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Kuat of Kuat Executive Suite and Offices, KDY Driveyard Ring, Nal Kuat

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Gage could feel the oxygen slowly leaving his bloodstream the longer he was trapped in the choke hold. However, the dwindling supply of air didn't have any detrimental effect on his lightning quick reflexes.

The Kuati dropped his weight and slithered to the left throwing his attacker off-balance by pitching him forward. Gage reached up and grabbed the Zabrak by his horns. With well-honed practice he pitched the brute over his head where he landed squarely on his back in front of the cagey Kuati leader.

Gage slammed his elbow down on the mat but his opponent was quick and rolled away in time to avoid the strike. But the Zabrak made the mistake of wasting time getting back to his feet. Gage could fight from the ground. He spun on his wrist and planted a two-footed upwards kick to the center of the Zabrak's chest. The impact sent his opponent flying backwards into a mirrored wall panel along the side of Gage's training dojo. The mirror shattered into several hundred shards, which cascaded down upon his attacker.

Gage snapped to his own feet and rushed over to the fallen man. He held out his hand to help him up, brushing crystalline off his gi as he did so. "Are you alright, Eeth?"

"I am wizard, my Lord. That was well fought, especially that kick move. You did not learn that from me." Eeth, his sparring partner, pointed out. He was correct, as Gage had witnessed the exotic move performed by an Earthling named Donnie Yen on captured footage of Earth's martial arts.

"I understand I'm losing you soon." Gage sent an accusatory look towards his friend.

"Aye, sir. I'm shipping out in five days to help Colonel-Supervisor Windrider train the new Legions on Hsskhor. The Zabrak sighed. He was one of the best Teräs Käsi instructors in the Empire.

"Don't let Windrider bully you, he's still sore about being recalled to service and being demoted four ranks as well. To think he still had the cheeblies to squabble with the Fleet Admiral over training schedules." Gage laughed. The Admiralty's downfall and public humiliation had been comical fodder for comedians and commentators across the HoloNews cycle.

"It takes two years standard to make a Stormtrooper. The Fleet Admiral needs those new troopers sooner than that. He ordered the Colonel-Supervisor to get them battle-ready in a year, maybe less." Eeth explained, he would know, after all, he'd be part of their training. "So we're going to bypass all that Emperor-worship brain-washing they did in the Old Empire."

"Stellar. Make them more independent and less rigid than the old white-hats. That way they won't plunge head first into a quagmire like Las Vegas turned out to be in the last war. Not even Grand Admiral Yutu was clever enough to get them back out again." Gage warned.

"It's a different war, sir. Gentis will surely prove himself twice as clever."

"He only has to outsmart Akfar and whomever is leading the First Order strike force." He leaned on the name of the CEN's new allies with icy vitriol. They had struck at his ring and murdered in cold blood thousands of his beings. He hated their naked aggression against innocents who died in their sleepers and for that he had thrown everything in his power at assisting the Empire in getting itself back onto a war footing.

"The troopers I'm training will go a long way to turning the tide. As it were, all we have now is the 41st Elite under High General Hasa assembling on Judicar and whatever remains of the 501st Legion after their terrible retreat. Oh, sorry of course there's still the 212th on Mars but who knows how much longer they'll hold out."

Gage scowled and spit out his judgement. "Judicar. So we're to concede Kafrene Outpost and Anax without a fight. That will cut off the Kuat Spur leaving the fleet bottled up here."

"Don't trouble yourself, Master Gage. They'll have to land and take New Thyfeeria to get into the Kuat System, and Moff Tanax will fight them tooth and nail for the place. She's breeding a new legion of drones as we speak." Alferon, Gage's longtime butler, guardian and confidante, piped up from across the office where he had been brewing a hot pot of roofgrass tea for the two sparring partners.

"That's one way to raise more troops." Gage joked about the Vratix Canir which got a laugh out of Eeth. He turned and bowed to his opponent. "I shall miss you, Master Eeth. You must keep in touch and keep Kuat informed of your progress."

"I shall, my Lord. But don't go getting rusty on me. I intend to have a rematch upon my return."

Gage smiled and shook the Zabrak's hand. "You shall have it."

"Surely, Master Eeth, you'll stay for tea?" Alferon asked the Zabrak fighter.

"I'm afraid I must be off. I have much to do before my shuttle leaves for Hsskhor. My Lord." He nodded once more to Gage after making his apologies to Alferon and then excused himself from the office suite.

"I shall miss him." Gage announced as his friend left for the war. He didn't want to admit it but he was envious. Eeth would put on the Imperial gray and fight for his Empire. Gage was expected to do his fighting from behind a desk. He ached to get out into the dark corners of the Empire and fight for justice wherever it was needed. "Do you think we have time for . . .?"

"I'm afraid not, Master Gage, I've gone over your itinerary with your executive assistant and you're booked solid until this evening. So much so that I'm afraid I've had to postpone some of your less pressing meetings. Dr. McCoy in particular seemed quite annoyed that we've rescheduled your annual physical again. But I'm afraid that can't be helped. You have the board meeting to go over the Senate appropriations bill before lunch, which I'm having catered by Kenobi Sushi. Then meetings with BOSS and your Shipwright Guild Representatives about repealing regulations on the Star Destroyer conversions. You need to put out a statement about the rumors of a dock workers strike . . ." Alferon listed a dozen other meetings from memory, but Gage only listened with half an ear. The dock workers were going to strike, not to get better wages, but because they were being squeezed to do so by Brakatak the Bull and the Gran Kajidic for a bigger cut of the driveyard profits. It riled him how a criminal could still run his enterprise from behind the black gates of a prison.

