Star destroyer Vengeance
"How much longer do we have to wait around here?" Firebrand asked aloud as he paced back and forth through the bridge.
"Until we are given further instructions." Reyes calmly noted as he looked at a schematic of the Czerka pistol he stole from Ordera.
Firebrand stretched his arms out in exaggeration. "And who's giving the orders, Reyes? That guy?" He said as he pointed to Major Pryde who was on a holo call with a young boy at the war table, just out of earshot.
A nearby console began to blink, indicating an incoming ship. Reyes rushed over the the security feed of the hangar bay to see a tri-winged shuttle he did not recognise, yet it bared the imperial insignia. From the shuttle, emerged General Tarkin with a squad of troopers in sleek black armour and green visors, they paced with purpose towards the elevator.
Reyes looked to Firebrand, who was still pacing in frustration, then he looked to Pryde, who had just ended his call, undoubtedly knowing of the general's arrival. When the doors opened, all officers stood to attention, save for Firebrand, who simply folded his arms and leaned back against a wall.
Tarkin took notice of the lack of military uniform and posture. "Major Pryde, do all of your men show such an absence of professionalism? Or is it simply this colorful individual before me?" He asked as he gestured to Firebrand's armour.
Pryde was sweating, he had hoped that this moment wouldn't come so soon. He genuinely believed that bringing in Barriss Offee as the Emperor requested would have secured his standing within the Empire, the job was done, it shouldn't have mattered how it was done. After wiping the sweat from his brow, he stood straight and greeted his superior. "General Tarkin, I wasn't expecting you."
Tarkin narrowed his eyes. "Really, now? Did you honestly expect your treasonous crimes to be forgiven due to one success in over a year?"
Pryde slowly began stepping back onto the bridge. "General, please. While my actions may have been questionable, you cannot argue with my results." He choked as he tried to sound confident despite his situation.
The black armoured troopers raised their weapons in preparation. "Armund Reyes. As the next senior ranking officer on board the Vengeance, and in light of your efforts notifying us of your predecessor's crimes, you are now the commanding officer of this vessel. Congratulations, Captain Reyes."
"What?!" Pryde shouted in anger.
Tarkin then turned back to the former captain. "Major Pryde. For your crimes against the Empire, you shall be stripped from your military rank and subject to execution. But don't worry, the Emperor is not unforgiving. Your son Enric shall be enrolled in the most prestigious Imperial academy as reward for your apprehension of the former Jedi fugitive. I have high hopes that he shall be a much more competent officer than you ever were." He almost smirked.
"Wait!... Sir..." Reyes spoke up.
"Hold your fire." Tarkin instructed, now obviously irritated. He then looked to the newly appointed captain of the Vengeance. "What is it, Reyes?"
The captain gulped. "Sir... I believe that Pryde can still be a valuable asset to my crew. I... Am formally requesting a pardon of execution... And for the former Major to be reinstated into my employ as a field operative on the front lines." He quickly regained his posture and professionalism.
Tarkin closed his fist and brought it up under his chin as he pondered on the request for a few seconds. "Very well, Captain. Pryde is now your responsibility. However, his future failures shall be reflected upon you as a leader. I hope that you do not grow to regret your decision."
Reyes stood to attention once again. "I will not let you down, sir."
Tarkin clasped his hands behind his back and looked out over the planet-wide city below. "We shall see... Now, for your first mission as captain, you are charged with securing a small shipping yard on the planet Mon Cala. You already have several hundred security droids in your possession, it would be wise to now use them." He explained as he stared down Pryde reminding him of what led to his downfall. The General then closed signalled for his guards to follow and began to walk towards the elevator to exit the Vengeance.
"Hang on just a minute." Firebrand almost shouted across the bridge to the Emperor's most trusted military officer. Tarkin stopped in his tracks but didn't give him the dignity of turning to face him, his black guards on the other hand, raised their weapons with caution. "Is Offee gonna be executed or what? Because that snivelling excuse of a man there promised me her head." He said as he pointed to Pryde
Tarkin then turned. "Ah, you are Mr Addle. Pryde's little Jedi hunter experiment…" The General looked the temple worker up and down. "Despite your attitude, you were successful in your capture of the former Jedi fugitive. The Empire could use your skills in the future, should you wish to formerly enlist in the Imperial military." Tarkin held out his hand in an attempt to offer Firebrand employment.
Boz Addle peered through his helmet and into the eyes of the scrawny figure before him, he did his best to keep his composure, but a slight twitch of his bottom jaw gave the scarred hunter everything he needed to know. This was an empty promise, he was expected to die on his next mission. No doubt, fighting on a water world with his preference of incendiary weapons would prove to be his downfall, and he knew that Tarkin was betting on that. He also noted at how quick the general was to change the subject regarding Offee, he was never going to get the closure he craved.
Regardless, Firebrand shook the General's hand, he didn't hold back in his grip and he could see how uncomfortable Tarkin truly was because of it. If he couldn't find comfort in the death of the Jedi, he would seek it elsewhere until he was satisfied. "With pleasure, Sir."
With business dealt with, Tarkin and his crew hastily left the Vengeance, leaving Captain Reyes a few hours to prepare for his next mission. The newly appointed captain had ordered Pryde to be taken into custody before turning to the enforcer. "Tarkin is short sighted." He smirked as he went back to studying the Czerka pistol.
"Oh yeah? How's that?" Firebrand asked as he continued to lean against the wall, thinking over his new position.
