Legend of the Harp
By Hemaccabe
Episode III: The Crucible
Chapter 9: Silent Running
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
*** Jedi Knight Furin Kazan, Thessa Loniki, outer rim ***
I had a brief errand on my way to Sultoon. I needed to visit an old friend.
We landed on the backwater world of Thessa Loniki, there wasn't even a port. However, I needed to deliver supplies.
Sky did her usual excellent job. We had been forced to strap down our four Vultures topside on Revenge because underneath, we were carrying four extra-large sized cargo containers full of gear. The gear was what Saw had asked for. Admittedly, the cargo was heavy on explosives, but included a wide variety of other gear, including rifles, ammo, food, medical supplies, even a couple X-Wings.
I came down the ramp as we allowed his people to unload the cargo bay inside the Revenge as well.
Saw came forward, looking bluff and hearty. I could see he was still working out walking with one prosthetic leg, still he had recovered well from the Imperial assassination attempt. We grasped arms.
"Again, you come to support my war?" He asked facetiously and in good humor.
"We fight the same war. I'm glad there is someone else willing to take up arms. I would be the brother of any such man." I replied in the broad language I knew he liked.
I noticed standing just behind Saw and to his right was a young woman with pale skin and dark hair. Her bangs came so far down her forehead they almost hid her eyes. She kept her face down, hiding it, but then her face came up and she looked me in the eyes and for moment seemed both timid and bold. I noticed she was about the same age as Fio.
I had come to deliver supplies, but I also had a second mission. I wanted to say something right then and there, but I knew it wasn't the right moment. I could be patient.
I had arrived around local noon. It took the better part of the afternoon for Saw's Partisans to unload the supplies I had brought them. With limited infrastructure, it had required a lot of brute strength and hard work. By evening though, the job was done and a sense of satisfaction with hard work well done settled on Saw's camp.
While Saw had completed his work, I worked with Sky to release and ready our Vultures. By the end of the afternoon, they were up running sky cap in pairs.
With the excellent food supplies I had brought, the Partisan cooks had prepared a large meal for all. At Jojo's suggestion, I had brought casks of ale, enough for everyone to have at least one mug. Between hard work, a good meal and a mug of ale, all were in a state restful satisfaction.
I sat with Saw and pretended to eat and drink. At the end of the meal, I passed around a handful of spice cigars and we shared a smoke.
Saw began, "I sense you have need to talk to me?"
"Yes, when we can talk privately." I replied.
I had passed useful intel to Saw several times this way and gotten some in return. I had learned, for example, that the Empire had committed genocide on Geonosis as they were clearly trying to hide something. Saw had been hunting some sort of Imperial super weapon. I assumed it was the Super Star Destroyer I knew they were working on but Saw thought it was something different.
When most of the Partisans had gone to seek their private rest, I joined Saw in his cargo container office/bedroom. He pulled out a bottle of brandy and we both shared a glass served in some very humble tumblers. I handed him a valise full of hard Credits. These quiet one on one moments were when I normally would give him this most sensitive part of my assistance. I know Credits from other such assistance from me had paid for many things for Saw, including his top of the line new leg.
"So? Out with it. What do you want?" Saw asked.
"The girl with you earlier today, do you know who she is?" I asked.
My intelligence sources had identified the young woman as none other but Jyn Erso, the elusive only daughter of notorious Imperial Weapon's Scientist, Galen Erso. It didn't take a genius conspirator to think of a number of ways such a young woman could be used. I knew it was cold and calculating on my part to think of using a young girl in such a way, but we were at war. One had to accept certain practicalities in war, even if they weren't the highest of ethics. I knew Saw had not been above putting his people in danger and even expending them as necessary. It was an obvious move to use the girl in such a way, so I assumed Saw was simply ignorant of her origins.
"Do you know it was that girl who killed the Imperial assassin who did this?" Saw asked patting his prosthetic leg.
"I didn't." I answered a bit puzzled. I could sense that Saw's feelings for this girl were different than his feelings for his other people, more fatherly. They reminded me of the feelings I got from Jojo about Fio.
"Still, knowing her parentage opens up several possible avenues." I replied.
I didn't think of Saw as someone who acted much on sentiment.
"She's one of my best cadres. Very dedicated." Saw replied still clearly deflecting from the idea of using her.
I decided to do something very cold then. I reached out with the Force and noticed another of Saw's senior cadres, a particularly ruthless one named Staven was passing by. I gave Staven the idea to come and listen at Saw's cloth door.
Staven wasn't very subtle as he approached the door, he must have slipped on a rock or something. I knew Saw also knew someone was outside.
Still I went on to say, "That girl has enormous strategic value. We need to use it. This could be a major intelligence victory. In fact, her father could be working on the super weapon you're always looking for."
"I can't say it any more clearly. I don't want her used that way." Saw replied stubbornly, but we both knew the damage was done.
Knowledge of who Jyn Erso was would spread through Saw's camp. Even if Saw didn't want to use her as a hostage or bargaining chip, his senior lieutenants, like Staven, would force his hand.
"If that is how you feel, then I must assume our conversation is complete. I wish you well. We'll set up a new rendezvous on Jedha." I said concluding and standing up.
