Chapter 34: Itoll Oc

MGX-93776

After thirty hours of nonstop eerie red glow in the sky, Itoll made the suggestion, at a briefing with Ekos, Lieutenant Commander Alecto, Captain Etta, and the Koorivar scientists, that MGX-93776 must now be tidally locked. Just like Alpheridies.

Dr Pawashak scoffed at the idea as extremely speculative.

Lieutenant Commander Stanthorpe's frown lines wrinkled as he looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

Captain Etta, a Clone, had an objection that was altogether baffling. "Respectfully sir, this is a planet, and tides cannot possibly have anything to do with it."

Ekos had sighed, yanking on his antennae despondently.

In the next few hours, Itoll had become a bit of a running joke amongst the Koorivar with, what they were calling, 'the Bothan-Alpheridies hypothesis.'

Another sixty hours of dim red light finally convinced Pawashak that, indeed, MGX-93776 was 'probably' tidally locked. After yet another sixty hours, the Bothan-Alpheridies hypothesis had been confirmed.

o.o.o.o.o

"I still don't get it," Sey'les growled in an affronted tone. "Why didn't you make them name the theory after you? Why not the Itoll hypothesis?" Clearly, to Sey'les, what he had done was the most un-Bothan thing in history.

"Kriff it!" Itoll yelped indignantly. "For the seventeenth time Captain, drop it!"

The two Republic officers continued walking through the snow, towards the next briefing. This time, Wookiees were invited. This time, Sey'les was too.

"Sorry sir," Sey'les growled, now nervously. The mist from her hot breath puffed into the cold air as she continued stammering. "I did not mean anything by it."

Eerie red light glowed from the sky, reminding Itoll constantly of the Bothan-Alpheridies Hypothesis. He did not mind being poked fun at so much, or the fact that what was a joke became serious nomenclature. The constant reminder of Jazal made him snappy. The fact that, when he wasn't even thinking about that Jedi, he ended up mentioning her indirectly.

Flakes of snow were now falling through the dome's shields. Inside the shield, Azagor's temperature had increased to a balmy -15º.

"Is snow a good thing or a bad thing, sir?" Sey'les asked expectantly.

"I don't know," Itoll sighed.

"Oh," Sey'les grunted gruffly. Her fur swirled with suspicion.

Itoll gave a quick sideways glance at Sey'les and scowled. What does she expect from me? "Just because I was right about us being tidally lock, doesn't mean shtak. I don't know anything else. I don't know!" He opened his gloved hand, catching a snowflake. "I don't know what this means!"

"Good evening, Commander. Good evening, Captain," said a Clone standing guard at the exit of Joint-Base Golshten-Myyydril. He gave the two Bothans a salute.

Sey'les and Itoll returned his salute, giving their own good evenings, striding beyond the base perimeter. Scowling at the red snowy sky, Itoll felt very much that it was not evening. They continued down the now de-iced and ploughed sidewalk, between the block of buildings and a pile of snow and ash dividing the sidewalk from the road.

Due to the size of the next briefing, which included not only the Wookiee leadership, but was also open to the public, the location was on Azagor Polytechnic's campus. The institute was located two blocks away from the Joint-Base and, in the last few days, had its storm damage thoroughly cleaned and repaired.

The trees on the campus and around the city had lost their leaves but, as the survey teams had reported, were alive. The same could not be said of most of the vegetation immediately around Azagor.

o.o.o.o.o

Itoll spoke sternly as he addressed the mostly Koorivar audience in attendance. "So long as violence is at a minimal level, and the danger to our forces is also minimal, the Separatist POWs are free to move about the city and return home."

Listening to Itoll's every word were two more than hundred residents of Azagor and a dozen or so Wookiees. They occupied the raised chairs forming a semi-circle around the lowered teaching area at the centre of the classroom.

In the teaching area stood ten beings at the middle of the Polytechnic's amphitheatre. Six Republic officers, including four Naval Direct Action Operatives in dark green, and two Clones in dark grey. Alongside the six officers stood Ekos and the Wookiee who was Rider of Storm's successor, Master of the Wrench's Twist The final three were the Koorivar scientists, Dr Myrr, Dr Pawashak, and a Muun Astronomer, Dr Pizo Green. Itoll found himself doing much of the talking and explaining, almost as the face of the Republic occupying force.