"I need to get back out there, Alferon. There's hundreds of thousands of new beings pouring into the driveyards looking for work and with them comes a new wave of scum and villainy. There's been thirty warehouse break-ins in the past week alone and every time my RA-7 inventory droids do one of their checks they come up with more items being pilfered by Crimson Dawn thugs, some kind of jetpack wearing arson has burned down three businesses since the raid and last night somebody assaulted and robbed two Synthweavers at the Vacuum Dock with some kind of carbonite freeze blaster. The city needs me. The city needs a hero."

"Must be delightful to be the solution to everyone's problems, sir." Alferon handed Gage his cup of tea without a hint of sarcasm showing on his face.

"The beings need the Mynockian. I can feel it. Fear is running rampant across the ring, ever since the First Order raided us. They need to know someone is out there in the night, fighting for them. Keeping the darkness at bay." Gage urged.

"Very poetic, Master Gage. But the beings of the Empire also need the Imperial Fleet out there keeping the First Order and the Confederacy of Earth Nations at bay. And Kuat Drive Yards is constructing that navy. KDY needs you now at its helm or we face a very dark future indeed."

"It must be so wizard to know your purpose in the Galaxy." Gage regretted the words as soon as he said them. To the Empire at large Alferon possessed the appearance of Gage's lowly butler, but in reality he was anything but a mere servant.

"My purpose is to serve and offer guidance where I see fit. It is a calling I hold deep in my bosom." Alferon replied, his tone holding the slightest tone of reproach.

"Alferon, I didn't mean . . . it's just that I know my own calling is helping the downtrodden and helpless. And I for one have never seen you as an employee." Which was true. Gage's father and grandfather had died before he had ever known them and his mother while he was still very young. Alferon, filling an oath to his mother, had become Gage's guardian. He had also become Gage's constant companion, his confidant, his mentor and even if neither of them ever admitted it to one another, he was like a father to Gage.

"I am proud of what you do out there in the shadows, Master Gage. But the times we are living in . . . the whole Empire may be downtrodden and helpless. They need KDY more than anything."

"Blasters and butter. Keeps the troopers going forward." Gage sighed, resigning himself to the confines of obligation.

"I also served in uniform once upon a time, sir. It is not all glory and honor like the holodramas claim. War is a terrible business, and in the end I'm fearful it's going to swallow a lot of young lives before it's all over." Alferon theorized. He was probably right and he had worn the armor of an Imperial Royal Guardsman once upon a time. He never talked about it, but Gage had learned his friend had once fought alongside Grandmaster Ti during the General Boston campaign on Mars. A front that had almost captured the old capital at Amidala City during the last war.

"And my fate is to build the steeds they ride to battle and watch it all happen from the rear."

"Master Gage, I believe the subtle art of sarcasm is lost in your hands." Alferon snapped his fingers. The curtains over the great viewport facing the inner rim of the driveyards opened up to reveal a flurry of activity. Scores of construction airspeeders and barges flitted back and forth while thousands of evo-suited yard workers crawled over dozens of starships like Orowatan fireflies. "Just look at the steeds your family has built for them."

Gage did step forward to join Alferon at the viewport. The centerpiece of the repair yards was the Super Star Destroyer Ares which was much too long to fit snugly up against the rings and stretched across the inside arc of the ring from its aft to a spot nineteen kilometers away where the point of its bow gently kissed the durasteel armor of the ring. The space in between the mighty warship was filled with access tunnels that brought millions of tons of tibanna, fuel and supplies aboard the massive vessel. Having docked a little under a month ago, every centimeter of the Ares's hull now bristled with droid-operated anti-airspeeder batteries, missile tubes and proton torpedo launchers designed to protect the ship from airspeeder attack over ship-to-ship combat. The attack on the ring had driven one point home for everyone in the Empire; this was going to be an entirely new type of war.

"Your father helped design her. Your grandfather built her. And your mother set her to sail. Your family has been preparing for you to fight this war for twenty-six years, ever since we set foot in the Milky Way." Alferon explained.

"The 'big jump'. I wonder what it was like in that old Galaxy and how this kriffing First Order followed us through."

"It was war. Maybe a bigger war than this, perhaps akin to the Clone Wars with a near trillion casualties. And another one shaping up as we left. Perhaps that war is what crafted the First Order. Their ships and TIEs vastly outclass ours from what I hear."

"You heard that from me, Alferon." Gage hid his wince. Yes, the First Order appeared advanced beyond what the Empire currently fielded, but it was up to him to find the way to close the gap. "Or you've been eavesdropping on too many meetings."

"I wouldn't dream of it, sir. Besides, working for you has its advantages." Alferon referred to the confidence both men shared with each other. Their lives were intertwined as they had been ever since that criminal scum had blasted Gage's mother in that alley that long ago, dark night.

There was a long chime on the intercom announcing that his morning appointments awaited him. Gage sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What I would give for a night on the town."

Alferon waved his palm over an access lock on one wall of the executive suite opening a hidden door to a luxury fresher. "Your idea of a night of relaxation is quite different than mine, Master Gage. Now I've already laid out a variety of your finest business robes including a new Shimi design I brought from the capital. I suggest a quick sonic to rinse yourself from your sparring match with Eeth before I admit your first visitor."

Gage could smell the perspiration on him from his bout with the Zabrak. "A good idea. Give me five minutes, please Alferon."

"As you wish." Alferon left the office to inform those that were waiting that Gage Kuat would be a few moments. Gage stripped off his training gi and stepped into the warm ultrasonic wash closet. The waves of energy could barely be felt but every crevice of his body was cleansed of sweat and grime within seconds. He stepped out and was spritzed by his fresher attendant droid with a musky Algoraspice cologne as well as a fine film of hormones designed to counter pheromones emitted by Falleen and Zeltrons, among others, who attempted corporate espionage from time to time in meetings such as these. In the end he did decide to go with the Shimi design. The Bothan fashionista had never let him down in the past and she certainly didn't fail this time either. The gown appeared white but to any species that saw in the ultraviolet spectrum is was a symphony of berl, crynor, nusp, and onsible coloring.

