when this is all over with."
The call ended after that, mid-yell from her mother to not say such things, and Tara handed the phone to Andrew with a quick, "Thanks." He nodded then handed the phone to Jose who began to dial automatically as Tara headed for the door.
Rushing down the hall to the stairs, Tara took the stairs down three at a time to the second floor and was surprised to find the door to her room ajar. Inside, a distraught Cheng was shoving what few items she had into the bag she had brought.
"We get to keep the duffels and our current uniforms," she told Tara as she began to pack as well. "We turn in the iPads at the Administration building while in route to the bus. Did you… Call your parents?"
Tara bit her tongue to keep her immediate response back. "Not yet," she replied after a moment.
Cheng nodded. "Don't count on getting through. According to the supervisors, there is so much phone traffic due to the evacuations that the lines are flooded. No one was getting through."
"Thanks," Tara replied after a long moment before heading to the bathroom and collecting her toiletries. She couldn't bring herself to tell Cheng that the phones not working was likely a falsehood, that most people had likely been ordered to evacuate but didn't currently know why. She was willing to bet that most could guess why, but there was a significant difference between suspicion and confirmation.
Less than five minutes later, Tara and Cheng left their room for the last time, handed in their keys at the dorm desk, and just for show, Tara joined the small queue that was left for the phones.
When her turn came, she dialed in the number of her mother's cellphone and tried to look distraught when a voice message stated that the call could not be completed.
Minutes later, she handed in her iPad and trotted towards the bus. Her goosebumps had never calmed back into regular skin, and persisted even as she took a seat next to Andrew on the half-full bus.
zzzzzzzzzz
Grand Moff Tarkin's shuttle settled into the Death Star's hangar bay with barely a bump. Standing from his seat, he headed for the ramp to depart the shuttle and was more than a little surprised by his welcoming party.
Aside from the usual party of three officers, there was one additional person present.
"One would think that you would have other, more pressing issues to deal with, Lord Vader," Tarkin stated as his feet hit the deck of the Death Star.
"The Emperor feels this project has taken long enough to complete. As such, he has ordered that the 501st take a personal interest in ensuring that you get the labor force needed in this new system, as well as properly integrate it into the Empire. He is most interested in announcing the addition of a new system to the Empire, as soon as possible."
Tarkin easily read between the lines: Finish this fast and Vader will bring the natives of the system to heel. A Governor would be appointed eventually, but it would not be Tarkin.
"So, you shall be in charge of the invasion?" Tarkin asked as they headed towards the lifts, intent to reach the main meeting room so that a number of details could be discussed with the other high ranking officers onboard.
"Only for the initial fight. The 501st and I will have other duties to attend to, and we shall depart when needed elsewhere. Based on the estimated technological level of the planet, you should have no further issues."
"And the Emperor wishes the planet to remain intact?" Tarkin clarified.
"Conquered, but intact is preferred," Vader confirmed. "He believes what seems to be a pure Human world so far out, without alien influence, could be an interesting study and destination."
The Sith lord's voice betrayed nothing of what he thought of this idea, but Tarkin knew that Vader didn't believe in High Human Culture, despite it having proven its worth in his eyes. His own parents had ensured his understanding of it.
The lift doors opened and the Moff and Sith lord entered the space alone, others choosing to take a different lift.
"We have scans of the planet, detailed ones that will be useful in planning the initial attack," Tarkin stated. "We shall have our battle plans made before we make the jump for this new system. A week at most to allow the forces and supply ships to gather, and to confirm our plan of attack. We know the locations where the population of this planet gathers, so striking fast to gather a workforce shouldn't be difficult. And they should have had no warning. A perfect population to introduce fear to, in regards to their new masters."