One of the Wookiees in the front row moaned solemnly in Shyriiwook. ["What about those involved in the deaths of so many Wookiees? Stomper of Puddles, Rider of Storms—"]

["—Those involved were killed in Operation Fearsome Resolve,"] Itoll growled back in Shyriiwook. He gave a nervous glance to Ekos, remembering the Padawan mercilessly hacking through dozens of Koorivars stunned by flashbangs. Then, he cleared his throat and switched to basic. "We believe those involved were all killed."

"INVOLVED IN WHAT?!" a Koorivar woman yelled angrily from the back row.

Shtak. I didn't need to say that, Itoll thought suddenly.

"Let's get back on topic," Ekos said, speaking for the first time. "The important thing is that—moving forward—we have a peaceful coexistence as we work to counteract the ecological collapse."

A scowl formed on Itoll's snout as his fur twitched with annoyance.

Dr Green gestured to Ekos for the microphone, then seized it. "We all need to be patient. Now that the Bothan-Alpheridies Hypothesis has been confirmed, our next step is to simply wait and see where we are. It may be that we are in the middle of the Tion Cluster, in which case..." The Muun's voice died in a nervous gulp.

Sey'les, Itoll, and Ekos shot cautious glances at the Muun. Itoll audibly sighed in relief when Dr Green did not finish his sentence. In which case we will be in the middle of Separatist space, he thought, finishing Dr Green's sentence in his head.

The Koorivar who had earlier yelled out an angry outburst shot her hand up into the sky, a look of grim determination on her human-like face. Regretfully, fur swirling with nervousness trepidation, Itoll pointed to her and nodded. Yes, we all get to voice our opinions here… Politely.

A Clone Trooper approached the Koorivar, handing her a microphone. She spoke quieter, now able to carry across the room without shouting. "The way I see it, is that if this planet hadn't moved, the Republic would have lost."

Sey'les began snorting in derisive laughter at the Koorivar. Itoll muttered obscenities under his breath.

"No! No—Hear me out!" she demanded. "An Acclamator crashed right outside the city. All the power outside the shields shut down, so your armies would have been crippled." She continued listing off reasons the Republic had actually lost. To this eccentric Koorivar, it was if the Republic's current occupation of Azagor City were a call made by an incompetent referee in a sporting match, as opposed to a simple fact of history. "There was an entire Separatist fleet in orbit, and our ship captains knew how to fly. You didn't see any Separatist ships crashing outside Azagor—"

"—Get to the point!" Itoll snarled into his microphone.

"Well, since the Republic actually lost," she explained, matter of factly, "it would be much easier to have peace if you just admitted you were defeated in battle and surrendered. It seems perfectly reasonable to ask."

Angry muttering mixed with furious Wookiee roars erupted from the audience. One of the armoured Clones pacing the perimeter of the audience, holding a microphone, was suddenly swarmed by a Rodian and five Koorivars. Towards the front of the audience, a brawl broke out between a group of Wookiees and a group of Koorivars.

Surprisingly, most of the rest of the audience sat still in their seats, yelling angrily at the brawlers to stop.

"Shtak," Sey'les gasped, pulling her blaster out of its holster.

Ekos gripped his lightsaber hilt with one hand and held his other to his snout, stammering frantically into his wrist comm.

"Set blasters to stun!" Itoll yelped to Sey'les. In the row immediately to his front, a Wookiee picked up a Koorivar and threw him across the room.

o.o.o.o.o

"On the bright side, sir," Itoll growled optimistically, holding a pack of ice to his snout, "we just got an excuse to use a show of force."

At that, Ekos allowed a cynical chuckle. It was the first time Itoll had seen the Rodian smile. Ever.

In the back of the room, the rowdier Koorivar were being escorted out in cuffs. Most of the audience was returning home unscathed, with nothing more than angry muttering and arguing.

"Well gentlemen," Fojo said, then nodded to Sey'les, "ma'am." He stepped down from the stands, out from between a group of Clone medics holding a datapad. "No critical injuries to report. The worse were concussions."

Itoll sighed in relief. He had been worried that one of the Koorivar might have been seriously hurt.

"What is her name?" Ekos asked sternly.

"Who, Commander?" Fojo asked.

Master of the Wrench's Twist roared impatiently in Shyriiwook."Aghsho egh-rargh muaah, nyuyag fashyrii Fojo." ["We all know who Fojo is talking about."]