He didn't need to refer to his itinerary to know who would be the first through his office door this morning. Unless it was a military emergency, which seemed to rise in the driveyards every few days or so, Moff Farnmir was generally the first one in every morning. If Gage hadn't scheduled a training session with Eeth, the Moff would have been here before the ring's environmental simulators raised the ambient light in the driveyards to simulated daylight.

"It can't be done, my Kuat of Kuat. I've tried everything I can think of to fit that many TIEs aboard those ships." Farnmir exclaimed in frustration as soon as he came through the office door.

Gage was taking his seat behind the sprawling desk that sat against one wall and faced out towards the viewports overlooking the driveyards. With a quick flick of his fingers he accessed the schematics of the warships he was sure the Moff was referring to. Immediately, holoimages of an Imperial I class Star Destroyer hung in the air between the two Kuati. Moff Farnmir didn't bother to take a seat.

Lucious Farnmir had been one of his Grandfather's top scientific researchers and had even been the one to conceive and propose the idea of the Ring Driveyard over Nal Kuat to Kuantus Kuat during the Empire-Earth War. The Almuhit Maelstrom had been much calmer twenty years ago and they had quickly shipped the driveyards at Mars through it after the Mercury Accords had ended the conflict. As they did so they had collapsed the s-thread boosters behind them allowing only one entrance to the Kuati System at New Thyfeeria. Or at least that was what Farnmir and Gage's mother, Niobe Kuat, had believed. The First Order had found another way, by forcing heavily armored behemoths through the maelstrom. Farnmir had blamed himself for the deaths the First Order had inflicted here two months ago and had hurled himself into rebuilding the wrecked fleet that still lay at anchorage nearby.

Farnmir was Moff of Nal Kuat, a position that only meant anything in the Senate. To the Kuati species their leader would always be the Kuat of Kuat, a title which had been handed down from his grandfather to his mother and now laid in Gage's hand. A Kuat of Kuat's main responsibility was to his people and like Kuantus Kuat had done at the end of the Clone Wars, Gage also believed the best path for the Kuati lay in service to the Empire.

"Nothing is impossible, Lucious. Now please explain the roadblocks you're running into." Gage asked of his industrial foreman-turned-military governor.

"It's all a matter of space. Admiral Gentis asks too much of these Imperial class hulls." Farnmir began.

"Many in the Senate would agree with you, including the Prime Chancellor. I however saw a glimpse of genius in Gentis's orders." Gage subtly warned which side of the debate he fell on.

"Converting the six recoverable Star Destroyers wrecked in the attack into Quasars is simply asking those hulls to do too much. Star Destroyers are designed from the keel up to go head-to-head with other capital ships. Ripping their heavy armaments out and replacing them with hangars is sacrilege. I've had almost a dozen shipwrights threaten to walk off the job."

"Our Imperial Is are too small to stand up to whatever the Navy suspects the First Order capable of dishing out. The raid here and the Earth's drive down the Bloodstripe has proven the efficiency of airspeeders and revealed new tactics for overcoming heavy ship armor. We must have dedicated carriers if we are going to hold back the enemy." Gage said.

"Then why not build them from the keel up. We could make them work from the start instead of forcing new systems into places they were never meant to fit."

"And how long would that take you to construct, my friend?" Gage asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

Farnmir did some calculating in his head before answering. "With the emplacement of a new dedicated driveyard tooled for the purpose I could launch the first Quasar Fire II Carrier two years from now."

"Unacceptable. You and I both know President Harris will have the Empress in chains in two years if we don't stop them in the next few months. The Imperials must be converted into the hybrid Quasar Fire III as quickly as possible. My driveyard foremen say they can have the Might and the Storm ready in four months followed by one a month with the Lightning being the final one repaired and converted eight months from now."

"It is true. If we solve some fundamental design problems. The storage placement for so many TIEs is perplexing. We already solved the hangar problem by configuring the four oversized hangars in a staggered 'V' configuration rather than a side-by-side line arrangement on the other Quasar designs."

"Have you considered turbolifts?" Gage inquired as he studied the holographic designs. He noticed there seemed to be quite a bit of possible storage space in the bow of the ships if various systems were assigned elsewhere."

"The ships already have several turbolifts for officers and crew."

"Not for the crew. I'm talking about adding turbolifts large enough to move a TIE or two at a time." Gage pointed at the possible storage spaces and traced his finger along a hypothetical route to the launch hangars.

"It's possible. But the path they would take would require a lot of space to be taken away from various other sections of the ships. Where are we going to put all the new pilots that are required for example?" Farnmir asked.

"They'll have berths don't worry. But I think you are forgetting these ships will sail with only a third of their compliments."

"I believe your referring to the products coming out of Naval Factory One. It's been a month since Gentis became the Fleet Admiral and ordered those three complexes built and Factory One is already producing nearly a hundred units a day. I'm hoping to get it up to a thousand by this summer."

"Precisely, KX-series droids are meant for security and are dedicated fighters. With their new programming they no longer have to concern themselves with security but can be dedicated sailors instead. One KX droid can replace five sailors and doesn't have to rotate watches and off-duty leaves. Out of every ten KX droids only one needs to be recharging at any given time. They don't need barracks, cafeterias, barber shops, turbolifts, freshers, medical bays, water or food storage and can operate even when environmental systems fail. All we need is a few small stations for oil baths and recharges and we can man each ship with two to three thousand KX droids to service a crew of five thousand, down from twenty or thirty thousand previously serving aboard each Star Destroyer. Kriffing chaos, the meat lockers alone aboard the Slash take up the space for five TIE/sa bombers."

"The Slash will stay a Star Destroyer. She doesn't have to face having her guts ripped out." Farnmir pointed out.

"I hope not. Admiral Vertitas is preparing to set sail with her task force any day now, now that he's replaced Admiral Cabbel as Gentis's fighting man. What do you think of my idea?"

