Chapter 38: Shidar Zhol'skar

Thellus Asteroid, Dressel System

Unsurprisingly, Zerir Vri'skar had first condemned the attack on Grum Azi'skar's motorcade and then gave him her best wishes for a speedy recovery. The instant Azi'skar was up and talking again, he spouted a string of accusations, blaming Zerir for the attack. The next day, someone set off a bomb at the docking hatch the Yu'tor was berthed at.

After a brawl broke out on Tawa between supporters of Zerir and supporters of Azi'skar, killing fourteen and injuring hundreds, Botha'ahir deployed 10,000 troops to Thellus and Tawa on a peacekeeping operation. They claimed they now had jurisdiction over the Dressel System, which was "Spacer Coalition Soil."

Unable to resist matching any action Botha'ahir took, Bothawui also unilaterally deployed 10,000 troops into the Dressel System to do exactly the same thing. To one-up Botha'ahir, they assigned a contingent of Marshals to protect all three of the candidates.

"There must be something that can be done," Shidar sighed, staring out the speeder at an armoured troop transport hovering by in the opposite lane.

"This is a good thing," Fyar insisted. A circular bruise was still visible on her eye. "Jus' agree to it."

Isko, the Marshalcy Captain in charge of Shidar's security, scowled, fur swirling with suspicion as he stared at the campaign manager.

Shidar skimmed over the new proposed debate schedule, fur giving one twitch of suspicion as she took it. The smell of tear gas in the air grew more noticeable as the Marshalcy speeder hovered into the tunnel leading from Gal'skar Docks.

Shidar never quite accepted Fyar's oft-changing explanation for how she had gotten bruised. Even after a week, the skin was so dark under her left eye that the bruise was visible beneath her cream-coloured fur. More suspiciously, Fyar seemed to be content with the chaos. The new schedule pushed the first debate out to next month, just after New Year. She hmmed to herself as she thought of the implications.

The speeder slowed down in front of a stack of burning rubbish. The smell of crowd dispersion gas grew stronger. On a pole in the tunnel, a likeness of Gavin Azi'skar was suspended from a rope in effigy. A sign on his shirt read "Gin-vote for me or esh gonna set off another bomb."

The Gal'skar Docks must be the quietest part of Thellus, Shidar thought wryly to herself.

Once the speeder swerved around the burning pyres and left them behind, Isko gave an audible sigh of relief. Then, around the tunnel corner, a line of Zerir supporters cuffed in bindings sat up against the wall, Thellus police standing around looking important.

"Ghįn kųsthųyą wųks vįghįląnsk." ["Keep an eye out,"] Isko growled to the driver.

["Yes sir."]

"The good thing about the new schedule," Fyar continued optimistically, "is it gives the Grum and Zerir even more time to besmirch each other."

"I think they've done enough besmirching," Shidar retorted.

"You've moved up 7% in the polls without doing anything," Fyar snorted. "If you want to move up more in the polls, you need to be the least bad alternative."

Shidar blinked her eyes in stunned disbelief, then glowered at Fyar. "The least bad alternative?"

"Yeah," Fyar said firmly. "The least bad alternative. You need to get a grip on reality. You are 19 years old, have no experience in politics, worked as a prostitute for a year, and are up against the Grum of Clan Askar and an experienced freighter captain who now runs her own shipping company."

Isko muttered something under his breath.

Shidar sighed glumly, trying to think of a rebuttal to Fyar's claims.

"It's true though," Fyar said, putting her hand on Shidar's shoulder. "You are the least bad alternative. The fact is, Azi'skar only wants to be Senator because it's something new. Zerir Vri'skar only wants to be Senator because she hates the Grum."

Shidar thought for a moment. And I only want to be a Senator because… Why do I want to be a Senator?

o.o.o.o.o

Vasa Ro'val

Kothlis

Retirement was not treating Vasa well.

Vasa Ro'val's retirement community was located on Alishta Island, a rocky sub-polar island with a tundra biome just 900 kilometres from the planet's south pole. The desolate island had a research station and an observatory on its eastern coast. There was just one town on the entire island, on its western coast, with a shuttleport, a grocery store, a theatre, and the most heavily-monitored HoloNet node on the planet.

Rather mysteriously to most of Kothlis's population, the island hosted the highest proportion of ex-Spynet operatives in the galaxy. Most of them were too dangerous to be dismissed or allowed to actually retire, too dangerous to turn over to the courts, yet too useful to simply be terminated.

Outside the window, was another tree-less gloomy foggy summer day. At 7 ºC, this was just a tad bit colder than the average warmest temperature of the year. Brilliant icebergs floated beyond the harbour, which was dominated, at the moment, by the shadow of a docked cruise ship. No doubt stopping by the island to see its famed Polar Yaks.

In Vasa's durasteel cottage were an assortment of flimsiplast photos pinned on a bulletin board with disorganised strings connecting them. In the centre of the board, the most prominent photo was that of Wilhuff Tarkin with a red circle haphazardly drawn around his face. From his photo, dozens of multicoloured strings connected to every being on the billboard. To the of Wilhuff, was a picture of another human, Orson Krennic, with a giant question mark drawn on his face, strings connecting him to some beings haphazardly across the board. To the right of the board, connecting to Orson Krennic and Tarkin, was a picture of a Parwan, Dr Gubacher. A series of strings connected Gubacher and Krennic to Jedi Master Wilkol Shinzo of the Temple Crime Lab and various Jedi investigative personnel. A blue string doubly connected Gubacher to one of the Jedi Temple technicians, Tassie Moor.

