Chapter 7
Imperial
Garrison, Triadon - Maija's Quarters
Maija's fingers brushed over the
touch-sensitive screen on her computer and watched as the names of hundreds and
hundreds of prison worlds shimmered lightly under her touch. 'There were so many names,' she thought
with a momentary tinge of sorrow. 'So
many places where too many cruelties were left to go unpunished.' They
should serve as a warning to anyone who doubted the reason for the Rebellion's
existence. Then, with an ever-present ache, she remembered Alderaan and the
loss of her parents. To many this represented a far more obvious human cost.
Was it really nearly three years since she'd felt the death blow? Her gaze
focused once again on the names on her viewscreen.
"Akritar?" she wondered aloud.
"Kessel, or the slave mines on Alzoc III?"
There was something about one of the
prison worlds that would become vitally important. If she could only find out
which one. Which one to use?
The screen seemed to mock her and she
attempted to use the Force to guide her hand. Maija closed her eyes, stretched
her hand towards the locations in front of her and struggled to feel something
- anything. But whatever had guided
her up to this point had left her. "Perhaps this is not for me to
find," she whispered. "Still… I must try - I can't just leave it
here."
Calling up the twisting, strands of
code, she stared at the moving rivulets of meaningless data, running down her
screen like rain against a viewport. "Kessel," she murmured softly.
"It's as good as any other… it's a place where despair rules."
Her decision made, Maija took a deep
breath and gently pressed her fingers against the chosen word.
With a little popping sound the screen
went blank, no, not blank - completely dead. Her access to news of the outside
world - severed.
"No!"
She was left staring at nothing until
an acrid, burning smell assaulted her nose. With a gasp of frustration Maija
wrenched the plug from the socket. She was now effectively blind. The computer
had just given up and with a sinking feeling she wondered how many alarms she'd
tripped on her quest to crack the codes. "I should have listened to
myself. I was not meant to discover this and now things are worse.
Pulling a vicious looking vibroblade
from her boot heel, Maija sliced open the processing unit and looked aghast at
its charred and smoking insides.
"It's gone and melted on me -
sithspit!" she cursed fiercely. But there was no time to deal with it just
then, so she pushed it under her bed.
***********************************************
The Governor's Residence, Triadon
Nerano saluted the Governor as he left
the office to return home to his family. It had been a strange day, he mused to
himself. Uppermost in his thoughts was the behaviour of his friend.
"Sir," the aide called.
"Yes?"
"I checked and double checked the
information on the identity of the man you gave me to research."
"Nothing then?"
"No, Sir."
"No! He doesn't exist?"
"Oh yes, Sir, he does, or rather,
he did. Nearly everything checked out.
Just not his first name. So I went over everything again. This is him isn't
it?"
Nerano stared at the fuzzy holo image.
It could be and then again, it was out of focus - the edges blurred, the
likeness poor.
"Mmm, it's not very clear. It
could be him and then again it might not."
"Everything about him wasn't
clear. So I contacted his home world. It was rather weird, Sir."
Nerano froze. "Explain!" he
barked.
"He's dead, Sir. Died six months
ago. I have a clearer holo here… " He held out the image.
Nerano forgot his Imperial training for
a moment, before remembering it. It was not the man he'd known. But the
likeness was close. The Rebels must
have good Intel people to find such a close likeness. "Good," he
said. "You've done well. In fact you could get a commendation for such
work."
"Is this the spy, Sir?"
Nerano opened his mouth to say that he
wasn't sure, but that this person was certainly a suspect, since he'd
disappeared without trace and his records had been very cleverly falsified. He
hesitated just for an instant, unsure how to phrase his reply to the waiting
aide, and then found himself saying something quite different instead.
"No, this was in fact a… a training exercise which you passed with flying
colours, as they say." He risked glancing at the aide to see if his
assistant knew that he was lying. But the man seemed pleased with Nerano's
answer and returned to his workstation.
Nerano sank onto his own chair and
tried to look as if he hadn't made possibly the worst decision of his life. 'What possessed me? I've just gone and
ruined everything I ever worked for and I don't know why.'
He stared at his chrono willing the
hours and minutes to tick away. He had to speak to Maija. He had to find out if
she was a traitor. He had to know the truth.
********************************************
Coruscant
The alarms began to sound as soon as
Maija, on Triadon, touched her viewscreen. The officer in charge of monitoring
security files sat up in shock. This couldn't be happening. Someone was
attempting to decode the most top-secret files in the Empire and they had come
damned close to succeeding too. He flicked a switch to block the attempt and
snapped into his comlink. "Trace it!"
He nodded towards one of his staff.