"Seeing as how we are preparing for a much reduced compliment I believe I can find the space. Each day more and more KX droids come off the line and Arakyd Industries keeps feeding them back into our repair yards to replace workers that have enlisted. It's beginning to look like the Separatist Alliance out there."

"Lightside forbid. But they did have the right idea. Their casualties in some of the larger naval battles were much lighter than the Old Republic's due to droid crews. I believe Admiral Gentis is thinking along those same lines."

"Saving Imperial lives will always find favor with our Empress. No wonder she put him in charge of winning this war." Farnmir said.

"That remains to be seen. Gentis hasn't won anything yet and his service record during the last war saw every action he took part in was under the command of a more senior officer calling the shots, including the Empress at the Battle of Four Navies."

"And you don't feel anything for Arakyd picking up the contract for what may end up being a half million droids by the time this war is over, my Lord?" Farnmir asked. He was mistrustful of any company not based on Nal Kuat and Arakyd Industries ran their business from distant Muunilinst Secundus.

"Who do you think secretly bought one-third of Arakyd's stock last year giving them that giant bump in the third quarter?" Gage revealed with a sly smile.

Farnmir chuckled. "You didn't? Did you somehow foresee the need for their security droids?"

"I didn't. I was more interested in what they were doing with dwarf probe droids for another project of mine. And I wouldn't get so tied up in calling them 'security droids'. Arakyd only calls them that to get around a taxation loophole. Gentis may have ordered their construction but I run that factory and every one of those droids has the standard programming against harming sentients. They will run the ships of the fleet but it will be up to the Empress's Stormtroopers to fight the war." Gage swore.

"Dwarf probe droids? Fascinating. I suppose they utilize picotechnology. Have you considered swarms of them for reconnaissance duties? The Confederates are supposed to be working on something in nanotech along those lines." Luscious was always more of a tech and gadget guy than an administrator. Some of his pre-war inventions had even been incorporated into Gage's Mynockian armor, but it wasn't an area of his life he wanted to let Farnmir in on just yet. Maybe someday, but for now Farnmir's attention needed to be squarely on rebuilding the fleet and repairing the damage to the Ring Driveyard.

Gage needed to change the subject before Farnmir started digging too deeply into Gage's other pursuits. "What is the status with the Kazoookian refugees?"

"Excellent. We've brought in their Lucrehulks and moored them at the old Xa-Fel Dock. I didn't have the available workforce to set up their housing before they arrived but the Wookiees pitched right in and ran up several apartment blocks set to their dimensions in a couple of days. I inspected them myself and I've got to say they're more solidly constructed than half the housing on the Ring. I've never seen workers throw up buildings so quickly. I'm eager to put them to work in the Driveyards."

"Where are you thinking of placing them?" Gage asked.

"It matters on ISB. They're currently vetting them for security risks."

"Anyway I can speed up the process. I believe I'm having a security brief with General Travles this evening. I can put in a good word." Gage promised.

"No, they should be screened. The last thing we need is sabotage on the Ring. The problem is the Earthlings they've been living with. The Wookiees seem eager enough to work and fight the First Order for what they did to their world, but their Earthling allies seem more inclined to sit out the war and twiddle their thumbs. ISB figures them to be potential political instigators or agent provocateur. They'd like to keep them under guard for the rest of the conflict."

"As prisoners of war or as criminals? And didn't I hear that some of the human Kazoookians agreed to enlist in the Imperial Navy Fighting against one's home world should prove their loyalty to the Empire." Gage argued.

"One would think. Unless they're spying. But that's ISB's problem. I want to put the Wooks to work as soon as possible. They're each worth a half dozen regular workers."

"Let their human allies run their encampment. They make up less than ten percent of the Kazoookians anyway. Send in our own spies and listening devices if we need to. We will pay the Wookiees well enough to be loyal to us." Gage had read many of his father's papers from before the 'big jump' and the elder Gage had a long history of hiring Wookiee refugees in the Home Galaxy after the Old Empire had blockaded and occupied Kashyyyk. "I want them assigned to the Ghost Dock."

"What? But, my Lord, FleetIntel will have a conniption fit if we stick foreign workers down on the Sienar Design Systems driveyard. Those IPV-2c Corvettes are supposed to be a state secret."

"We also need a dozen of them yesterday. Gentis has put them as a top priority even over the Quasar conversions and the gear coming out of Naval Factory Two and Three. It only makes sense that we put our best workers to work in that yard." Gage rationalized.

"But the cloaking devices?"

"Are constructed elsewhere. The Wookiees will be building the ships and installing the vital systems. And how are they going to use what they learn. From what we can tell this Kazoook world of theirs lacks any stygium deposits."

"It would go a long way to bonding them to us. I mean, if we show them we can trust them with such an important secret right off the start of our alliance."

"Kuat and Kashyyyk were allies in the Home World. Their problems were with the Old Empire not the new and I intend to have good relations with the Wookiees."

"I will put your plan into action immediately, my Lord." Farnmir promised.

"And, Governor, please requisition some of Arakyd's dwarf probe droids. When it comes to our new guests I am not stoopa. Trust but verify." The security of Nal Kuat took all precedence in both men's minds.

"Of course, My Kuat of Kuat. Kuat before all else." Farnmir swore. The Governor was already looking back over the Star Destroyer schematics, no doubt putting new plans and ideas into order for his driveyard crews to implement. Gage could tell he had intrigued the engineer inside Farnmir with his turbolift idea. "If you'll excuse me I want to get started on these before we break ground of the new Vacuum drydock tomorrow. Can I tell the shipwrights to expect you there?"

Gage knew there were some duties he couldn't escape and the opening of a new Vacuum Yard would double the repair capabilities of the Ring. At least the Senate was picking up the tab for the expensive addition. "I wouldn't dream of missing it."