Clustered to the left side of the board was a similar arrangement. There were photos of a particularly feral drunken Lir Sey'les next to another photo of a particularly smiley photo of Itoll Oc. A series of blue strings connected Sey'les's photo to that of two Wookiees, Woshyrryagh and Senator Yarua, whilst a single blue string connected Itoll's photo to a picture of a Miraluka Jedi, Jazal. A yellow string connected the Miraluka Jedi to Kev Rel'skar. Plum-coloured strings connected both Itoll Oc and Kev Rel'skar to Gavin Azi'skar.

Vasa's hand trembled as she held up a green string, a photo of Sanda Krit'skar and a pin. She felt very much that she was onto something, another useful piece of the puzzle to the left side. Perhaps I should arrange Askar-Jedi-Tarkin connections in on a fresh board.

Her intercom buzzed, nearly causing her to jump. Who could that be? "Kiz?" ["Yes?"] she asked in an uncertain tone into the air.

["Syfon Ro'val and his family are here to see you ma'am,"] a voice said crisply through the intercom.

Vasa sighed, looking to the date on her datapad. She had completely forgotten that her nephew was stopping by for a visit. ["Tell them I will be a minute."]

o.o.o.o.o

When Vasa arrived at the visitor centre wearing a green cardigan, she saw her nephew Syfon sitting with his wife Tora and her two grand-nieces, Ereth and Shfentobur.

Shfentobur, Vasa scowled, thinking of how her nephew and his wife named their child such an absurd name. Shfentobur was the name of the gas giant of Bothawui's most distant moon, covered in brilliant orange Kohlen Crystals.

"Vasa!" Shfentobur and Ereth yipped excitedly, leaping from their seats.

["Call her 'great aunt Vasa' kids!"] Tora growled in a testy tone.

["Sorry great aunt Vasa,"] Ereth stammered as she embraced Vasa in a hug.

["Aunt Vasa,"] Vasa muttered, returning the hug. ["Just aunt Vasa."] The neurotic retired Spynet Director suspected that Tora had told her children to call her 'great aunt' as a passive-aggressive dig at her age.

["How are you aunt Vasa?"] Syfon asked, giving Vasa a light hug.

["I am fine,"] Vasa answered with a shrug. ["So, Syfon, have you had a chance to look over—"]

["—You know I cannot discuss…"] his voice grew quieter as one of the front desk attendants turned and stared. ["Work-related things with you anymore."]

["Have you at least had a look at my plan?"] Vasa sighed.

Syfon exhaled slowly, fur twitching with annoyance. ["Let's go somewhere else… Tea, perhaps?"]

Vasa snorted derisively and shook her head. ["Tea? On Alishta Island?"]

"MCS-Nav says there are three locations that serve tea," Shfentobur said in Basic, speaking in a robotic voice as she held her datapad.

Tora mussed Shfentobur's hair as Shfentobur giggled loudly. Ereth reached over and suddenly tried yanking the datapad from Shfentobur's hands.

["Enough fighting!"] Syfon snarled. ["Shfentobur, lead us to the nearest one."]

o.o.o.o.o

Alishta Island had very few children. In the chilly overcast fog, the ruckus of Vasa's grandnieces attracted more than a few incredulous stares as they walked from the retirement village into the town's lone shopping strip.

["Great aunt Vasa, why is winter here so cold?"] Ereth growled, her lower jaw quivering from the cold.

["It's summer, Ereth,"] Vasa said, the mist of her breath slightly visible in the air in front of her snout.

["But what do you—How is it summer in Tag'yeda?] Ereth yelped in shock.

["We are in the Southern Hemisphere honey,"] Tora growled reassuringly. She narrowed her eyes angrily at Vasa, as if she thought Vasa had intentionally caused Ereth alarm.

["If it's summer then winter must be super cold!"] Shfentobur exclaimed in amazement as she stopped walking at twirled in place, taking in the scenery of plain square durasteel structures and yellowed tundra grass.

["Rogue!"] Ereth agreed. ["We should come back in winter. I bet Vasa will have tons of snow!"]

["Let's keep moving,"] Tora urged.

Vasa walked a bit faster, catching up to Syfon at the front of the pack. ["Syfon, you—"]

["—Look, I'm not supposed to talk about it,"] Syfon snapped.

["—Can you at least… Did you at least look at what I sent you?!"] Vasa demanded, her tone growing increasingly aggravated.

["Yes,"] Syfon growled cautiously. ["I looked at it."] He walked a bit faster, trying to leave his aunt behind. A few onlookers were now staring at Vasa and Syfon, their argument drawing more interest than the excited yips and yaps of a few children.

["Syfon!"] Vasa yelled into the air. ["We need a new catalyst! My plan still works if we can find a new Jedi and Tarkin connection! All we need is a new connection. Just one will do and then—"]

["—SSSSHHHH!"] Syfon hissed, his fur now flat in fear.

Vasa's fur twitched in annoyance. A month of living on that desolate island had made her no longer afraid of anything. There simply was nowhere worse the Spynet could put her.

Syfon's fur relaxed slightly, then began swirling nervously. ["The plan—Your plan, is already in motion,"] he whispered so quietly even a Bothan could hardly hear.

["How is that possible?!"] Vasa whisper-yelled. ["Without Itoll Oc and Lir Sey'les as our catalyst… Did you take my idea for exploiting Dr Gubacher's connections to the Jedi?"]

["Dr Gubacher broke off all communications with us,"] Syfon snarled. ["But Itoll Oc and Lir Sey'les have been found in the Deep Core. The information has been passed to Tarkin. Tarkin is moving to bring Jazal into the Strategic Advisory Cell, against the wishes of the Supreme Chancellor. The trap is in action as we speak."]

Why am I still here then? Vasa wondered to herself. I am the architect of this plan.

["What's a 'Tarkin'?"] Shfentobur asked, ears perked up as she caught up with her dad and great aunt.

["Something your daddy and your aunt probably shouldn't be talking about,"] Tora said through gritted teeth.