Reaver Station
Compared to the Prosperity the inside of the Imperial shuttle is cramped and uncomfortable. It had seating for five but the seating is jammed with hardly any legroom. Theron then attempts to sit in the pilot seat when Teff'ith pushes him aside telling him to sit in the back seat , followed by the three Jedi. Theron then squeeze into the back seat behind Teff'ith.
The Imperial uniform is a good fit but the material used will end up chafing his skin ( " Just one more reason why no one should enlist with the Empire " ) Theron thought to himself. A short time later they were on the way to Reaver Station , getting there will take roughly 10 hours at top speed in hyperspace. Theron would had been fine passing the journey in silence but the Jedi Master Gnost-Dural seem to have other ideas.
" Your friend Gorvich is an unpleasant man. " he said to Teff'ith.
" Gorvich is not a friend , just work for him , pay is good. "
" So that is your motivation in life ...Material wealth ? "
Teff'ith whispers over to Theron over her shoulders " tell your Jedi friend not to get all preachy "
" sorry , that is like a compulsion to Jedi they cant help it that they need to save someone in need of a moral guide "
" I do not need saving " Teff'ith then said to the Jedi master then changing the subject " why are we going to the Reaver Station. "
" To rid the galaxy of a great evil. " Gnost-Dural replied.
The rest of the trip is is done in silence. Theron had allowed himself to slip into a light meditative trance , another useful trick he had learned from Ngani Zho to rest up and ready himself for the task that lies ahead. The group soon drops out of hyperspace they had a clear view of Reaver Station. Docked on the far side was a capital ship the Ascendant Spear.
" Go ahead and open up a hailing frequency , better let me do the talking " Theron then said. Teff'ith then cuts him off and speaks " Reaver Station , this is Imperial shuttle TK-37059 requesting permission to dock. "
" Copy , TK-37059. Ready for clearance codes."
" Transmitting codes now "
" TK-37059 , you have clearance to land proceed to Hanger Fourteen in D wing "
" copy , Reaver Station "
Then clicking off the channel. Her act also impressed Theron and Gnost-Dural " you have done this before "
" Its easy to fake imp fancy talk " she then respond. The group then talk among themselves " I thought we were supposed to dock in C wing. "
" Usually do "
" So why the change "
" Maybe he sold us out , want to back out ? "
" No , continue as planned "
Teff'ith brings the shuttle into an open hanger bay for a landing as the air-lock doors closed behind them. A pair of guards then approached. Theron then turns to his group " wait there but be ready to bail out if anything happens. "
Getting out of the shuttle he approaches the two guards trying to appear casual , however his mind is racing. There is not an ambush so they were not sold out. But if these tow guards are not on the take they may want to inspect the shuttle and Theron is not going to let that happen.
After finding out that they were not sold out to the Empire , Theron let out a sigh of relief.
" Just do not do anything stupid rookie , if you get caught we do not know you " they finally said. Theron waited until they had moved on before returning to the shuttle.
" Everything is good , so sit tight and I will be back in a few hours if everything goes well. "
" May the force be with you , Theron "
" Don't mess up " Teff'ith said offering her own words of support.
The Empire understood the need to let the military take a break ever so often. But unlike the Republic it was paranoid about the personnel deserting when they landed on a world. To off set this they designed the Reaver Station to look like any other port city. It had clubs , bars , shops , restaurants...etc , just like anything anyone can think of.
Theron had a simple plan 'sneak into the Ascendant Spear and plant the dormant virus , set up a transmission to trigger the virus , get back to the shuttle then leave.'
The fact that this station was a secure military facility would make things easier. The only people here are the ones who served or had special authority. Because of that security will tend to be lax. For one such vessel like the Ascendant Spear , there will be a lot of people going on and off. At most they will have to show an ID to the guards at the hanger's entrance.
All Theron had to do is borrow a boarding ID from someone too drunk or preoccupied to notice it was missing so he can forge a copy. But first he had to figure out where they are gathered. The bonds among those who served together on a daily basis are strong so they tend to hang out together. All Theron had to do is where they gather. He then heads to the information booth.
" Welcome to Reaver Station , Corporal " the woman behind the desk said.
" Just got in on a supply run , looking for a good place to grab some grub. "
The woman at the desk suggested Golden Galley , but due to the capital ship that place will most likely be full. Following the directions provided by the information desk Theron made his way to the restaurant. He begins searching for an easy target that can provide him with a boarding ID. Most of the bars he passed were streaming feed from the official news holo , when a breaking story caught his attention.