He said his farewells to his technologically-gifted Governor and signaled for his executive assistant to send in his next appointment. They were lobbyists from Carbonite Guild who were seeking Gage's aide in securing several military contracts for transporting raw materials. It was a dry subject matter but such enterprise would eventually propel the Empire to victory, it was hoped. Alferon brought him lunch, prepared by Kenobi Sushi and he ate it at his desk while in a three way negotiation with Kuat-Entralla Engineering, Merkuni Drives and Corellia StarDrives over the production of new hyperdrives for the Quasar Fire IIIs.

That afternoon he met with the foremen from Naval Factories Two and Three as well as Admiral Freyborn from the Bureau of Ordinance. The Sienar Fleet System overseers were hopeful they could see full scale production start in Factory Three within a month, especially with KX droids taking up positions on their production floors. They deserved to be optimistic as their project had been largely developed at the end of the last war and only scraped due to budgetary concerns caused by the economic crash that followed the first war with Earth. They had two older prototypes but assured Gage they would have a newer prototype in the next few weeks. The Holowan administrators of Naval Factory Two weren't as optimistic. They came to the meeting with a long list of problems and very little in the way of solutions. The KX droids would be a boon to their production needs as well, but they were having issues with the tactical and security programming of their prototypes. Gage offered several suggestions and hinted that several regulatory measures could be bypassed in the name of military expediency. In the end, he agreed to allow Rebaxan Columnito subsidize a sensor package for the factory's end products which would circumnavigate several issues they were having with target-acquisition. That meeting lasted two hours and the parties left, if not happy, at least satisfied they were moving in the right direction.

It was late afternoon when his last scheduled appointment of the day arrived. General Travles was led into the room by Alferon who stood at the rear of the office and prepared drinks for the two men. Gage bowed in formal greeting to the Director of the Imperial Security Bureau who was eyeing Alferon with some suspicion. "I've read the reports on the relationship you have with your man servant. I have your assurance he can be trusted, Lord Kuat?"

"As if my life depended on it. I trust Alferon here far more than I trust the ISB, for instance." Gage stared directly at the military officer who cocked his head slightly at the jab at his Bureau but failed to give any thing else away.

"I will admit, this has been a rough time for the ISB. Neither we, nor FleetIntel, predicted the attack on this Driveyard." Travles admitted. Gage had indicated the chair across the desk from him and the officer took a seat on the comfortable furniture. Alferon delivered Trandoshan Kidney Tea to Travles, it was the officer's favorite blend, and he was caught off guard as he didn't believe he had ever told anyone at KDY of his rare beverage preference.

"Nor did ISB detect the infiltration commando unit that almost took the life of our beloved Empress." Gage pointed out.

"A stain we are currently taking measures too erase. It was a close run thing that the Royal Guard and those True Victory stalwarts were able to stop them. Even Admiral Gentis was on hand to help out from what my investigations turned up." Travles did look relieved. Gage didn't blame him. If the Empress had been assassinated on his watch it was very likely that Gage would be talking to another officer right now.

"Do you fear more infiltrators, General? Surely, with such vastly incompatible cultural beliefs, Earthlings would stick out like a clamorous Hutt." Alferon asked.

"You'd be surprised, sir. Besides, the assassins who went after the Empress belonged to our new enemy, the First Order. We don't know much about them yet but it's our working assumption they originate from a shared history within the Old Empire back in the Home Galaxy." Travles revealed.

Gage smiled at the General's secrecy. "More than that, General. Your source, Clan Bly on New Mandalore, suggested they are a 1st Galactic Empire splinter group that was waging an unknown war nearly forty years after we departed the Home Galaxy."

"I imagine the Kuat of Kuat has his own sources into ISB, so I will over-look that for now. However the hypothesis doesn't make any sense. We haven't even been in the Milky Way for that long." Travles stated.

"There seems to be some sort of time-dilation effect caused by whatever mysterious force delivered us through the 'big jump'. My grandfather had a whole team of theorists looking into it. They're still here on Nal Kuat working on it." Gage admitted with a shrug.

"The recent arrival of the Kazoookians adds further data to this line of speculation."Alferon interjected. "I read that the Wookiees on Kazoook escaped from Kashyyyk nearly ten years after we left the Home Galaxy, yet they've colonized and fully settled Kazoook over the last five hundred years here in the Milky Way. If our time coincides with the current time in the Home Galaxy then their ancestors might be alive right now back in the realm of Palpatine."

"You're going to have to explain that one to me over a couple of stiff shots of Corellian whiskey someday, sir. As far as ISB is concerned, events in the Home Galaxy happened a long time ago." Travles replied.

"Back to the subject of infiltrators. I suppose we should expect sabotage and possibly some sort of strike on our political infrastructure. I will contact my security teams to double their efforts and if you wish we could put them under the control of ISB for the duration of the conflict. The Navy is already asking for stronger measures along those lines." Gage offered.

"We are interested in such an arrangement, especially with retraining and field patrols. We can't have too many eyes out there. We already have an agent on each of the new human Kazoookian arrivals and are keeping those ex-Earthlings concentrated inside their camp."

"You don't have the same issues with the Wookiees?" Gage was actually surprised. He had figured the ISB would want to keep the Wookiees in chains until they could be shipped back to Kazoook.

"The Wookiees have been thoroughly vetted. My report on them has been submitted and approved by both the Prime Chancellor and the Minister of War." Travles reported.

"But how? They've only been here a few weeks and a month drifting in orbit around Jastawui. Initial interviews couldn't have turned up that much in such a short period." Gage asked, generally curious as to how loyal his new workers were. He wanted to trust them but he wouldn't do so blindly.

"Let's just say I had someone on the inside." Travles smiled and touched the chromo on his wrist. He pushed an icon on its digital display indicating for someone to join them.