Fojo looked around confusedly.

"Commander, he is saying that we all know who you are talking about," Sey'les reported stiffly.

Itoll looked suspiciously in the direction of the now empty chair. The chair that completely unhinged Koorivar had sat in.

"Skarba Rafaw, Commander," Corporal Fold reported as he stepped down the stairs, alongside Sergeant Vac.

"Thank you," Ekos said politely, taking the datapad. On the screen was the face of the Koorivar woman on the town's registry.

Itoll leaned over Ekos's shoulder, looking down at her face and demographic information. Species: Koorivar. Birthplace: Murkhana City, Murkhana. DOB: 7th of Gurfień, 3267 (13:1:22 BrS). Age: 34. Marital status: married. Children: 2. Criminal History: none. The Bothan wondered to himself. Is she just an eccentric Koorivar? Is she a Fusilier sleeper agent trying to foment a rebellion?

"We're going to be monitoring that one, right?" Sey'les asked, standing at Itoll's shoulder level for a look.

"Oh yes, Captain," Ekos answered. "I really don't think we have any other choice."

o.o.o.o.o

The next rotation, or perhaps, on a planet that was no longer rotating, the next block of twenty-four Coruscanti hours, Itoll reported to Ekos's Command module. After taking off his trench-coat from over his backpack, holding a hot cup of caf, he walked into the Operations Room and blinked in surprise.

Captain Etta, Sergeant Snow, Sergeant Bliss, and Trooper Zed sat around the holoprojector. Displayed on the screen was an aerial view of 6th Street. Itoll could recognise the Azagor River, long since dried, ashed-on, and frozen solid. On the display, standing next to a parked Republic Transport were six more things Itoll recognised—Ranger Team Muun.

"Muun Leader," Snow said into the comm, "reposition the transport—It's too obvious!"

"Sergeant, did you just give me an order? What the kriff do you know about obvious?" Sey'les's voice snarled furiously from the surround sound speakers hooked up on the ceiling.

"Sorry Captain," Snow muttered.

Etta got up from his station and walked over to Snow's. "This is Captain Etta," he huffed impatiently in his exotic Clone accent. "The Commander put me in charge of this operation. Move. The. Transport."

Sey'les's holopresence, standing next to the RTT-04, looked up to the sky, directly into the camera looking down at her. She flashed an ironic lazy salute and growled "yes, sir Echo-2!"

"Muun Leader!" Etta screamed in alarm. "You are going to show the persons of interest we are watching them!"

"What is going on?" Itoll asked, walking into the centre of the room.

"Short-term surveillance op, sir," Etta answered. Turning around his spinning chair, he added, "good morning, sir."

"Short term surveillance?" the Bothan growled, walking up to the holoprojector. Team Muun was now driving the RTT-04 up the block.

"Yes sir," Etta said more snappily. "On the Koorivar, Skarba Rafaw."

On the holoprojector, Team Muun exited their transport once again. Another RTT-04 pulled up alongside it, and Sey'les, Wulf, Dub, Dubs, Grath, and Knot boarded it, abandoning their own transport on the side of the road.

Itoll could not believe is own eyes. "What the hell are they doing?"

"Sir, their orders are to abandon an RTT-04 transport next to the residence of Skarba Rafaw and leave the keys inside. If she hijacks the vehicle, we know she is a Separatist. Brilliant plan, eh?"

"That is the stupidest kriffing—HOLY SHTAK!" Itoll gasped. "The Koorivar insurgency could start again. This is—Who ordered this?"

"Commander Ekos left me in charge of the op, sir," Etta answered.

A Clone. Of course. "I am taking command of this op," Itoll snarled furiously. "Get up!"

Etta and Snow nervously vacated their seats, hopping up before Itoll even got to them. Itoll pushed Snow's empty chair out of the way and stood over the comm terminal. "MUUN LEADER!"

"Echo one?" Sey'les growled nervously.

"Get out, go back to your kriffing transport, and get back to base."

"It's stupid, sir. That was what I was telling—"

"—Sey'les, you can't just listen to every… What is that?" he asked, pointing to two small figures stepping into the door of the abandoned transport.

"Children sir!" Snow yelled in alarm. "They are—bloody hell!"