Reyes brought up a new projection of a small circular device. "Why should we waste our resources on something as trivial as a few aquatic shipyards when we can prevent weapons such as these from being supplied to rebellions instead?"
"You lost me." Firebrand slumped his shoulders in admition.
"This new Czerka company, they've been producing vibroblades, arc weaponry, EMP grenades, the works. If we secure their foundry where these weapons are produced, we can put them to our own personal use."
"And that thing?" Boz again asked, pointing towards the circular device on the holotable.
"Our ship engineers and scientists have manufactured an arc energy dampener. Czerka weapons operate on a specific electro-magnetic wave, the dampener cancels it out, thus rendering the weapons useless. They only finished it half an hour ago, but as I am now the captain of this ship, this piece of technology shall be ours exclusively." Reyes smiled with pride. This would be his crowning achievement, a chance to finally make something of himself. He did feel sympathy towards Pryde, but while he was also disobeying the Empire's orders, his results would undoubtedly be more valuable.
"Hate to break it to you, Captain. But when Tarkin finds out, you're gonna wish he killed you. I'm gonna take a shuttle and go to Mon Cala, I'm not sticking my neck out because of your ambition." Firebrand said casually as he walked past the captain.
"I can give you Offee." Was all he needed to say to get Addle's attention.
Boz stood still. "Don't lie to me, it's embarrassing us both." He grunted.
"I still have friends in the Coruscant guard. I have it on good authority that she has been released from Imperial custody, and is more than likely returning to her friends at Czerka."
Boz took off his helmet to get a clear look at Armund's eyes. "They let her go? Why?!" His eyes were burning with rage.
"Doesn't matter. What matters is that she's now vulnerable. We can both get what we want, I can get those weapons, and you can have your revenge."
Firebrand looked at the captain, then at the hologram of the Czerka weapon, then back again. "Do you have a way to find this foundry?" He asked bluntly.
Reyes smirked once again. "As a matter of fact, I do. Yesterday, an encrypted signal was intercepted through ISB relay satellites. The signal itself is mostly garbage data, but the signal originated from the Unknown Regions, along with an image." The captain explained as he brought up a blurred image of a symbol. He then brought the blueprint of the pistol next to the image.
The symbols were a perfect match.
"Czerka?" Firebrand asked, now genuinely intrigued.
"Precisely. We're the only ones who know of Czerka's re-emergence, we have the advantage, we now know where their base is..."
Chorus City, Balmorra
Cayde was worried. Many things were plaguing his mind, he hadn't heard from Barriss in hours, there was still no update on the Katana fleet, and to top it all off, the break in the plasma wall was behind schedule. Plo Koon walked into the office as if by coincidence, but one thing that Cayde remembered in his brief studies of the Jedi, coincidences just don't exist. Not wanting to seem too worried straight away, the Director began with small talk. "Master Plo, good to see you. How are your injuries?"
The Kel Dor ran his leathery hands over one another, the imprints of his fingers leaving a light trail which quickly faded after contact. "The scars are permanent, I'm afraid. But I am feeling well… I must admit, I was surprised when I met your chief medical officer. Nuvo Vindi is not someone I could imagine helping save the galaxy, especially considering his work on the Blue Shadow virus."
Cayde shrugged. "Yeah, well, this whole invasion is causing us to form alliances that we wouldn't normally. Hey, while you were down there, did you check up on Comet and Sinker?"
"I did. They're both well and slowly adjusting to the situation. I do wonder how it is that they ended up on a ship with a new battalion when the 104th was still largely intact." He pondered aloud.
"Well, according to Slick and Boil, Wolffe was the commanding officer of this ship, any of his men with the rank of corporal or higher were also assigned to lead the new squads aboard the Stone Rain." Cayde explained as his console then blinked.
"Oh! Speaking of which." He retailed off as he opened a comm link.
It was Boil who began the conversation. "Sir! We salvaged the back box from the torrent like you asked. It looks like Sinker tried to send out an S.O.S, but it was intercepted by our orbital relays.""What was the message?" Plo then asked, loud enough for Boil to hear.
"Just a standard distress message, Sir. But... There's some sort of code embedded in the message." He continued to explain as he forwarded a series of letters and symbols.
Cayde's eyes widened in fear. "No, no, no, no, no! It's a Virus!" He said frantically as he opened up a keyboard in an attempt to intercept the message.
"Can you not combat it?" Plo then cut in.
"I could have back when the signal first went out... But its been hours since the attack... His signal got out..." The Director trembled ashe brought up an encrypted image from the message, revealing the Czerka insignia.
"We should prepare for an attack." Plo advised as he leant in on his cane to study the symbol.
"Oh, you think?" Cayde asked rhetorically.
Plo reached out his hand. "Calm yourself, Durann."
Cayde ran his hands back through his hair, scratching his scalp as he did so. "Can you seriously expect me to be calm? Everything I have worked for has been erased by two of your men!" He shouted as he pointed his finger at the Jedi master in accusation.
The silence that followed was enough to make the director realise his mistake. He quickly dropped his arm. "I'm... Sorry, Master Plo. I know you didn't have any control over your lieutenants." He shamefully admitted before taking a deep breath.
"You are not a Jedi, Cayde. I cannot fault you for giving into your emotions... If I am being honest, you have every right to be distre- Wait... By the force... There's one more on Balmorra." Plo shuddered with genuine fear in his voice.
The Director placed his hands on the table in front of him. "What? Who?!"
"... Boost."
The pair didn't have the chance to discuss the matter any further, as they were both distracted by the roaring sound of a cruiser emerging from hyperspace above the city.