The doors to the office parted and slid open allowing the entry of a two-and-a-half meter tall, female Wookiee to stroll into the office. Gage stood and studied the new arrival. She had a lovely caramel-colored coat of fur and striking yellow eyes. She wore a double bandolier across both shoulders containing several small vials of smoke grenades, bacta vials and food stuffs. Gage noticed a small patch of missing fur situated over one of her left abdominal muscle.

Travles stood to introduce his guest. "My Lord, may I introduce . . ."

"Cato Succubi." Gage announced, startling the ISB Director. "I don't believe we've met before."

"As far as you know, my Lord." The tall figure replied. It was strange to hear clear basic come from the mouth of a Wookiee.

"I'd prefer the real Cato." Gage said as he stood and walked around the table to face the Wookiee.

She smiled as her skin began to ripple. Immediately her fur coat started to retract back into her skin as she started to shrink down to human size. Her facial bones and muscles reset themselves into human features. To Gage it appeared as if she had a face made of clay.

When she was done she stood before him, a stunning blonde woman, nude except for the two strategically placed bandoliers. "Better?"

"I said, the real Cato."

She smirked, no doubt expecting a more obvious reaction to her current form. Her skin transformed once more, going from mammalian to a greenish reptomammalian. Her cheeks sunk and her nose narrowed. A thin line developed and then ran down her forehead and creased her nose. Alferon came forward and offered her a robe to protect her modesty. Gage suspected she didn't have much to begin with.

"And now?" She asked.

"Perfection."

She offered him a suggestive smile full of hints to just what forms she could take if he just asked her in more private circumstances. General Travles ignored the look between the two of them. "How did you determine Agent Succubi's identity? I've sent her on fourteen missions within the Gran Kajidic, the Crimson Dawn and even three inside the Confederacy of Earth Nations with their paranoiac alien screenings and her covers never been blown."

"It was your slight blemish across your midriff, Agent Succubi." Gage pointed at where the scar was now hidden underneath the Clawdite's robes. "A parting gift from President Harris if I recall."

"From my days with the Bounty Hunter's Guild. Not many beings know about that abortion of a mission. We had that slippery scum in the palms of our hands." Cato growled with years of pent up frustration.

"War never takes the dark-sided man by chance, the light-sided man always." Alferon observed. Gage recognized the ancient quote as one from Supreme Chancellor Tol Cressa had spoken during the Mandalorian War some five thousand years ago.

"I take it you have no difficulty infiltrating Kazoookian society with your penchant for disguise." Gage told the changeling.

"We inserted Agent Succubi without any difficulty while we were refueling the Kazoookian Lucrehulks near Jastawui. Those two ships of theirs contained over two-hundred-thousand passengers each so it wasn't a hardship to infiltrate their ranks." Travles explained as if he had been part of the field team that had placed Succubi among the Kazoookians.

"I've read the HoloNews accounts of Empress Phasma's meeting last week with Captain Vaspar and Chieftain Feyyr. It sounded like it was very positive." Gage said.

"It was. Prime Chancellor Runnerz has had the Senate declare the Kazoookians co-belligerents against the First Order. They are hesitant to open hostilities with the Confederacy." Travles reported.

"That wasn't the mood within the general population. I witnessed several fights that almost turned into brawls. A dangerous thing to do with an angry Wookiee." Cato said. "The Wookiees are angry about the attack on their home world. They gave shelter to the Earth colonists twenty years ago and now they feel betrayed because of the evidence FleetIntel showed them regarding the First Order and the Confederacy fighting side-by-side. The near-human Kazookians are apologetic but have declared their neutrality in the conflict. That is all but a small handful of them. That faction, led by a few youths, seek to redeem their species and prove to their Wookiee brethren that their true fealty lies with Kazoook and not the Earth."

"By youths, I take it you mean the ones that were born and raised on Kazoook?" Gage asked.

"Yes, a few firebrands who were allowed to join the Imperial Navy after demonstrating their loyalty to our empath teams. They're barely old enough to know how the Galaxy truly works." Travles said. "We will send them in where it's hottest and see how they do against their own kind."

"You forget, General. I too, was born after the the conclusion of the Empire-Earth War. These young patriots are my peers. I can understand their wanting to fight for their home world." Gage pointed out.

"You certainly can be just as hot-headed as these fledgling Kazoookians, Master Gage." Alferon pointed out, which caused Cato and Travles to both have a chuckle at Gage's expense.

"Needless to say, both the Wookiees and the near-human Kazoookians should be appropriate working in your dirveyards. As long as we are focused on defeating the First Order. The Wookiees will not have cause for sabotage or revolt." Cato theorized.

"Revolt? We are their hosts not their rulers." Alferon pointed out.

"Of course, but who is to say how diplomatic relations work out post-war. It might be in everyone's best interests for a more permanent alliance to be constructed between the Sagittarius and the Orion Spurs. What better way to facilitate that than under the Empress's guidance."

"That sounds ominous." Gage observed, while at the same moment vowing to do everything within his power to prevent the Empire from gobbling up Kazoook after the war. Beings should be free to choose their own path. If they choose to live under the Senate here in the Empire that was fine, he believed the Senate was the best means for giving all species a voice, or if they chose to go their own way then KDY would be there to help them in whatever they needed.

"The Empire is the light. We are currently struggling to keep the darkness at bay. ISB will do whatever it takes to ensure the survivability of the Empire." Travles pledged.

"Come now, General. The Republic fell because they were willing to do dark things. Dark things which transformed the Republic into the Old Empire."

"ISB has always maintained the peace."

"By sensing plots everywhere. Now, General, you did not travel all the way from Palpatine Prime to inform me that the Kazoookian Wookiees and near-humans have been cleared for driveyard work. You could have left that to one of your errand boys. I'm sure you have a couple hundred aboard my Ring, "He looked at the shape-shifting Cato Succubi, "Perhaps even more."