Itoll switched to the general channel. "Be advised, Koorvar children have taken control of an RTT on 6th street. We need all available—"

"—Sir!" Snow yelled, now excitedly, a wide grin on his face.

Looking up from the terminal, Itoll groaned. On the holoprojector, the transport that had picked up Team Muun was in close pursuit. It angled closer and closer to the rear of the hijacked RTT, then rammed it.

"Sey'les!" Itoll gasped, switching back to Team Muun's channel. "Sey'les! There are children on board!"

"Don't worry sir," Wulf's voice came through confidently. "I have taken the helm. Those kids are gonna…" The Ardennian's voice strained for a moment, groaning as the transport accelerated. "Gotcha!"

Itoll's fur fell flat as Wulf hovered alongside the hijacked RTT, then rammed it from the side. He swore under his breath as the hijacked RTT spun out of control, hovering into a snowbank. A slushy explosion of muddy ash, snow, and ice sloshed onto the sidewalk along a storefront.

Bystanders, mostly Koorivar, spilled out of their buildings as Team Muun hopped out of their transport, blasters out.

"Check the children for any injuries. Do not harm them," Itoll stammered. Turning away from the comm, he shook his head whispering "kriffing disaster."

o.o.o.o.o

When Itoll finally located Ekos, the Padawan was sobbing in his office.

Fur swirling nervously, Itoll stepped away, pretending to have not seen a thing.

"Lieutenant Commander," Ekos gulped. "Report."

"Uh… sir," Itoll said nervously, standing in front of Ekos's desk. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just feeling," the Padawan started, then trailed off as he got up from his seat and stared out the window into the eerie redness. "Never mind. Report."

"A couple of kids commandeered a Republic transport," Itoll explained. "Team Muun recovered it. None of the kids were injured."

"Sey'les," Ekos hissed, angry venom in his voice.

"No sir, it wasn't her. Well, it sort of was, but Captain Etta ordered the mission. If I may speak freely sir, the Clones should not be left in charge of operations outside of their training and experience."

Ekos wiped a tear from his eye. "If I don't ever put the Clones in charge of things, then how will they ever improve?"

Itoll was genuinely surprised by Ekos's response. The Padawan had never struck him as putting much effort towards experience-building. "That's not what I mean sir. I mean, we shouldn't put them in charge when it is their very first time doing something they have never been trained to do."

Ekos held up a finger prophetically and said, "hold that thought." Five seconds of silence went by. Then another five.

Itoll opened his snout to say something, then Ekos's desk comm buzzed.

"Commander Ekos here."

"This is Zerafis Korsh," the leader of the newly formed Azagor City Council said angrily. "I wish to discuss the incident on 6th Street."

"Oh, I am sorry Zerafis," Ekos replied. "I have only just been apprised myself."

Zerafis continued, fuming angrily as if the fact Ekos had only just been apprised was irrelevant. "It is extremely irresponsible of your forces to abandon vehicles just anywhere, where even children can—Someone could have been killed!"

"I agree. I will debrief those involved and launch a full investigation," Ekos promised solemnly.

"What guarantees can you provide that anything will be done?"

"I suppose you'll just have to trust me," Ekos shrugged. "Sorry, I am receiving another call."

Zerafis's angry protests ceased as Ekos hung up on him.

Itoll opened his mouth again, expecting to now be able to talk when, suddenly, Ekos's comm buzzed again.

"Dr Green," Ekos said. "I hope you have something new to report."

"Oh, I do," Green spoke excitedly. "The clouds parted just enough for our radiometer to make radiation measurements of the cosmos beyond the cloudcover. The good news is, the spectral type of this star is closest to a Red Dwarf, so we do not need to worry about dying of radiation poisoning as the ash cover thins."

"That is good news," Ekos agreed."

"More bafflingly, however, the stellar density around this system is higher than that of the Core. It is possible that we are in the Hapes Cluster, but that seems unlikely."

"Uh… What is the alternative?" Ekos asked, voice cracking towards the end of his question.

"We could be in the Deep Core, but that seems even more unlikely. Dr Pawashak has shown that, well, the fact the planet's temperature didn't drop to minus 200 Celsius, means we couldn't have been in Hyperspace for more than four Coruscant days. Our presence in the Deep Core would make no sense, unless, as you can see, I am sure," Green added, in a slightly arrogant tone. "We time travelled."