"I need a secure link to the General, immediately, and have you traced it
yet?"
"Not yet, Commander. Patching you
through to General Tedx now."
He explained the situation succinctly
to his superior. "We have stopped the breach and are attempting to trace
the location of the slicer."
"Which files?"
"Top priority, Sir. We have no
idea what they contain."
General Tedx did and he wasn't happy
about it. If the Emperor got wind of this….
"We'd better inform the
Director," the General decided.
"No need. She already knows."
The words were chillingly cold, matching the glacial blue of one eye and
starting a rush of fear in her subordinates, yet red-hot in the intensity of
the glowing red of her other eye.
"Director Isard!" His discomfort at her sudden appearance was
apparent. "The Emperor will need
to know?" The words were fearful.
"Only if the situation continues -
which it will not. Deal with it and I will expect a full report. His majesty
has more pressing matters on his mind than some juvenile delinquent hacking
into state security files."
"But suppose it's the
Rebels?"
"I said 'deal with it'."
The General saluted and as he turned to
go his com sounded. "General, we've traced the signal."
"You have?" He turned to face
the head of Intelligence. "Where?"
"Adon system, Sir."
"The Adon system," he echoed.
Isard was already checking through the
Imperial planetary database and her voice was grim. "The only inhabited
world in that system is Adon III."
"Otherwise known as Triadon,"
the General finished. "It's a mining colony, producing materials for the
Imperial war effort."
"Notify the sector Moff and the
Governor."
"Director Isard… Triadon is also
the site for the testing of…"
"I know," she cut him off
sharply. "This is more important than I thought. If it is known what those
metal ores are for… Send a team out there immediately."
"Yes ma'am."
*********************************************************************
Imperial Garrison, Triadon
Commander Fariu winced with pain as
more data scrolled past his eyes. He'd stopped absorbing any of this
information well over an hour ago. He placed his hand on his forehead and
rubbed wearily. He'd gone through the data concerning most of his personal
staff and it had all checked out. No anomalies, no suspicious events in their
backgrounds - nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. Everything came up
smelling of Ghaala lilies.
Maija entered the office and watched
her superior as he continued to go through files.
"Ah, Lieutenant. I was just about
to go through your personal files. Can I ask you some questions? Since you are
here…" He sighed and rubbed his forehead again.
"Sir, you have a headache?"
"Yes, Lieutenant, I have."
"Do you want me to alert the
medical droid. I'm sure he could prepare you something to ease the pain."
Fariu nodded and then wished he hadn't
as pain lanced through him. "Please."
"You could ask me the questions
later, Sir. I suggest you go to your quarters and rest. I'll send the
medication there and perhaps an hour's rest would refresh you. You've at this
all day and without meals too. I think, Sir, that you just need a break and
then you'll feel better equipped to tackle the information."
He looked at the girl in front of him,
her pale face showing the correct mixture of composure and concern, her black
uniform crisply pressed - the very picture of an Imperial soldier. He was tired
- the hunt for spies and traitors was getting to him. Despite his best efforts
and all the extra security, things were still going wrong. He smiled wearily at
her.
Maija sent him a calm smile in return.
"I'll still be here later on, Sir. The best way for us to catch these
Rebel spies and traitors is to be at the top of our game. Take a break,
Sir," she repeated. "You'll find you get through twice as much when
you return to the task."
It was good to have people you could
depend upon. "Thank you, lieutenant. You are right."
As soon as he'd left the office, Maija
perched quickly on the edge of his nerf-hide chair and quickly hacked into the
files, marking her own records as having been checked. She then called down to
the medicentre and had the medical droid prepare a sleeping draught for the
Commander. It should make him sleep for several hours if she was lucky.
"What are you doing?"
Maija jumped at the sound of Nerano's
voice. "I'm accessing the medical files. The Commander isn't feeling well
and I'm sending a request to the medical droid for something for his headache.
What did you think I was doing?" She hit the button, which cleared her own
files from the screen. "Hacking into the files to send secret messages
out?"
Her voice was derisive and Nerano felt
a little foolish. Still, he felt so distrustful of her motives, he had to
question everything she said or did.
"Fariu's checking our records.
These are accessible only by the Commander, the Governor and the Moff."
Maija's expression was dry.
"But you are a talented encryptor.
You could surely bypass the codes if you had to."
Maija snorted. "Not on these
files, I can assure you. I would need weeks to get into them - not minutes. The
Commander was in here two minutes ago. What am I going to get through that
quickly?" She speared him in place with a direct look. "I'm not sure
if I like your questions, Lieutenant Nerano."