"You have a keen nose for subterfuge, My Lord." Travles nodded to Cato.

She withdrew a sensor from her bandolier and held it up. "There are several listening devices in this room. All of them registered to the young Lord here. I'm currently jamming all of them." She stated. Gage was impressed. Though he was certain several of his bugs that he had personally designed for his more clandestine activities were even beyond ISB's detection.

"I trust your manservant to keep a secret. We know about his prior service in the last war otherwise I would have to ask him to leave for this next part." General Travles declared.

"Sounds tantalizing." Alferon admitted.

"We would like to brief you in on a special project. However, before we do, you should know it comes with certain caveats. Any one briefed on this subject matter can no longer travel to any planet on the frontlines. You must also prevent yourself from being captured at all cost." Travles started.

"Suicide you mean? This must be serious."

"Deadly." Cato added.

"My loyalty is to the Senate and the Empress. As long as this doesn't endanger the Kuati people you can absolute trust in me and Alferon." Gage swore.

"Excellent. Our project name is DARK FAITH. Tell me, have you ever heard the name FULCRUM before?" Travles asked.

Gage searched his memory. He thought of terms that had to do with the criminal underworld and his dealings with industry leaders and those of the military. In the end he came up empty. "I'm familiar with the physical applications of fulcrums but I'm unaware of its use as a name or title of any being, place or thing."

Alferon was ready to fill in Gage's memory gap. "Eighteen years ago. That name came up in an investigation into Droo Filoni's mysterious landspeeder crash on Mars." He looked at Gage. "I've maintained close ties with Commissioner Jord'dan in Amidala City and you were much too young to pay it much mind back then, Master Gage."

"Precisely. Droo Filoni ran almost the entirety of the HoloNews back then. He was a favorite of Emperor Yos during the war and was perhaps granted a little too much power over the fifth estate." Travles said.

"Prior to his death he ran a series of exposes on voter fraud and suppression within the Confederacy of Earth Nations." Cato explained. "Naturally it was blocked by the CEN despite wide dissemination by New Mandalore across open propaganda channels. It was widely taken as par for the course here in the Empire."

"I can imagine. The Confederates are still seen as strong arm thugs who would do anything to win. I believe Harris's personal motto is the ends justify the means." Gage said.

"There was a strange series of signals sent from Confederate Center shortly before Filoni's death. Some of them took years to decode, but initially we only understood the addressee of the messages."

"Fulcrum. That must have been what Jord'dan had heard back then as well and then passed on to me. I'm sorry but even he was confused as to who Fulcrum's identity could belong to." Alferon stated.

"It's true. When we finally did decode them they included not only instructions for dispatching Filoni and any other future key figure that exposed CEN dealings but also orders to remain in deep cover for future operations." Travles reported.

"Future operations? Like the current war?" Gage couldn't think of a better time to use a deep spy than now.

"Precisely. Are you familiar with AMETHYST?" Travles asked.

"I've had some dealing with them. Some of my companies designed their SIGINT equipment. They're the Fleet's codebreakers and work under Admiral Murp's command. I believe their top secret base is on Gort if I'm not mistaken."

"You aren't. My, you are well informed for someone not inside FleetIntel or the ISB." Travles was genuinely surprised.

"In my line of work it pays to know what everyone else is up to."

"I can imagine. Anyway, AMETHYST started picking up new transmissions signal bounced around the Empire. It took several days of decoding but it was finally deciphered that Fulcrum had surfaced again. This time transmitting intelligence back to Earth, including three messages several weeks ahead of the raid here vaguely giving directions through the Almuhit and the general layout of the Bloodstripe Run. The dispositions of the 212th were included in a message Fulcrum sent the day the Limbo and Purgatory were destroyed and the Empress's itinerary was transmitted almost a week before the assassination attempt on Palpatine Prime."

"Vile." Alferon swore. "Her younglings were put in danger because of the enemy's wickedness. This Fulcrum figure cannot be allowed to continue operating within the confines of the Empire."

"Do you have any leads as to who it might be?" Gage asked, already running through a list of thousands of potential candidates who had access to hyperwave emitters powerful enough to reach Earth, in his head.

"We have leads and suspects going back twenty years, most of them leading up dead-ends or to ghosts that slip from our grip the moment our investigative teams tighten their nets." Travles replied.

"Our first suspects were those who directly benefited from Filoni's death." Cato explained.

"He wasn't married as far as I know and didn't his wealth get distributed to several charities after his passing." Alferon asked.

"They did, which is why we believed it was actually the HoloNews Network that the assassin was after. Four News moguls sat at the front of our lists but their powerful litigators insured they were never questioned." Cato said. "Wilhuff Favreau Horst took over the HNN after Filoni's death and their editorials have been highly critical of the Prime Chancellor and his Imperial Patriotic Party. Our analyst have surmised he sends cryptic instructions to his news agencies from his garish castle on Zissoria orbiting around Palpatine Prime. Xander Knox, publisher of the Orion HoloTribune, the Defel editor who openly despises the military and everything it stands for, and his paper daily disparages the administration of the Senate without even the pretense of objectivity."

"Their sales are crashing from what I've heard. Ever since the raid here. Not even worth a read while sitting in the loo." Alferon criticized, which was a rarity for him.

"There's also the Rodian, Bicky Veel, the founder and owner of the Daily Holo, the Empire's first tabloid, with its sensationalist coverage of crime, sports and sex scandals, the Daily Holo prospered through the post-war depression years, and its circulation even overtook the Amidala City Times. Just recently, before the war, she threw in with the isolationist movement and the paper turned sharply against the ex-Admiralty and and Senators supporting military funding. And finally there was Dart Shadows, who now resides here at Nal Kuat and runs the Kuat Messenger. He bought two HoloChannels from Horst and merged them into the Kuat Messenger. Ten years ago he won the Mid-Bloodstripe circulation battle and became one of the most profitable HoloNews in the Empire. You may actually have more insight into their workings than even the ISB, my Lord."

