Tairek and I set out the next day, this time with the official IDs given to us. As usual we wore civilian attire, complete with basic blasters. We left later in the morning, so we wouldn't have to wait around a while. We were allowed entrance into the city at the same guard post, by the same militiamen from yesterday. If memory served me correctly, at least two of the militia at the gate were also part of Jan and Brog's organization. We headed on into the city, down the street and to the plaza. We steered clear of angry crowd and a militia soldier that was inciting them, and headed on down the street towards the Vrobal's Snout.
"We probably oughta not go in there." I said to Tairek. We vividly remembered the violent scene from yesterday when several of the patrons were dragged off without any official reason given to them. Tairek nodded.
"Agreed lad." Tairek replied. We turned and began to head down the alley, when we came face to helmet with one of the elite commandos. He held out his hand to stop us.
"Halt. Show me your papers." He ordered. We noticed his finger next to his rifle's blaster, and quickly produced our ID cards. He looked at them and nodded.
"Looks in order. You have permits for those blasters?"
"Of course." Tairek said, as we produced those too. He looked at them and nodded again.
"Very good. Carry on, carry on." He said.
He continued walking out of the alley and down the street on his patrol. Tairek and I looked at each other, then headed down the alley. We spotted Brog looking out the window of his apartment, then head over to the front door. Tairek and I looked to make sure the coast was clear, then headed down the stairs to his apartment. Brog opened the door and let us inside. Out of caution, Tairek and I stood rather than sat. Brog noticed this and shrugged it off.
"Mm…I spoke with Jan earlier. She said she passed the word on about the meeting. It's set. Tomorrow night, midnight, at the grove. You bring yourselves and your general, and we'll make it official." Brog said.
"Good. No tricks or your coup is dead in the water. The Republic may not know about you, but we do. You know what we're capable of. Understand?" Tairek said.
"You want to threaten me pal?" Brog shot back.
"I'm not threatening. I'm promising. My cousin Conall keeps his word. He'll help your organization, but if your people play any games, we have our own means to dispose of would-be allies. Tomorrow, midnight, the grove. We'll be there." Tairek said. He and I left, and headed back outside to the alley.
"I'm hungry Tairek. I say we get some food in town, then head back."
"Sounds good to me lad." Tairek replied.
We walked out of the alley, and looked for another restaurant besides the Vrobal's Snout. We walked down the street, and ended up back at the plaza. The angry anti-Mandalorian mob was dispersing after their daily five-minute hate. A few of them banded together like sheep, and headed to a restaurant down the street. We casually trailed them, and ended up at another cantina. The sign on it's exterior read: Café Coruscant: Brand New. We walked in, and we could see the Republic had it built when they first came in. It had all the elements of an upscale diner from the core worlds, but of course it was all for show. We took a look at the food, and the Twilek barman from yesterday was right: his place really does have the best food in town. However, better to be safe than sorry. We took a seat at a booth, and of course, to lure people in, there was a blue female Twilek bartender looking over the place. It helped she had revealing clothing on too. It was all a scam by the Republic for the locals to warm up to them. If I didn't know any better, I would have bought it. The bartender came over to our booth.
"Hey boys. You two are awfully handsome. What can I get for you?" She asked provocatively. She leaned down towards us, and my eyes became fixated for a few moments too long.
"I'll have the cleavage." I said. Tairek smashed his elbow into my ribs. "Err, the special."
"And for you old guy?"
"House soup." Tairek replied. She jotted it down.
"Ok, one soup and one special, comin' right up!" She turned and headed back to the bar, and Tairek gave me a look. I didn't notice Tairek, as I was fixated on the Twilek's rear as she walked away. I turned back to see Tairek looking at me. I shrugged.
"Couldn't help it. I mean, just look at her, and her…goddamn."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Tairek and I returned that night to Conall's camp in the mountains. While Tairek confirmed the meeting with Conall as well as reporting to him of the entire situation with the Republic, I sat in front of the fire and contemplated. The situation itself was obviously dangerous, but there were certain elements about it that were intriguing. True, Conall and his men had done their own terrorizing of the local populace, but that was only farmers and villagers in the countryside. Hence why all the people in the Café Coruscant and those at the plaza all looked like country folks. Meanwhile, all the folks that were against the Republic were those who had lived in Gardoose their entire lives…they also had more upscale jobs. There were direct parallels as lines would be drawn in the coming future. The people of Rori used to simply be divided by culture, city slickers opposite country folk. Now they were being divided politically. Conall's Mandalorians had terrorized and massacred people in the country, forcing them into the city. The Republic, and whoever was behind their current domination of Gardoose, were committing atrocities against city inhabitants, inadvertently forcing them to conspire against the occupiers outside the city walls.
Hearts and minds…Conall and his men have been guerillas for a year. For guerillas to operate successfully as insurgents, they have to gain support from somewhere in the populace. The only way they've maintained themselves is by attacking local villages, but its forced farmers into more-than-welcome arms of the Republic. But the Republic has been doing the same…and now the populace, whether they know it or not, has become divided politically I thought to myself. I continued staring into the fire, contemplating and predicting. This would be the first civil war I'd take part in. Ironic, that the people of Rori would only fight against each other when two foreign factions entered their soil. After having dinner, I headed off to bed. It was a big day tomorrow.