" The Empire scored a major victory against the Republic just a few hours ago on the agriworld of Ruan. Enemy casualties are estimated in the thousands , as an Imperial fleet under the command of Moff Nezzor unleashed an orbital bombardment that destroyed production facility on the surface and killed thousands of civilians as a result. The republic fleet in the area was also destroyed with enemy reinforcements getting there too late to effect the outcome of the battle. "
A cheer arose from the crowd but Theron was to shocked to join in , Ruan was a major producer of food for many worlds belonging in Republic space mainly the Republic capital Coruscant furthermore its location was considered as far from reach from the Empire as it was deep in Republic space. Theron turns away from the holo ignoring the celebrations that rose around him.
As bad as this attack may had been , the meaning behind it was far more worse. The news report claims that capital ships were involved and transmitted using a Black Cipher. SIS should had known the attack was coming and yet the Republic was caught completely unprepared , it did not make any sense unless...
Theron then come to a sudden realization ( " unless ours is not working anymore. " ) This made Theron feel ill , he needed to speak with the Director. He needed to know if there had been a leak , they may had to scrap the entire mission. Theron runs back to the hanger where they had docked and into the shuttle.
" Why are you back so soon ? "
" Something is wrong , I need to speak with the Director or Jace maybe both of them. "
" That is not possible , we do not have a secure channel here "
" We do not have a choice right now this is urgent "
Theron then rushes into the cockpit where he looked around the hanger till he spotted a comm terminal in the corner while telling the others his plan to slice into the network , scrambling the connection channel and bounce it through several relays so no one knows where it is coming from.
" That sounds like a risk but do what you have to " the others said.
Theron then leaves the shuttle and rushes over to the comm terminal , pulling out his custom designed slicer spike setting up a secure communications and going back to the shuttle and used a priority signal.
A few seconds later the Director's voice came through the channel.
" Theron , what's wrong ? "
" You herd about the attack on Ruan ? "
" Yes , I am in a debriefing with the supreme commander right now. "
" Is everything all right , Theron ? Where are you calling from. " Jace's voice then chimed in.
" Reaver Station "
" Are you insane ? "
" It is ok. The signal is ok for now "
" You cannot know that , what if the... "
Theron cuts him off " I do not have much time , I think the mission has been compromised "
" Why ? "
" The empire should had used the black ciphers to transmit orders to the capital ships. We should had known about the attack. "
There was then a short silence before Jace spoke again " We know. "
" You...You know this was going to happen , then why are we not better prepared , why did you not do anything ? "
" we sent aid to that world " Jace then said.
" what about reinforcements ? they got there too late we should had used one of our fleets to intercept. "
" We cannot. The risk of tipping off the empire is too great if they found a fleet waiting for them at Ruan. They will know we had been intercepting their transmissions. "
" you know the Empire will wipe out the ships at Ruan , You know they will use an orbital strike on the world , Thousands of civilians dead and yet you did nothing to help them. "
" I have no choice , if we do not stop the Spear we cannot end this war. You are worried about the thousands of people who died I am worried about the millions who will. "
Theron remains silent his body and mind numb from the words he had herd. He just sat in the pilot's chair speechless as Satele's warning raced through his mind. Jace fights this war out of revenge. It makes him to terrible things if he believes they are necessary to save the Republic.
" Theron , Theron are you still there ? "
One of the three Jedi then spoke up " Yes we are here "
" You got to see the big picture Theron. We have to wait for our chance to stop the weapon no matter how bad the attacks are against us. "
" Attacks ? where will they strike next ? "
" This do not concern you , your job is get on board that capital ship " they then said. By now Theron was not willing to let it slide and demands to know where they will strike next.
The location this time will be Duro , a heavy industry world. Though its location will be of little value to the Empire but losing this will mean heavy losses to the Republic.
" We have to stop them , set up a ambush and take out the fleet the instant they enter the system. "
" That is not going to happen , that Spear will not be involved in this attack. "
" we had increased the patrols in the sector , but if we scale them up too fast the Empire will get suspicious. Theron , sometimes sacrifices have to be made. " Jace then said.
" But we have to draw the line somewhere "
" The Empire will not. So neither can we "
Theron remembers the final words from the Jedi Grandmaster. Hate will transform someone into the very evil that you are fighting so hard against.
" There is nothing you can do to stop this. So do your duty , complete your mission. The Republic is counting on you. "
The transmission then ended , Theron was not sure if they had cut him off or if the security system had finally unraveled his tricks and disconnected the signal.