"I'm sorry, Darklighter…. It's
just…"
"You have great faith in my
abilities. If I was that good, I'd have been snapped up by the Intel division
as soon as I graduated from 'The Academy'". Maija gave Nerano a frosty
look. "Don't you have duties for the Governor?"
She moved from the office and returned
to her own desk, where she sat with a stony-faced expression. He didn't need to
know that Intel had approached her on behalf of the Analysis Bureau, but Maija
had firmly refused. She wanted to attend the Diplomatic Centre. It was the one
course that was prized above even an Intel placement.
"Look, I'm sorry…" he tried to apologise again.
Maija lifted her head, the harsh
expression on her face softening a little. "So am I, Franjeer, so am I.
What have I done to make you question my every move in this way? We were
friends when we attended the Academy together. In fact you were my only
friend."
"I don't think I know you any
more, Darklighter. I don't think we see things in the same way anymore."
"I don't know, Franjeer. I don't
know if we ever did." The words emerged from a heartfelt sigh.
"I need to talk to you…"
"So talk. You've been doing a lot
of that of late."
"I can't talk here." Nerano
looked tired suddenly.
Maija paused and stared at the big man
as he shifted awkwardly in front of her. "Sure," she murmured.
"Mess hall?"
"Yeah…." Nerano shuffled his
feet and coughed. "I'd better go."
"Yes, I have work to do."
Maija followed his retreating figure
with her eyes as he disappeared down the long corridor. Force knows if she
would be meeting him in the mess hall. She moved to the general office area and
gave out the usual duty rotations and made sure the staff were gainfully
employed before returning to her own office. With a quick eye on the chrono
Maija quickly returned to deal with the Commander's correspondence. A coded message
caught her eye and with the sure knowledge of her superior's codes - she
deciphered it.
'Expect
a team from Intel. You have a spy on Triadon.'
Maija froze. She knew it had happened
and foolishly she was waiting for things to carry on as normal. With a click
she destroyed all her files and left her office, leaving only that message. She
had to go and it had to be now. With a calmness that was completely assumed,
her heart began to thud heavily and loudly in her ears. So it had finally
happened - it was time to make the break with the Empire. If she could just
manage to get out of Triadon alive. She wandered casually along the grey
corridors and made her way to the outside compound only to see a group of
Triadii citizens brought in for questioning.
The Governor had intimated that there
would be purges if the systems malfunctions continued. It now looked as if he
was making good on that threat. Suddenly, a face caught her attention and her
stomach somersaulted.
'Stang! she mouthed
silently. Krupek Chitipek stood silently with the rest of the frightened group
and with a sinking feeling Maija spotted Lhinda cowering behind him. 'Rorri'. She thought, 'Where was Rorri?' But Rorri was not
with his parents.
Switching directions she moved nearer
to the group and tried to look like an Imperial officer would look at a group
of possible suspects. Still, not by a look or a word did she or the Chitipeks
acknowledge in any way that they knew each other or had even met before.
Maija's heart sank. She knew the
Chitipeks wouldn't talk willingly, but under interrogation and torture even the
strongest could break. As the group were led away, Maija saw Lhinda turn around
and look straight at her. The message was clear. Find Rorri and make sure he
was safe. She had to do it. So where was Rorri Chitipek likely to go in this
situation? Something in Lhinda's measured stare told her that Rorri knew his
parents were in danger and he'd gone somewhere to hide. At least she hoped he'd
gone somewhere to hide.
She turned back and went to her
quarters where she rapidly packed a small holdall, stuffing her ruined
processing unit to the very depths of the bag. Her blaster was placed in a
shoulder holster and she stuffed a couple of knives in the sheaths fitted into
the side of her boot. The last task was to collect a small box from behind an
air vent in the wall. It, too, was placed into her bag. Putting on her
protective cloak, she grabbed a stray data pad and a couple of cards from the
bedside table. A couple of outside passes and a document signed by Governor
Fariu were transferred into the holdall and she was ready.
***********************************************************
Governor Markieer stared at the data
he'd received from all the bioscan units, matching them up with holocam footage
and there was one in particular that didn't correlate.
"Lieutenant Nerano!" he
called.
Nerano pressed the door switch and
entered the office.
"Find out which office is linked
with bioscan unit AA358."
"Yes, Sir."
************************************************************
With a sense of mounting panic Rorri Chitipek patted his tunic again, feeling for the data card his mother had handed to him. His hand found the square edge of the card and a sense of relief swept through him. He'd already checked that it was still there at least half a dozen times as he crawled slowly through a disused mine shaft. He didn't know how he was going to find Jamia. He wasn't even sure if that was her real name. But something in his mother's voice had told him this was the most important thing she'd ever asked him to do.