The next day, Conall began his preparations for the meeting. Not entirely trusting our supposed allies, he sent out a squad in the afternoon to conduct recon of the grove, as well as set themselves up in the trees. He wanted the jump on them just in case. After waiting for most of the day, Conall, Tairek, and I headed out around 2000 hours. This time, Tairek and I went as ourselves, fully encased in our armour. Disguises weren't necessary. We reached the grove about 30 minutes before midnight. There were already many members there, waiting. They eyed us with apprehension, disgust, and whatever else. We passed it off as mere ignorance. When Jan and Brog arrived with the rest of their organization, the meeting began. Jan spoke.
"I'm sorry if this meeting came at a wrong time for any of you, but as you all know, we've had certain developments. As you've already noticed, there are Mandalorians present. There are many more of them, and they've agreed to help us overthrow the Republic out of Gardoose." Jan said. There was a cacophony of voices from her followers, but she quieted them down.
"There will no doubt be those of you who are in disagreement with this idea. However, it's dawned on Brog and I that for our organization to succeed in it's task, we'll need a strong military force. Those of you in the militia, you are brave and strong, but for this to work we'll need to fight fire with fire. The Mandalorians are a necessary evil for the time being." Jan said. One of her followers, a Twilek, stood up.
"So what, we're going to let them just come in, beat up the Republic, then we'll have new oppressors?" The Twilek asked. Jan was about to reply when Conall came in.
"I'll have you all know that my mission when my army first arrived was to only setup a fort, far away from your homes. The long term effects of my mission required my men and I to live peacefully with the people of Rori. Conquering the planet was never our objective. I swear it."
"And who the hell are you?"
"General Conall MacBroek of the clan MacBroek." Conall replied. Jan cut in before it could've gotten uglier.
"Now, let me be clear here. Victory against the Republic is not certain yet. We still have a lot to do. Just know that the Mandalorians are for now acting as our protectors, and that when the time comes, they will take over the military operations when our agenda can no longer be hidden to the Republic. So…the Mandalorians are our allies, and we're going to look into certain ideas they've proposed. General Conall?" Jan said. Conall took center stage again.
"Now let's not get rattled here. My men and I have experience with situations like this. First and foremost, let's examine our situation. The main objective you all have, and the reason why you've been meeting in secret, is the plotting of the overthrow of the Republic from Rori. That is your ultimate goal that we will help with. However, our card won't be played for a while yet. For now, you have to help yourselves. The first thing in war is to know your enemy. Some of you will indeed be engaging in espionage and other clandestine activities. Don't get any bright ideas. You aren't going inside the Republic offices and gunning everyone down like you see in holo flicks. Those are actors with stuntmen, you folks are real people. This is an intelligence operation first and foremost, and these games take a while. A year at the least." Conall said. He paused to let it sink in.
"So for now, we have to figure out who exactly is running this Republic station in Gardoose. Already we've identified certain key elements of the Republic strategy. Key player one: The Elite Republic Commandos. They're the militaristic right wing of the Republic here on Rori. I can honestly tell you they're not running the show. Any Republic officer with ERCS under his command will use them, efficiently. You may not like them, but I've fought them before and I consider them worthy enemies, but in this theater they are pawns, plain and simple. Nevertheless, their atrocities are the reason why you're all here. If you have anyone to fear during the course of this operation, it's them." Conall said, pausing.
"Second element: The militia, trained by Feeorin mercenaries. They've become divided. Some of them are here with us, the rest fervently support the Republic, as you've all seen in the city plaza. When the time comes when my comrades and I must act, no doubt the militia barracks and training camps will resort to bloodshed as well. Our concern is not with the militia, as dangerous as they were a year ago when they defeated me, but with the Feeorin who've trained them. These guys are mercenaries, and mercenaries get paid. What we want to know is who specifically is paying them, and how they're paying them. If there's one thing my comrades and I have learned from fighting the Republic, it's that when even soldiers and civilians die, the only thing that will still be pumping through the Republic is money. It can be tracked, it can be played with like a sewer rat dangling in front of a nexu, it can lead us to our foe." Conall said, pausing again.
"Now, as this is an intelligence operation, and some of you are well placed in society, you will be called upon to do your part for this whole show to work. In other words, those of you who work for the Republic will be our lead agents. The information you gather will be ciphered along back to Jan and myself, eventually forming a clear picture of who the principal player we're dealing with is. From there, when needed, action will be taken. But for now, we're starting simple. So, those of you working in the Republic offices, come with me. The rest of you…at ease." Conall said.
Two women, a Human and a Twilek, stood up and followed Conall. Jan, as the leader of the organization, also joined in. Ten of the militiamen, three Gungans and two Twileks, joined the women and Conall. Conall motioned us over as well. He then sent a comm. message to his squad, and they descended from the trees, surprising the assembled people. Conall bid the two women and the militiamen to sit down on logs and stumps, while he stood. Jan sat down as well. Tairek and I stood off to the side.