"That's true. I own some substantial stock in the Messenger and have been asked on several occasions to join their board of directors, which I've declined. I personally know and respect all four of those you named and must insist that each and every one is a loyal patriot to the Empress and the Empire. The Sixth Amendment gives freedom to the HoloPress so they have the right to say whatever they want in their news programs." Gage admitted

"Their financial gains after Filoni's death is not the reason we suspect them in the case of Fulcrum. Fulcrum, whomever they may be, contacted Earth via encrypted relays bounced off HoloNews beacons."

"They're not the hardest codes to slice." Gage replied. "Lot easier than hacking into a military or security beacon. Ever try accessing the Royal Guard's codes? Impossible."

"Let's hope you're right about that. The continued safety of the sovereign is the top priority of the ISB." General Travles declared.

"Second to that, the tracking down and apprehension of this Fulcrum figure is vital for winning the war against our allied enemies. Fulcrum revealed our dispositions and the secret passage through the Almuhit that we abandoned years ago, and most importantly, they were complacent in the murder of twenty thousand Imperial citizens. Many of them your Kuati. ISB knows of your position in Kuati society and what the Kuati mean to you. We hope you will not let this stand." Cato pleaded.

"What would you have me do?" Gage asked. He itched to don his secret identity and sweep the Kuantus Ring from end to end looking for clues to this Fulcrum's identity.

"You have access to a wide range of communication devices. You're familiar with AMETHYST and its interception efforts. Your corporation's equipment was used to facilitate the transfer of information back to Earth and you're familiar with all of the players involved. We need someone like you to facilitate our search teams in the hunt for Fulcrum."

"I can provide leadership. I hesitate to blame any of your suspects without evidence. They may have had cause to celebrate Filoni's death but they were colleagues of his and all of them are loyal to the Empire. Among the dead here on Nal Kuat were nearly a dozen field reporters. And as we speak, hundreds of voices belonging to news beings in the field have been silenced as they fell behind the Confederate advance. Besides, the HoleNews moguls don't have access to the level of information dispatched to the Earth. This is someone with a deep cover and ties to the upper echelons of the Empire's upper class. Someone who knows where a lot of skeletons are buried all along the Bloodstripe. I will offer the ISB and AMETHYST access to KDY resources for their hunt but I require that I am put in a senior position in the pursuit of Fulcrum." Gage offered.

"Agent Succubi will be the ISB's Agent-In-Charge of this mission as she will have command over ISB and military assets. We just need you to facilitate the civilian side." Travles's offer came up short.

"I can work with Lord Kuat in an administrator capacity. You do understand, my Lord, any corporate leader being involved would appear to those on the outside that you steered the investigation towards a potential rival." Cato explained.

"I understand. But as you've both said the safety of the Empire takes precedent. This Fulcrum agent facilitated an attack which cleaved my Ring in two. This can never be anything but personal. Either I lead it, along with Cato here, or I conduct my own separate investigation using KDY security." Gage threatened.

"You wouldn't get very far." Travles started.

"It's fine with me." Cato agreed causing General Travles to nod his assent.

"Then it's settled. Is your team here on Nal Kuat?" Gage asked.

"Some are. I will send orders for the rest of them to join us here immediately. We've been working out of the Rhombus so far." Cato revealed.

"Excellent. Bring all of your data and your team here tomorrow afternoon. I will have five star accommodations set up for them here at KDY headquarters where we can properly assure secrecy. General, I suggest you speak with Admiral Murp about reassigning AMETHYST here to Nal Kuat, where they will have better access to our team as well as Fleet Admiral Gentis's headquarters."

"That's already in the works. Gentis has also expressed the opinion that Gort is much too coreward to quickly react to new signals coming from enemy territory." Travles stated.

"Excellent. Then it is agreed. I shall have the chefs whip up a working lunch tomorrow. Shall we expect you at 1300 hours, Agent Cato?" Alferon inquired.

"It will be quite a change from our usual fare, Alferon. But yes, we shall be here. Until then I will send over a courier droid with some over-view information to catch you up to speed, my Lord."

"I look forward to reading it." Gage admitted.

The two ISB officers sensed the meeting, while producing great results for them, was at its natural conclusion. Gage led the two of them to the door where his executive assistant waited with a set of clothes for the robed Clawdite. She thanked Gage and told him that she looked forward to working with him. Travles was needed back on Palpatine Prime and also offered his farewells.

Fulcrum.

The name swirled in his head. Traitor. Murderer. Backstabber.

How could a being so evil operate in the Empire under everyone's nose? It couldn't have occurred in Palpatine's Empire, Gage was positive of that. But how could Fulcrum look anyone in the face and go about their daily business after the raid on Nal Kuat.

They couldn't remain a secret forever. No one truly could. Not unless they were some desert hobo down on the scorched sands of Nal Kuat. But then how would they gain their information from a place of seclusion.

They would slip up one day. And when they did Gage would be there. To see that justice was served.

"Alferon . . ." Gage called out as he turned back to the room.

"Your evening attire is already prepared, Master Gage." Alferon waved his hand over a hidden control along one wall of the office. A hidden wall panel slid to the side revealing a mannequin draped in the armor of the Mynockian.

Gage smiled in anticipation.

"Can I expect you back by morning, sir?" Alferon asked.

"It depends . . ."

"On?"

"What the night reveals." Gage replied. He knew that nothing and no one could stay in the shadows forever.

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And so ends Act 2 of this multi-act saga. All the characters have been introduced and the war is now underway. Will Mars fall? Will the Empire recover after the devastation at Nal Kuat. Will the First Order and Confederacy continue to act in good faith towards one another? All this and more next month at the same Mynock-time and same Mynock-channel