"Find
Jamia,"
she'd said. "It's something she needs to
have. Find her and give her this."
His mother had been standing by the
window of their apartment and she'd seen the stormtroopers coming. Quickly
she'd gone to the safe and pulled out a data card.
"Rorri, we received this
information yesterday. It looks as if we will not be able to hand it over
ourselves. There is a bag packed for you. I would suggest you leave through the
cellars."
"But…."
"No time, son."
"How did you know?"
"Your father sent me a signal; he
was picked up from the factory. He thought they were going to come for me next,
but we can't let them take you too." Tears sparkled in the violet eyes,
but she blinked them back bravely. At least she'd had a little warning to say
farewell to her only son. "We love you." Her lips trembled, but
Lhinda Chitipek was a brave woman. "Now get out of here." She
embraced him and smoothed the curl away from his forehead with a suddenly shaky
hand. "May the Force be with you, Rorri. I cannot say for certain that we
will meet again. I hope they just ask us a few questions and send us home, but
this is the Empire and I know too well what their methods usually are."
He'd left as quickly as he could, all
the time his heart pounding frantically in his chest. But he made it to the
cellars without mishap and out into the pouring rain. No one gave the youth a
second glance as he made his way towards Rorek's used speeder lot. It was the
one place he'd always gone to as a child and he knew Rorek would know what to
do.
The place was deserted at this time of night. Most of the factories in this sector of the city had ceased production long ago. There were only one or two left and they were very poor. The rest of the factories were running double, even triple shifts to try and meet the Empire's demands for raw materials.
Rorri slunk across the pot-holed
street, his grey cloak blending in with the drab surroundings, and found Rorek anxiously waiting, his yellowish
face thin in the waning light of day.
"Thank the Force they didn't take
you."
"My parents saw to that. Rorek, I
have to get them out…"
The older man shook his head. "You
cannot. It's an Imperial Garrison and they are readying themselves to start
purges. We cannot risk any more people."
"But my father, my mother…"
"I know. Did they try to escape at
all?" The question was straightforward and the look in Rorek's eyes told
Rorri everything he didn't want to know. "Your father knew that this was
going to happen. He was right and it
does no good to deny it. Did they get it - the data?"
Rorri ran trembling hands over his
tunic front for the umpteenth time. "Yes…"
"You are hopefully still carrying it?" he raised his
eyebrows quizzically.
"Yes, it's here." Rorri
patted his tunic carefully and watched as Rorek gave a big sigh of relief.
"Do you know what it is?" Rorri asked gravely. "My mother went white when my father sent her the data stream. She immediately copied it and put it in the safe. She didn't tell me what it said. When his signal came, she hugged me so tightly and handed me the card. There is another copy somewhere, but I don't know where."
"I don't know what it is either,
but I knew your father had discovered something they were testing in one of the
factory labs. A former employee copied some data and gave it to your father.
That employee was arrested earlier today and your father only a few hours
later, but it was enough time for him to get the data to your mother and now to
you. Your parents knew the risk they were taking. They chose to do this and
they want you to make your own choices. Make them the right ones."
"I understand and I chose to join
them. I just didn't think it would be like this." Rorri's voice showed the
pain of new maturity.
"We live in difficult and
dangerous times. Ask Jamia sometime."
"So now we wait?"
"We can't wait too long. If we
don't hear from Jamia soon we'll have to try to contact her. Or get it out
another way."
"Is that a problem?" Rorri
queried. "She's one of us - a factory worker? How can she help us get the
data out?"
Rorek rolled his eyes but, in a way,
Rorri's ignorance was a good thing. Jamia's identity had been kept secure from
all but one or two people and that was the best way. "No, Rorri. Jamia is
an Imperial soldier. She works at the garrison."
"And we trust her?"
"Oh yes, we trust her. Your
parents and I ran a very haphazard organisation until Jamia came to Triadon.
She organised us and helped us get the equipment we needed and the codes to run
them. She's a resourceful woman, but she's worried about her own security. I've
been told to get her off Triadon and we might have to do the same for you
too."
"Me - off Triadon? But I was born here."
"That means nothing. Do you want
to die here?" He hustled the youth out of the office and into a turbo
lift. "We'll wait in one of the lower level rooms."
"How long can we give her?"
"Only a few hours, Rorri. She's
supposed to be on her way to see me tonight anyway - if I'm to get her offworld
safely."
Rorek didn't tell Rorri that without
Jamia's resourcefulness and the guile of Lhinda and Krupek he wasn't one
hundred percent sure how he was going to accomplish that task.