"Ok, you two lasses. Names and occupations." Conall said.
"I'm Jaina. I work as Colonel Strasser's personal secretary." The Human female, Jaina, said. She looked older, about her 30s.
"And what does Colonel Strasser do?" Conall asked.
"He oversees the entire Republic mission here on Rori." Jaina replied.
"He may be the head honcho we're going after. What do you think?" Conall asked. For a tough, gruff guy, Conall could also be very diplomatic. These were just working gals after all, not soldiers. He wanted camaraderie between them and himself, not hard feelings.
"I don't think he is. He's gone into meetings in the main offices of 'Intergalactic Exports,' and returned…distraught." Jaina replied.
"Good, good. How many Republic buildings are there?" Conall asked.
"Three. Colonel Strasser owns the old Commandant's building that's been here ever since Gardoose was founded. The Republic offices were built pretty quickly after they moved in. Captain Witter and his men have taken up residence in the barracks, which are as old as the Commandant's building." Jaina said.
"Witter, who's that?" Conall asked.
"Captain Witter, he's the captain of the Republic security forces in Gardoose." The Twilek female said.
"I see. How about you? What do you do?" Conall asked.
"I'm Evenia. I'm a translator and transcriber for Captain Witter." The Twilek female, Evenia, said. She looked to be younger, early 20s.
"Transcriber…what is that?" Conall asked.
"When the Captain wants a message sent, he dictates it to me and I type his message. I then take it to communications to be sent. I also relay to him any messages sent to him." Evenia the Twilek explained.
"I see. Evenia, you're in a perfect position to supply us with data on the goings on in the offices. This is what I want you to do. Any message you come across, to and from Witter, I want you to make a copy of. Get them into holodisks. I'm going to guess you're not allowed to make copies of confidential information, so…think you can sneak those out of the barracks?"
"I sure can."
"Good. When you finish with a holodisk, I want you to deliver it to a young lad. Doug, get over here." Conall ordered. I walked over and removed my helmet. "Doug, this is Evenia. I want you two to work out a time and place that she'll deliver intelligence to you." Conall said. I nodded, and sat down with Evenia to hash out the details. Conall, meanwhile, turned to the older woman, Jaina.
"Jaina. What do you know about Strasser?"
"Well, he doesn't reveal much. The only thing I do is run the front desk for him. And even there I don't hear much. All the messages he receives are encrypted, and only he knows the decryption codes."
"Ok, so we know he's cautious. What kind of man is he?"
"Well, he's about his early 60s. I think he used to have a wife and kid, but I believe they were killed by…your people." Jaina said. Conall nodded.
"I see…Jaina, do you know what a honey trap is?"
"I'm not familiar with it, no." Jaina said. Conall paused, not wanting to offend his most valuable recruit. He carried on.
"Sexual seduction. A young lady like you may be the only way to extract information out of him." Conall said. Jaina's jaw dropped.
"Beg your pardon?"
"I know it's a lot to ask and I know you don't like it. But if you want to help out Jan and her organization, this is it." Conall said. Jaina leaned back and sighed.
"I'm going to need time to think about this." Jaina said. She stood up and left, heading back to the main group. Evenia and I watched the exchange, and when Jaina left she and I got to business.
"Ok, so, what does your schedule look like?" I asked.
"I work everyday from 9 to 5. I could get a holodisk to you everyday after work." Evenia said.
"That'll work. We'll have to change it up a lot. If any troopers see me at your place, or you going to where I am, they'll think something is up."
"There's a deli north of the main plaza we could go to."
"Ok, that'll work. Here's what we'll do…"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/
Jaina returned to Conall and Jan a half hour later. She still looked upset, but she had an answer.
"I'll do it. I don't like it, but it's for the best. But when the time comes…I want to kill him myself." Jaina said, deadly serious. Conall nodded.
"I was going to warn you of the dangers of emotional attachment young lass, but it seems you have that covered well enough. You'll be reporting your progress to a young lad in my company. Gawain! Get over here!" Conall yelled. Gawain, one of the men of the squad, came over. He removed his helmet and shook Jaina's hand.
"Gawain, this is Jaina. She's going to be gathering intelligence from Colonel Strasser. She's going to be delivering her reports to you. The information she's gathering won't be on holodisks, so you two go and work out meeting times." Conall ordered. Gawain and Jaina spoke together while Conall addressed the militiamen.
"You lads are paramount to the group's security. I want you to funnel extra weapons and explosives out of the training camps. You'll deliver them to my cousin Tairek. Tairek, come here and speak to the greens here." Conall ordered. Finally, he turned to Jan.
"Jan dear, my task for you is to gather supplies for my men and I." Conall said.
"Tired of being guerillas?"
"If we're going to succeed in the slightest, we need to stop the main reason why people are supporting the Republic: our raiding."
"I understand. I'll do what I can, but credits don't grow on trees. I'm not rich."
"Well…just say you've began a charity organization…for war refugees."
"That's low."
"Front companies are never honourable. But I'm giving you that task. If you don't want to, my men and I will just keep doing as we've doing, and continue pushing country folks into the Republic camp."
"Fine. I just hope to find redemption for this one day."