I knew Saw was relocating to Jedha soon. Saw frequently used this sort of back and forth. He would remove himself to a remote location and use the quiet to train up a new batch of Partisans. When Saw had put an edge on his new batch of recruits, he would move back to an offensive footing. Thessa Loniki was a quiet spot. Saw was almost ready to go to Jedha where he clearly intended to use his rebuilt force to attack Imperial occupation forces. I was fully in favor of Saw's strategy and my supplies were physical representations of that approval.
We grasped arms again, though this time far less cordially than we had on my arrival.
I left thinking about how I had never been to Jedha. I had promised the Council all those years ago I would go and had never went. Perhaps I would do some meditating in the Temple there when I went? I definitely felt I had gotten my way with Saw. Perhaps I had been a bit ruthless and manipulative of a friend and ally, but this was a war. This war would not be another Plynth because I wasn't ruthless enough to use my soldiers to obtain victory. I intended to win.
I returned to my ship and we were on our way to our next task.
Sky's consistently excellent flying…
"Thank-you love." Sky chirped in my head as I thought that.
Had delivered me on time, despite our side trip, to Sultoon Platform. It could be tricky navigating Sultoon system, even with clear knowledge of where the Platform was.
I had a series of meetings with various departments on the Platform. All was well. Profits were up. I gave hints about a possible annual bonus I had already decided we would give. The workers were happy. One area I would have to deal with was upgrading the transport to Elysia, but that was minor. We would either add another cheap transport or up it to a GR-75. We'd have to see.
Saving the best for last, I met with my team overseeing the Separatist Communication network.
While I provided a wide range of physical support, the biggest thing I offered this new Alliance was an independent communications system. The Separatist Communication Network had been an independent network, not controlled by the Republic and now Empire. Was this network perfectly secure? No. Was it absolutely compromised like the Imperial network? Also no.
The problem was keeping the network in repair. It was a huge collection of satellites and ground installations. Thousands in all. When the Separatists had run the network, they had an army of droid technicians and it hadn't been enough. I had a handful of the Separatist tech droids we had salvaged and some biologic crews. It was enough to slow the decline, not stop it.
I entered the conference room and took the being sitting at the head of the table to be a female Mon Calamari. I greeted her in Mon Cal only to notice her confused face.
She was a human whose brown skin and long face just looked like a Mon Calamari! How embarrassing. I greeted the whole room in Galactic Standard and sat down. After that we got to work.
There wasn't a lot new at the meeting. Just the standard, sad, slow decline of the network.
At the end there was some good news.
"We have found a major relay hub that was thought lost in an ion storm. It's currently non-functional but could possibly be brought back online. In addition, it happens to be located in a nearly ideal location for our special clients. If we could bring this relay back online, it would actually improve overall system performance." One of the techs announced.
"Then we need to do it. Why haven't we got out there already?" I replied.
"The relay has been out of communication for some time. It might be worthwhile to have someone check it out to make sure it's safe to work on." The Tech explained.
That made sense. Anything from pirates to giant space roaches could have infested the place. There was also the obvious, it could be an Imperial trap. To check the place out, there was an obvious candidate.
"I'll take some gear and give the place a once over. Once it's been cleared, I'll leave a few droid guards. While I'm there, I'll see if there's anything I can do."
The Tech replied, "Thank-you sir."
We did a little more planning. Sky would leave me at the relay and ferry some other techs to another project, then she would bring the techs back to me at the relay.
With my meetings concluded, I loaded some com repair gear onto Revenge and Sky whisked me back to Dandoran.
I had a number of meetings to conduct which I wanted done quickly. I tried to get an update from Fio but couldn't get through. That wasn't a surprise, even the best interstellar communication was at the whim of the alignment of the stars. Jojo hadn't checked in, which meant his mission was running long. Nothing to be done about it now. I left a message for Jojo explaining where I was going.
After running a few more errands, we proceeded to the relay. The relay was basically a large space station designed and built for communication processing and re-transmission. We did a quick survey from space and found that while she had taken some wear and tear, she was in pretty good condition. Apparently, the relay had been placed in orbit around a star that was close to going nova. Perhaps the big red ball would go sometime in the next million years or so. On the way to that happy date, she was firing more intense eruptions and flares. The relay had been caught close to one of those energetic displays and been a bit cooked. Normally, a relay like this wouldn't be placed in such a system. The relay was a major capital expense and those responsible for such things liked to place them in very stable locations. However, the Separatists had been more focused on the strategic position and winning the war before them, as I was now, to place the relay somewhere more prosaic.
The relay had gone into auto-shutdown to protect itself during the flare. The intense radiation had prevented salvage missions from finding her in the past, so she was assumed lost. One of my ever so efficient techs had noticed a re-start query signal from the autonomous relay to another comm station under our control. It was a small, inconspicuous query. It could easily have been missed in the general clutter, ignored or deleted. Instead, the tech had followed up and found this potential treasure.
Any major relay station we could bring back up online would be a significant asset for our network. However, this relay would directly serve Yavin, allowing us to deepen and strengthen Alliance communications while at the same time, make those communications far more secure. I was prepared to pay dearly to get this relay up and running if necessary.
Sky found a convenient docking location and connected. I went across and did a quick walk through to make sure there were no major direct threats. Everything seemed fine. I would have liked to have Shield with me, but he was busy at the New Temple getting my new Eta Hyenas online. Sky would have to make a quick run while I worked. Once I sent the all clear, she would be bringing back a team of techs to give the place a more thorough going over.
So, for the first time in a while, I would be on my own for a bit. Hardly scary, no one had been to this system since the relay had gone offline.
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